Moses: References & Edit History

Studies treating Moses both in particular and in the larger historical context include William Foxwell Albright, From the Stone Age to Christianity, 2nd ed. with a new introduction (1957, reissued 1967), pp. 11–17, 200–272, a classic synthesis of Israel’s history and religion in the setting of the ancient Middle East, The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra (1963), pp. 1–23, a popular historical survey, and Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan (1968, reissued 1990), pp. 64–109, 153–182, a technical analysis contrasting Israelite and Canaanite religion; Elias Auerbach, Moses (1975; originally published in German, 1953), a search for the historic Moses; Albrecht Alt, “The God of the Fathers,” in his Essays on Old Testament History and Religion (1966, reissued 1989; originally published in German, 1953–59), pp. 1–86, a classic article; Dewey M. Beegle, Moses, the Servant of Yahweh (1972), a wide-ranging account both for the general reader and for students; Walter Beyerlin, Origins and History of the Oldest Sinaitic Traditions (1965; originally published in German, 1961), a technical study of biblical sources in Exodus 19–20, 24, 32–34; John Bright, A History of Israel, 3rd ed. (1981), a standard work mediating scholarly extremes; Martin Buber, Moses (1946, reissued as Moses: The Revelation and the Covenant, 1988), a sympathetic treatment with philosophical emphasis but weak in details of the ancient Middle East; Daniel Jeremy Silver, Images of Moses (1982), an examination of literary, artistic, and historical treatments of Moses; George W. Coats, Rebellion in the Wilderness (1968), a detailed critical study of the murmuring motif in the wilderness traditions; Frank Moore Cross, Jr., “Yahweh and the God of Patriarchs,” Harvard Theological Review, 55:225–259 (1962), a scholarly treatment of issues raised by Alt’s classic article cited above; Delbert R. Hillers, Covenant: The History of a Biblical Idea (1969), an excellent popular study; Greta Hort, “The Plagues of Egypt,” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 69:84–103 (1957) and 70:48–59 (1958), the historical basis of the plagues; Yehezkel Kaufmann, The Religion of Israel, trans. and abridged by Moshe Greenberg (1960, reissued 1972; originally published in Hebrew, 8 vol. in 4, 1938–52), which considers Moses to be the founder of Israel and its religion but doubts details of the historical tradition and neglects much modern archaeological and linguistic research; George E. Mendenhall, “The Mask of Yahweh,” in his The Tenth Generation: Essays in Early Biblical History (1972); Murray Lee Newmann, The People of the Covenant (1962), pp. 13–101, a popular study of Israel from Moses to the monarchy; Martin Noth, The History of Israel, 2nd ed. (1960; originally published in German, 1950), pp. 110–138, a basic study but with radical treatment of Hebrew history prior to the conquest, and A History of Pentateuchal Traditions (1972, reprinted 1981; originally published in German, 1948), pp. 156–188, a technical study of the biblical sources in the Pentateuch that doubts its accuracy; Harold H. Rowley, From Joseph to Joshua (1950, reissued 1964), an attempt to relate the data of biblical traditions to the findings of archaeology; Mary Rose D’Angelo, Moses in the Letter to the Hebrews (1979), a study of how Christology has influenced the interpretation of Moses; Johann J. Stamm and M.E. Andrew, The Ten Commandments in Recent Research, 2nd ed. rev. and enlarged (1967; originally published in German, 1958); Aaron Wildavsky, The Nursing Father: Moses as a Political Leader (1984), exploring Moses’ role as leader; Dorothy F. Zeligs, Moses: A Psychodynamic Study (1986), interpreting the influence of Moses’ important relationships on his activity as a religious figure; and George W. Coats, Moses: Heroic Man, Man of God (1988), a discussion of the life of Moses.