The song of the Sea - Essay Example

?The Song of the Sea The Song of the Sea is one of the oldest and longest surviving pieces of Hebrew literature, and is part of the Book of Exodus inthe Hebrew Bible. It is a song that is said to have been sung by the Israelites as they successfully crossed the Red Sea in safety, looking forward to future conquests in Canaan and celebrating the conquest of the Egyptian army as part of the journey. It is a very important song in both Judaism, where it is sung as part of morning prayer services, and Christianity, where it is sometimes called the Song of Moses (Abegg et al, 1999). As it plays such an important part in religion and is such a seminal example of poetry, it is interesting to analyse this liturgical work from a literary point of view. The purpose of this paper is to explore the Song of the Sea from this literary perspective to uncover subtle nuances within the text. It will first examine the poem from a historical and cultural perspective, then from a more general literary perspective. The final part of the analysis is an in depth look at how the literary devices employed within the poem are important, taking special care to discuss the difficulties in translation from Ancient Hebrew. Historical and Cultural Perspectives As previously mentioned, the Song of the Sea is an ancient Hebrew poem that appears in the Book of Exodus and is generally believed to have been the song that was sung by the Israelites after the crossing of the Red Sea. It was believed to have been written in Ancient Egypt, but current archaeological evidence suggests that it was probably written in Canaan (Abegg et al, 1999). This is due to the frequent mention of places and cultural references only relevant to people living within the Canaan region, such as the “mighty men of Moab” (4:14). There is fairly little evidence that the Israelites actually managed to reach Egypt (Batto, 1983). The poem does, however, back up historical evidence that there was a major conflict between the people of the Canaan region and the Egyptians, suggesting that the Song of the Sea is probably a conquest song celebrating victory over a foreign invader. Culturally, the Song of the Sea was believed to have been a separate piece of poetry before being incorporated into the Jewish canon (Preminger & Greenstein, 1986). Biblically, it is believed to have been composed spontaneously by the Israelites following Moses across the Red Sea, and the Lord was praising them for this song of praise (see Psalm 40:3). This suggests that songs may have been less common in the Jewish faith before the composition of this piece, and could be one of the earliest truly Abrahamic religious songs in existence. This gives an insight into how Ancient Judaism was structured and worshipped prior to this poem, as well as showing the audience how important it was to praise God in this way. Another insight this gives into the culture of the time comes from the fact that is celebrating war. Historically, the Jewish people at this time endured many different wars and conflicts within the area, and the battle with the Egyptians who were supposedly holding the people of Israel as slaves is one such example. The poem does not illustrate many physical details of the battle, but it does suggest that, if the poem is based upon historical event, that the Israelites were victorious in this case and that it was the “right hand” of God that helped these people win this particular fight. It shows just how important culturally a belief in God was, as the entire poem is celebrating the help of God in the victory (Parrish et al, 1992). General Themes of the Song of the Sea One of the most important aspects of the Song of the Sea is that it is a song of worship (Ginzberg, 2004). The entire poem is dedicated to God and is said to have been sung “to the Lord” (1:1). It is important that any analysis of this poem understands this because it has some major implications for understanding the poem. It needs to be analysed as a liturgical work, because this is how it was written. The intended audience of this poem is God, as is any true song of worship. The idea is to celebrate the victory of the Israelites by thanking God, not to boast about the conflict to other men, although it could be read in this manner. As with any Abrahamic religious work, God plays a central role in the poetry and giving thanks for the victory is the central theme of the poem. Using this knowledge as a base, it is safe to explore the other important themes of the work. One of these is the consistent referral to the right hand of God (e.g. 2:6). The right hand is considered a powerful tool, the hand that represents skill and power (Parrish et al, 1992). This could be because the majority of the population are right handed, and there this is the most skillful and powerful hand. God, by using his right hand, is demonstrating his skill and power. Another interesting thing about this constant reference is that it is an anthropomorphism of God. The right hand is generally the powerful hand of mankind, and as mankind was created in God's image, this suggests that God has a powerful right hand. This allows the reader to understand the workings of God from a more human perspective, giving insight into the workings of His mind and possibly even making the work more accessible. The right hand is referenced in more than 50 biblical passages (Parrish et al, 1992) and is a constant theme throughout Biblical work, again reinforcing its' importance in the liturgical context. Another theme of the poem is the reference to God as a unique and holy being. The entire Song of the Seas is dedicated to the Lord and references his superiority, something that is evident from the use of phrases such as “Who is like You” (3:11). The people of Egypt were considered philistines who did not understand the superiority of this monotheistic concept of God, and their being conquered by the Israelites reinforces the idea that this religion is superior. It is not only a victory for the people, it is a victory for God and those that worship him (Parrish et al, 1992). “Sorrow will take hold of the people of Philistia” (4:14) because they have not previously managed to understand the superiority of this God, and the victory is possible even more important because it has helped to spread the word of this mighty God. Something else that is evident from analysis of this poem is the power of God. It is mentioned that the waters of Marah were bitter (5:23) and that there was no source of water that could be found for three days of searching. This is evidently a test from God, a test of the strength and endurance of this army. However, the power of God is illustrated from the fact that it was He that has made these bitter waters drinkable and allowed the army to continue. This insinuates that God believes that the army of Israelites is doing the right thing and he is supporting them throughout this time whilst still managing to test their faith during the battle. It is interesting to see these dual aspects of God's personality and how they have affected the people mentioned in the Song of the Sea. It shows how God is perceived to the people which feature within this work; all-powerful and all-forgiving. It is also interesting that God is perceived to be working through humans, as it is Moses that made the water drinkable and Israel that found the water in the wilderness (Preminger & Greenstein, 1986), and it is this that allows the army to carry on through the desert to achieve the later victory. Of course, one of the most famous parts of this poem is the moment when Moses manages to lay down his staff and part the red sea to allow the army to cross and defeat the enemy. The people of Israel are allowed to pass whilst drowning the Egyptians. This is again an act of God that puts the Israelites in the position of being the favoured winner in this work and shows how important God felt their plight to bless them with his power (Ginzberg, 2004). Crossing the Red Sea is an important metaphor for any problems that may appear in daily life, it shows that if your problem is considered worthy or important by God and an individual is supporting the correct view, then God will use his power to help them through the time. The support of God is an important part of Christianity and Judaism and this poem is a key example of how this can be applied to certain difficult situations (Preminger & Greenstein, 1986). There are also possible references to cultural elements of the time that are not considered to be part of traditional Christianity or Judaism. These include references to the 'god of the sea', which was a typical Babylonian or Canaanite mythology. Indeed, many of the elements of the Song of the Sea are very similar to traditional mythological stories of the time and geographical location (Brenner, 1991). It may be possible that the story has been adapted from a local mythology to make it more appealing or realistic to those who may find the cultural differences between the traditional ones found in the area and the monotheistic tradition more difficult to comprehend. This is a device found fairly often throughout the monotheistic religions, particularly in Christianity, which has often incorporated traditional beliefs into the religion to help make conversation easier (Ginzberg & Cohen, 1938). It is also interesting because it is evident from this that there was a lot of interaction between the Israelites and the local people that made the transfer of these types of mythologies and stories easier and better facilitated. Traditional stories such as these often find their way into the literature of the monotheistic religions for these reasons. A final theme that runs throughout the piece is that of triumph. It is a song sung in celebration of winning the war against those who have created problems for the Israelites. It is a song of triumph for the Lord and his actions in helping Moses part the Red Sea and allowing the army to cross and causing problems for the opposition. This means that the poem has a positive, celebratory tone that is uplifting and very spiritual because of the connotations of this help from God and the winning of the battle against all odds (Ginzberg, 2004). It is also a song of thanks, recognizing the help from God and the help that he has given the people of Israel as part of this battle. Literary Devices in the Song of the Seas Also helpful in the analysis of a liturgical work is to explore the literary devices and lexis utilized within the poem. There are several different devices used within the Song of the Seas that add emphasis and depth to the poem. For example, there is a lot of use of repetition throughout the poem. The phrase 'right hand' is repeated and referenced throughout the poem, particularly in the second and third stanzas. This helps to reinforce the image of the right hand being the more powerful and dominating hand by constantly reminding the audience of the role that the right hand of God has played in the parting of the right sea and the ultimate victory of the Israelites (Preminger & Greenstein, 1986). This is not the only time repetition is employed in the Song of the Seas. The phrase “O LORD” is also used consistently throughout the poem. This reminds the audience that the song is actually supposed as a thanks to God, it is a liturgical work which appears as part of the Hebrew Bible. It shows who the poem is dedicated to, and how important God is believed to be in the victory of the army against the Egyptians. The power of God as someone to be worshipped is evident, showing how important God was culturally to the Israelites of the time. Any reader of this poem could identify it as religious straight away without knowing much else of the historical and cultural framework of the piece. Repetition is also useful to give the poem aesthetic form. Starting subsequent sentences with the same phrase gives the poem rhythm and a sense of continuity. The section “The LORD is a man of war/The LORD is his name” is a fine example of this, because the phrases follow each other directly within the first stanza. This sets the scene of the piece whilst determining one of the key rhythms. Again, this is useful for reinforcing certain principles which the Song of the Seas is trying to illustrate as well as giving a musical tone to the piece. As we know that the Song of the Seas was supposedly sung by the victorious Israelites, it is useful to see these types of rhythms being used throughout the poem; it really helps to reinforce the musical nature of the piece. Something else that is evident throughout this poem is the use of some rhyming couplets. A rhyming couplet is when two subsequent lines end in a word that rhymes, and this occurs at points in this poem. This is another device employed to help give the rhythm, giving another clue as to its root as a song of praise. For example, the use of “dismayed” and “away” in the fourth stanza gives the poem a musicality that would not have been as evident without the use of this rhyme (Preminger & Greenstein, 1986). It also helps to draw the attention of the audience towards these lines and it could be suggested that any use of repetition or rhyming at the end of a line is used as a literary device to draw the attention of the audience to key points in the poem. This is another one of the literary devices that are employed in this work to help highlight certain aspects of the piece. Rhyming couplets are, however, less common throughout this than the use of repetition at the end of the line, but the purpose of both types of ending are very similar in the way they use rhythm and create interest for the audience. There is also evidence that the poem utilizes alliteration. At several points during the Song of the Sea the same consonant is used repeatedly. For example, “the mighty men of Moab” (4:14) is an alliterative sentence that gives the poem both aesthetic shape and auditory rhythm. This again helps to alert the audience to the fact that this poem was originally meant to have been sung out loud in praise of God, and therefore it is an interesting tool for putting the poem in context. Aesthetically, alliteration is also useful for making the piece look good, although the relevance of this to the Song of the Sea is questionable as it was originally meant to be sung out loud and was probably transferred in the oral fashion as was common in many pieces of literature of the time (Brenner, 1991). It must be noted that care should be taken when assuming that this literary device was intended because there are difficulties in translation that may have required this to have been an addition by the current translation, something that will be discussed in more detail below. Difficulties in Translation It must be noted that there are many different translations of the Song of the Sea and these can cause problems when attempting to analyse the work from a literary point of view. Although it may seem obvious that techniques such as rhyming and alliteration are affected by translation, there are also additional considerations to be made when it comes to archaic languages such as the Hebrew used in the construction of this poem. There are often many different translations of specific words which can alter the meaning of the piece, often in very subtle but still important ways. For example, the “sanctuary” or “dwelling” mentioned in the fifth stanza is often translated in different ways. “Sanctuary” can be translated as simply “home” which doesn't have the same connotation as the word “sanctuary” used in the translation being used in this paper. “Sanctuary” implies a place of safety, and is something that God has provided to the Israelites to help them succeed in their conquest. The translation of “home” has probably come from the use of the word “dwelling” in the previous line, but “home” is a much more general word and carries with it a sense of ownership and right. Although it is impossible to know for certain which meaning certain words were originally intended to mean, knowing that there are sometimes problems in translation can have interesting consquences when trying to analyse a piece such as this. Conclusion In conclusion, it is safe to say that the Song of the Sea is a very complicated work with many multiple layers, complicated by years of history and its relevance to both Judaism and Christianity. From the analysis above, it is evident that God is perceived as a very powerful figure and is something to be revered and adored above all else. God is the one that has allowed the Israelites to cross the Red Sea and defeat the opposition, and it is perhaps faith in God that has lead the army to this victory. This belief in an all-powerful God is a central theme throughout the Bible and is particularly evident here, as God and his devices to both test and save the Israelites. An intense piece of liturgical poetry, this poem also allows us a cultural and historical insight into the people living in the area at this time and how they celebrated their religion. Also interesting is the in-depth literary analysis of some of the devices used within this poem. Despite the problems with translation and the many different versions of this poem that can be found, some of the literary techniques are still obvious and useful in analysis. The constant repetition to reinforce ideas about the right hand of God and his power strengthen the idea that God is all-powerful. Alliteration and other techniques also act to draw the attention of the reader to certain points that are considered important within the poem. Complex literary devices are useful tools in determining the aim of the writer with any work, and this piece of liturgy is no different. Overall, it is safe to say that this remains an important, informative and interesting piece of liturgical fiction that has inspired many people over the years and continues to help people hold their faith today. References Abegg, M.G., P.W. Flint, and E.C. Ulrich. The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible: The Oldest Known Bible. HarperOne, 1999. Print. Batto, B.F. “The Reed Sea: Requiescat in Pace.” Journal of Biblical Literature 102.1 (1983): 27–35. Print. Brenner, M.L. The song of the sea: Ex. 15: 1-21. Vol. 195. W. de Gruyter, 1991. Print. Ginzberg, L. “Legends of the Bible.” This sacred earth: religion, nature, environment (2004): 110. Print. Ginzberg, L., and B. Cohen. The legends of the Jews. Vol. 2. The Jewish publication society of America, 1938. Print. Parrish, L., A. Rosenbaum, and O. Downes. Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands. Univ of Georgia Pr, 1992. Print. Preminger, A., and E.L. Greenstein. The Hebrew Bible in literary criticism. Ungar Pub Co, 1986. Print. Read More