Medieval Book Club: Exodus & Daniel

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Anglo-Saxon, Daniel, Exodus, Medieval Book Club, Medieval Poetry

Welcome to my fourth Medieval Book Club entry. For this month we read through some Anglo-Saxon poetry (in translation, of course), found free online here and here. If you haven’t had a chance to read them yet, follow this link and give them a read. Let me tell you, it was a blast reading through this poem and, if you are familiar with the stories in the Books of Exodus and Daniel, you’ll find yourself fascinated with this poetic retelling.

For May we will be reading Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich. The preview post for this one can be found here, and I am looking forward to reading that book. If you are at all interested, I would love to have you read along and come back to discuss that book on May 18th!

My Thoughts on Exodus:

I really, really loved reading through this poetic retelling of part of the book of Exodus. This was the poetic retelling that I had heard about where so much is adapted to the warrior culture of the Anglo-Saxons. We know, from reading the Bible itself, that there isn’t nearly so much emphasis placed on combat, or on shields or swords, but it is all very fitting for this culture. Also, having read Lewis’ work last month gave a greater insight to this work and how it fit in with their culture.

One of my favorite descriptions came with the details of the pillars representing God’s presence:

Heaven’s beacon climbed every evening, a second miracle,
it held fast wondrous after the sun’s setting,
shining with flames across that nation,
a burning beam. Glittering it stood over the archers,
with blazing limbs. The shelter of their shields shone,
the shadows dissolving, the deepest night-shades nearby
could not conceal their hiding places. The heavenly candle burned. (107b-115)

This new night-warden must by necessity remain over the army,
lest the desert-horror, the hoar heath-terror should end
their lives with a fearful seizure of a sea’s storms.
This scout had fiery hair, blazing beams—it threatened
the terror of fire in that army-troop, a hot flame,
so that he would consume the army in the wilderness,
unless they heeded to brave-hearted Moses.
The shining army shimmered, the shields glittered,
the shield-warriors saw the righteous way, the sign
above the masses, until the sea-fortress at the end
of land stood against the people’s force, eager on the forth-way.
The battle-camp arose; the wearied revived themselves,
meat-thanes brought food to the proud ones, restoring
their power. The sailors spread out their tents across the hills
after the trumpets sang. That was the fourth camp,
the resting-place for the shield-warriors beside the Red Sea. (116-34)

Clearly this is expanded from a small source, but the writer in me absolutely applauds many of the additions that were made because they add some flavor and detail to the story. There were references back to Moses’ early days and the plagues that released them from Egypt (okay, really it only referred to the final plague: the death of the firstborns) and I really would have been interested to see how that was all handled by Anglo-Saxon poets. Or what happened during Moses’ trip up Mount Sinai to lead the men to cast a golden calf (I imagine that would be a glorious description of feasting and revelry, with generous gold-givers and many casks of mead being downed).

And with the details in here, I am really surprised that there isn’t an Anglo-Saxon poetic version of the book of Joshua. It seems that the first ten chapters, at least, would align really well with the culture because of the conquest into the Promised Land.

My Thoughts on Daniel:

This was perhaps the more interesting of the two poems this month. I was surprised that it was longer, and equally surprised that the main focus would be on the two dreams and their interpretations. This poem seemed to have two primary purposes: to demonstrate the power of God to those who depend on him (as shown with the furnace and the lengthy praise & exultation there), and to demonstrate the pitfalls of pride (as really seen with the second dream). In fact, it really hammers that point over the readers’ head:

Daniel could not speak so many truthful words
unto his master through the craft of his wisdom,
but that the ruler would heed them,
the lord of middle-earth, but he puffed up his mind,
high from his heart—hard would he be punished for this! (593-97)

Then the king of the Chaldeans chanted a great boast
when he looked upon the city-works, the fortress of Babylon
towering so tall in its riches, with the fields of Shinar
wound about it—that the chief of armies
had wrought it all through a great miracle.
Then he became obstinate over all men,
overly proud in his heart because of the special grace
that God had given him, a realm over men
and the world to wield in this human life: (598-607)

“O my city, you are mighty and wide-renowned,
which I have built to my own glory, a roomy realm.
I shall keep my rest in you, a seat and a home.” (608-11)

Then, on account of this boasting, the lord of men
became seized and departed into flight,
alone in his over-pride above all men.
So he went forth as men do in days of struggle,
upon the most bitter path in God’s punishment,
who, living through, soon regain their homeland,
and so did Nebuchadnezzar, after the enmity of God,
swift from the heavens, had punished him terribly. (612-21)

I really think they would have nailed the Lion’s den, but sadly it did not appear in this poem. Yet it is still a great read, if in a very different way from the Exodus poem. This has more of a moralistic feel to it than Exodus, or even Genesis, did.

Questions:

1. What were your overall impressions from reading the poems? Were there parts of either poem that really stood out to you as being more enjoyable to read in this format?
2. Which Biblical stories would you like to see done in Anglo-Saxon form? They did the Genesis stories, Exodus, and Daniel. Are there any other stories or books in the Bible that stand out as ideal for Anglo-Saxon poetry? My thoughts are that Samson and Joshua would be prime candidates.
3. While this is certainly no replacement for Scripture, do you think an approach like this could make the Bible, or parts of the Bible, easier for today’s readers to read and enjoy while still taking away key principles from Scripture?

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Medieval Book Club Preview: Exodus & Daniel

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Anglo-Saxon, Daniel, Exodus, Medieval Book Club, Medieval Poetry, Old English

Welcome to the fourth preview for the 2017 Medieval Book Club. For April we’re going to read a pair of Medieval poems which, as you might guess, are retelling the stories found in the Books of Exodus and Daniel from the Bible. I’m curious to see how true they stay to the source material, and to see where they allow their own culture to seep in and influence the poetic works. Back in February we read Genesis A&B which, while having some diversions from the source material, as a whole stayed pretty true to the content while adding some cultural flavor. You can check out my review on Genesis A&B here, and read on for a short preview of April’s selections:

Titles: Exodus & Daniel

Authors: Unknown, rumored to be Cædmon

Dates of Composition: Unknown, part of the Junius Manuscript which is typically dated around the 10th Century

Links to read for FREE: Exodus & Daniel (https://anglosaxonpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/exodus/ & https://anglosaxonpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/daniel/)

Length: Exodus: 590 lines; Daniel: 764 lines

Summary: Exodus:

Exodus is not a paraphrase of the biblical book, but rather a retelling of the story of the Israelites’ Flight from Egypt and the Crossing of the Red Sea in the manner of a “heroic epic”, much like Old English poems Andreas, Judith, or even the non-religious Beowulf. It is one of the densest, most allusive and complex poems in Old English.

Exodus brings a traditional “heroic style” to its biblical subject-matter. Moses is treated as a general, and military imagery pervades the battle scenes. The destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea is narrated in much the same way as a formulaic battle scene from other Old English poems, including a ‘Beast of Battle’ motif very common in the poetry.

The main story is suspended at one point to tell the stories of Noah and Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. Some scholars consider this change of subject a feature of the “epic style” comparable with the similar digressions in Beowulf.

Daniel:

The Old English Daniel is based only loosely on the Biblical Book of Daniel from which it draws its inspiration. Daniel ignores the majority of the apocalyptic and prophetic writing found towards the end of the Biblical source, and focuses instead on the first five chapters of the narrative. The poem also leaves out Daniel being thrown into the lions’ den.

The primary focus of the Old English author was that of The Three Youths, Daniel and their encounters with the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (OE Nabuchodnossor). The three men and Daniel were about 14 when they were taken away. The three youths are named Ananias, Misael, and Azarias. Daniel is called aethele cnithas, meaning that he was to be trained a servant for the king. Daniel was put into servitude and him and the youths were also probably made eunuchs, the speculation comes because the master of the eunuchs trained the youths in divination, magic, and astrology.

The poet even changed the meaning of the story from remaining faithful while you are being persecuted to a story dealing with pride, which is a very common theme in Old English Literature. The Old English, Daniel is a warning against pride and there are three warnings in the story. The Israelites were conquered because they lost faith in God, who delivered them from Egypt, and started worshiping idols and this is the first prideful act. The second and third warnings are about internal pride, shown to Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel’s dream interpretations.

Scripture Study: Joshua 5:10-15

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Aslan, C.S. Lewis, Exodus, Job, Joshua, Moses, Scripture Study, Tash, The Last Battle

The First Study | Scripture Study Home | Previous Study

First Passover in Canaan

¹⁰ While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. ¹¹ And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. ¹² And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

The Commander of the Lord‘s Army

¹³ When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” ¹⁴ And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” ¹⁵ And the commander of the Lord‘s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Verse 10: An important thing to realize is that the Israelites still observed the Passover feast even after all these years. While they had not circumcised the children born in the wilderness, this act of remembrance continued onward. So they chose not to complete the outward sign of their covenant with God, but continued to honor the actions of God that led their parents out of bondage in Egypt. The significance of the Passover is critical, as this was a very pivotal moment in history. The Israelites had been in slavery until Moses was raised up as a leader among them (See Exodus 3:10) and Moses implored Pharaoh to let his people go. Yet we also know that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (See Exodus 9:12) to glorify His own name through the process. It was with the final plague, that of the firstborn, where the Passover came from (See Exodus 12:1-32) and provides us with an excellent picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross. For he has taken our sins, which were red as scarlet, and made them white as snow (See Isaiah 1:18), allowing us to enter into Heaven through faith alone in Jesus Christ as our Savior.

Verses 11-12: The Israelites celebrated Passover in the new land, and then something important happened: they ate food from the land. And then the manna, which had sustained the Israelites for so long, ceased. This portion of God’s intervention on their behalf was complete, now that they were in a land that could sustain them. How often do we get stuck in habits and routines to where we want the same things to continue to happen forever? We dislike change. In fact, many times we fear and loathe change. A change to our circumstances requires a change from us in order to adapt and be successful. Yet all things have their seasons and, eventually, those must come to an end. Rather than blaming God for taking away what we had, we should be more like Job. After all, Job had it all: money, a great family, thriving livestock (See Job 1:2). He was a man who God bragged about (See Job 1:8). Yet when it all was taken away, Job still praised God (See Job 1:20-21). He wasn’t happy about the circumstances. He wanted answers as to why those things happened. But he never stooped to the level of accusing God of being unjust, in spite of his wife demanding that he simply curse God and die (See Job 2:9). Instead, his response to his wife is one we should learn from: “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (See Job 2:10)

Verses 13-14: An interesting exchange happens here. Joshua encounters a man with a drawn sword and asks if he is on their side, or the side of their enemies. And the answer is remarkable. Some translations respond with the word “Neither”, which is not the sort of answer you would expect to receive. Yet it tells us a lot here. It is not God’s responsibility to choose sides in a conflict. It is not a division of He chooses this side’s cause over the other. After all, God is for all people and all nations. He is the God of us all, and there will be people from every tribe, tongue, and nation present in Heaven. Comments like this remind me of a scene from C.S. Lewis’ The Last Battle:

Then I fell at his feet and thought, Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy of all honour) will know that I have served Tash all my days and not him. Nevertheless, it is better to see the Lion and die than to be Tisroc of the world and live and not to have seen him. But the Glorious One bent down his golden head and touched my forehead with his tongue and said, Son, thou art welcome. But I said, Alas Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash. He answered, Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me. Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted.

Even those who are doing good deeds in the name of some other god may find, in the end, that what they have done has been accounted to the Christian God. It is not God’s place to be on the right side, but rather the burden falls on us to make sure that we are on God’s side.

Verse 15: This scene here is a great parallel to the scene in Exodus 3 with Moses and the burning bush. In both cases, the man is commanded to remove his shoes because the ground is holy. What a blessed encounter for Joshua, and a great and reassuring sign on the things to come for him and the Israelites.

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