Feder, Inspiring for Liberation – Legitimizing for OccupationReception history does not pay attention to the fact that the Book of
Exodus contains different, sometimes competing, theological concepts.
The combination of other biblical books like Deuteronomy and Joshua
with the Book of Exodus is an even greater challenge since the theologi-
cal concepts are multifaceted and the composition of the texts are so
different that they actually cannot be mingled with each other. Reception
history, however, neglects this aspect.
For the analyses I will concentrate on terms like ‘liberation,’ ‘slavery,’
‘promised land,’ ‘red sea,’ ‘Pharaoh,’ and ‘chosen people’ which can be
seen as terms indicating the Exodus motif. Additionally, I will look at
analogies that refer to the Book of Exodus, e.g. Moses as a leader-figure
and other incidents that hint toward the life of Moses as told in the Pen-
tateuch.
- Paul Kruger and the Boers (1900)
“They were followed by the British army, like that of a Pharoah [sic], and
everywhere were beset by the unbelieving black ‘Canaanites.’ Yet be-
cause God’s people acted according to His will, He delivered them out of
the hands of their enemies and gave them the freedom in the Promised
Land.” (Moodie 1975:5). This quotation is from Moodie in his book The
Rise of Afrikanerdom. It summarizes the perspectives of the Afrikaner
who left the Cape Colony and went north in order to found their own
independent nation. This event which took place in the 1830s and 1840s
is called the Great Trek. The quotation contains allusion to the Exodus
motif. Although the quotation is not from a Boer, the author Moodie
adopted the images and language used by the Boers. More direct exam-
ples can be given from Paul Kruger who was the first president of
Transvaal and, by the way, a strong follower of Dutch Calvinism. In his
memoirs, many allusions to the Exodus can be found. I want to present
one circular dispatch from Kruger from 1900 in order to show how
Kruger mixed religious language, biblical metaphors, and political inten-
tions. Here, the Exodus plays an important role.
Kruger wrote the Circular Dispatch on June 20th in 1900. This was just
four months before the war between the British and the Boers (the so
called Anglo-Boer War) broke out. Kruger needed to leave the capital
Pretoria because the British troops were right at the edge of the town.
The dispatch was written in Machadodorp where Kruger had a railway
carriage in which he lived. The threat from the British was serious. In