At the Mountain of God: Story and Theology in Exodus 32-34
in Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies
Pages
258
Publisher
T&T Clark
Published
4/1/1983
ISBN-13
9780567285157
An introduction on appropriate methods of handling a narrative text leads into an exegesis of Exodus 32-34 in which it is argued that there is a deeper literary and theological coherence in these chapters than has been generally appreciated. There appears a striking account of Israel's relationship with God and the role of Moses within this. The exegesis promotes a discussion of the genre and purpose of Exodus 32-34 and also a preliminary reassessment of the possible growth and development of the material. As a result of the study both the distinctiveness and also the theological importance of Exodus 32-34 within the Moses tradition are set in a new light.
Reviews
DavidH
August 9, 2026
August 9, 2026
Moberly’s At the Mountain of God is a specialist study rather than a full commentary, but its treatment of Exodus 32–34 is sufficiently original and useful to merit the highest rating. Rather than allowing perceived tensions and inconsistencies to fragment the narrative, Moberly attends closely to its literary and theological movement. Exodus 32:1–6 functions as a paradigm of sin and apostasy, while 32:7–14 presents judgment, intercession and forgiveness; together they introduce the themes that govern the remainder of the section. More profoundly, Moberly interprets Israel’s apostasy as a new threat to God’s promise—not an external threat such as Pharaoh, but the covenant people’s own inability to remain faithful—and sees the narrative as demonstrating YHWH’s faithfulness in overcoming that threat. His argument owes something to Childs’s attention to final-form literary shaping, but develops the theology of these chapters with unusual depth. Essential supplementary reading for Exodus 32–34, though obviously not a substitute for a whole-book commentary.