Scrutinize, ponder, then name aright.
Let us call on the holy women for intercession. Life in America being a parlous middle passage, between Scylla and Charybdis; “Lying” to the left of us, “Masking” to the right.
¶
Another point, and a capital one. Since the dawn of Genesis, and passim in Exodus, our astonishing chronicler hesitates not at all to convey the mind of God. Thus sayeth Yahweh!—a genius puts words in the mouth of the holy One—decree, denunciation, blame, accusation, fury. And now and again, praise of this or that favorite.
And how rarely is heard a word of love . . .
Under a magisterial hand, Yahweh emerges in the text, wild of eye, brutal of arm, vastly ranging as to influence and act. And beyond predicting. A god befitting a tribe of untamed nomads. A nomad god.
The eye of the scribe rests on the Eye, so to speak. And a ready wit is close to hand. Quite a genius, and how daring!
¶
As to the pharaoh, uneasy lies the head. This eminence must be ever vigilant, lest his drudges slip the tether. In the present instance, the danger is manifest—an explosion of births among the slaves.
On the face of it, one would think a burgeoning populace would be of advantage to the owners. More producers, consumers, workers, weapons bearers, hoplites!
True, but another possibility lurks. Males, born in ever larger numbers, become troublesome, erupt; and this especially if a war break out—an ever present possibility in the empire.
¶
Thus goes the “worst case” scenario, an imperial nightmare, an enemy at the gates. And within, insurrection. And then? Slaves exulting, slaves suddenly transformed to former slaves, havocking, avenging, breaking free.
In sum, exodus!
¶
Rhetoric to the contrary, the boundaries of empire are thin and vulnerable. Troubled colonies abroad, resentment at home, a queasy economy, envy in the air.
Slaves? Of course, these are the fundament and capstone of empire. The pharaonic projects are grandiose, and require massive labor. But strict control above all, in works and numbers.
¶
Interesting is the implied comment “from below,” on the machinations of the Olympians. The narrator is a friend of the slaves; indeed he descends from them.
And this friend of the enslaved knows the mind of the slave master as well.
¶
It could hardly be sensible to relay to drudges the troubled ruminations of the pharaoh and the palace claque. Even less sensible to announce an imminent, awful decree.
No, keep them in ignorance. Is harsh duress about to descend, and if so, what form will it take? Uncertainty regarding personal and social fate is a prime ingredient of bondage.
So the palace to-fro and its conclusions are communicated solely to a few. A decree is formulated, it reaches only those in charge.
And what of those immediately affected, the slaves? Do they sense an atmosphere grown charged, ominous? All to the good.
¶
Thus early on, in our story the attitude of great prophets vis-à-vis tyrants, is at work. An image of the pharaoh emerges. It diminishes before our eyes. Hardly omnipotent, as claimed. Quite the opposite: a chronic worrier and schemer, small-minded, heartless.
Preposterous even. Under the astringent eye of the chronicler, his power is unmasked, then derided.
How wonderfully unsubdued he is, our historian, as though in a quiet voice admonishing his people; be unsubdued!
From his hand emerges a properly religious history, which is to say, a history favoring, cherishing the victims. Implying—and at times strongly stating—that there exists another Power, in face of which the machinations of the pharaohs are both futile and foolish.
¶
It is only when one wishes the impossible that one remembers God. To obtain that which is possible, one turns to those like himself.4
—Lev Shestov, Russian philosopher
¶
According to the author of Exodus, these are the dynamics of imperial power. First (as suggested before), the system absolutely requires slaves. The enslavement must be absolute. Its ingredients: harsh, degrading labor, enforced ignorance and passivity. And finally, (male) births must be limited.
(The Herods, it would seem, have a long ancestry. On occasion, their prospering too demands the killing of the newborn).
¶
“Who can withstand the beast?” (Rev 13:4). The political and military systems imply omnipotence and immortality. Shows of force abound, public humiliation, trials and executions. Unmistakable examples!
Further, as goes without saying—the “system” lies beyond critique by its victims—let alone beyond challenge. Tight lips make for safe, unutterably wretched lives.
Politically correct images are also crucial, images of invincible power. Historians, poets, architects, visual artists are enlisted, in service of The Invincible Image—judicious, recondite creations, colossal totems, temples and shrines, victory arches, steles and their inscriptions. Thus artists and artisans, chroniclers and poets, magians of hand and eye produce works and pomps of deification.
¶
With regard to slaves and forced laborers, the images serve another end: they forge the chains anew. They deepen, even spiritualize, the enslavement. Are multitudes stripped of dignity and status? Yes. Will their progeny exist in a like predicament, forever and ever? Yes. Such is simply the will of whatever god.
The idolatrous images tower over; the slaves grow numb and hopeless. Now slavery becomes a sublimely simple and seamless matter: the will of the gods. Injustice has reached from heaven to earth. Validated.
Is the imperial system unjust? Metaphysically so. For its gods are unjust.
¶
The images, we note, are static and yet superhuman. They infer a definition of time. For the enslaved, time is a stalemate. And for those in command, the images imply conquest over time. The pharaoh is immortal, son of the sun god. His symbols? The great pyramid, brobdingnagian, grand and mysterious in its perfection. And the sphinx, stonewalling, saying nothing. Knowing as she does, everything.
¶
This word in sum for the slaves; “You are who you are—and you shall be who you are.” This is the iron law announced by the images.
Our tale opens; half a millennium of enslavement has passed. Is this not proof of the perdurance of the slave superstate? The system surpasses time and aborts change.
¶
