Chiasm on God's Faithfulness to the Hebrews in Exodus 2-4

This chiasm was, in part, illustrated in a series of videos by Rabbi Fohrman at Aleph Beta, called "Why Did God Try to Kill Moses"? I don't entirely agree with Rabbi Fohrman's breakout of the chiasm, though. I think a couple of his points are weak and that the chiasm is more detailed in the center than he talked about. Maybe he's aware of that and just simplified it for the video.

One thing we can learn from this is that, like the burning bush that was not consumed by the fire, no matter what afflictions the Hebrews suffer, God will preserve them through it for the sake of his promises to the Patriarchs. 

Parallels Between Moses and Yeshua

YHWH your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen...
Deuteronomy 18:15

Who is the prophet like Moses? Yeshua. Like Moses and greater.

Consider these elements from Moses' life and how they are mirrored in Yeshua's:

Moses	Yeshua
Hebrews oppressed by foreign power	Hebrews oppressed by foreign power
Conceived miraculously	Conceived miraculously
Born to deliver his people	Born to deliver his people
Babies killed by jealous king	Babies killed by jealous king
Mother knew he was special	Mother told he was special
Prepared for clay-lined basket by a woman	Prepared for burial by women
Drawn out of the water (symbolizes Spirit)	Conceived by the Holy Spirit
Basket watched by a girl named Miriam	Tomb watched by a woman named Miriam
Rescued by Egypt	Rescued by Egypt
Raised by Hebrew parents in Egypt	Raised by Hebrew parents in Egypt
Visited & gifted by kings	Visited & gifted by kings
Lived with adopted father	Lived with adopted father
Said to have grown up in two ways	Said to have grown up in two ways
Killed an oppressor of Israel	Killed the character of oppressors of Israel
Rejected by Israel	Rejected by Israel
Hidden in the wilderness for 40 years	Hidden in the wilderness for 40 days/many centuries
Rescued Yitro’s daughters from bad shepherds.	Rescued Judah and pagans from bad shepherds.
Looked like an Egyptian to his Midianite cousins.	Looks like a gentile to his Jewish brothers.
Turned water into blood	Turned water into wine
Three days to the Red Sea	Three days in the grave
People threatened to stone him	People threatened to stone him
Betrayed by Korah	Betrayed by a close associate
Denied by Miriam and Aaron	Denied by Peter
Returned to Egypt after a long absence.	Will return to earth after a long absence
Forty days on the mountain and people thought he wasn’t coming back.	Extended period in Heaven and people thought he wasn’t coming back.
Confronted Pharaoh and brought plagues at second coming.	Will confront powers of evil and bring plagues at second coming.
Moses, the voice of God, and the glory on the mountain. Face glorified.	Yeshua, Moses, and Elijah on the mountain with glory. Figure glorified.
Moses intercedes with God for the people	Yeshua intercedes with God for the people
Song of Moses sung to celebrate deliverance	Song of Moses sung to celebrate deliverance

Did Miriam Author Part of the Bible?

There is an obvious chiasm in Exodus 1-2 in the story of Moses' birth and adoption into Pharaoh's house. The chiasm includes at least Exodus 1:22-2:9, and possibly as much as Exodus 1:5-2:15.

This image shows the clearest segment:

Here is the expanded chiasm, which I think is correct:

A .v8-19 - Egyptians oppress Hebrews. Midwives rescue. Answer demanded. Escape.
B ...v20-21 - God's favor on the Midwives and growth of their families.
C .....v22 - Pharaoh said, "Take the son away. Let the daughter live."
D .......v1 - Amram went and took his wife, Jochebed.
E .........v2 - Jochebed conceived and bore a son.
F ...........v2 - Jochebed saw that the child was fine, took pity on him, and hid him for 3 months.
G .............v3 - Jochebed went to the river and hid the child in a basket in the river.
H ...............v4 - Miriam stood at a distance to learn what would happen.
G .............v5 - The princess went to the river and found the basket in the river.
F ...........v6 - The princess revealed the child, saw him crying, took pity, and recognized him.
E .........v7 - Miriam found a woman who had born a child.
D .......v8 - Miram went and called the child's mother, Jochebed.
C .....v9 - The princess said, "Take the child away. Pay the woman her wages."
B ...v10-11a - The princess's favor on Moses and his growth into a man.
A .v11b-15 - Egyptians oppress Hebrews. Moses rescues. Answer demanded. Escape.

Chiasms are always fascinating. The most interesting part is usually at the center, and this one is no exception. Miriam is at the center of a chiasm on the birth, near death, and adoption of Moses, and not just Miriam, but her observing and studying the process of Moses' transformation from Hebrew to Egyptian and back again to Hebrew.

What does this mean?

It probably means that Miriam was the source of the first part of Exodus; it might even record her exact words. How do we know what happened with the midwives and Jochebed and the basket and Pharaoh's daughter? Miriam witnessed it all so that Moses could his story as seen through her eyes and possibly even her words.

Knowledgeable Bible students will recall that this isn't the only extended record of Miriam's words. Exodus 15:1-21 contains The Song of Miriam.

Thematic Connections: Jacob and Laban vs Israel and Egypt

The Flood, Sodom, and Egypt.

Lot and Rahab.

Joseph and Jesus.

Moses and Deborah.

Yom Kippur and the Blessing of Jacob and Esau.

There are parallels everywhere. Now check out this one!

Jacob and Laban	Israel and Egypt
Jacob was initially received by Laban with joy	Jacob was initially received by Pharaoh with joy
Jacob married the daughters of Laban	Joseph & other Hebrews married Egyptians
Jacob cared for Laban’s livestock & benefited	Israel cared for Pharaoh’s livestock & benefited
Laban prospered because of Jacob	Egypt prospered because of Israel
Laban hated Jacob when he saw how much Jacob prospered	Pharaoh hated Israel when he saw how much they prospered and multiplied
Laban cheated and oppressed Jacob	Pharaoh enslaved and oppressed Israel
Laban was impoverished by his enmity against Jacob	Egypt was devastated by their enmity against Israel
Laban treated his daughters and their children by Jacob as foreigners	Egypt treated the mixed multitude with Israel as foreigners
God told Jacob to leave Israel and went with him	God told Israel to leave Egypt and went with them
Jacob, with his wives and children, left Laban in a hurry with Laban’s wealth	Israel, with the mixed multitude, left Egypt in a hurry with Egypt’s wealth
Jacob crossed a body of water to escape Laban	Israel crossed a body of water to escape Egypt
Rachel stole Laban’s idols	Israel took Egypt’s idolatry with them into the wilderness
Laban pursued Jacob after 3 days and caught up with them after 7 days	Pharaoh pursued Israel and caught up with them at their 3rd-day camp
God intervened to keep Laban from harming Jacob	God intervened to keep Pharaoh from harming Israel
Laban claimed ownership of Jacob’s children	Pharaoh claimed ownership of Israelite children
Laban changed Jacob’s wages 10 times	Egypt was inflicted by 10 plagues
Jacob’s existence as a family separate from Laban was confirmed at a monument on a mountain	Israel’s existence as a nation separate from Egypt was confirmed on Mount Sinai
When Jacob went to Laban, he set up a single stone. When he left, he set up a pile of stones	When Israel entered Egypt, they were small. When they left, they were a vast multitude
God saw Jacob’s distress and passed judgment in his favor in the night	God saw Israel’s distress and passed judgment in their favor in the night
Laban blessed Jacob and made a covenant of peace with him	Pharaoh cursed Israel and he was destroyed with his army.

This pattern is the pattern of God's people in exile and in return. God dropped a pebble and the ripples extend from one end of time to the other.

Moses Never Forgot He Was A Hebrew

This chiasm in Exodus 2:11 shows that Moses never forgot he was a Hebrew, and it was inevitable that he would eventually rebel against Pharaoh's rule.

...and for the search engines:

• He went out to his people
• Looked on their burdens
• Witnessed their abuse
• A Hebrew, one of his people

A Chiasm in Exodus 4:14-31 Showing the Love of God for Israel

A chiasm in Exodus 4:14-31 that highlights faith, obedience, and God's love for Israel.

V14 – The anger of YHWH against Moses
---V14-16 – Moses and Aaron are to speak to the people
------V17 – Take your staff for the signs
---------V18 – Moses going to Egypt to visit brothers
------------V19 – Go to Egypt. All the men are dead.
---------------V20 – Moses, wife, and sons on the donkey. Messianic reference.
------------------V21 – Speak to Pharaoh. Refusal and consequences.
---------------------V22 – Israel is my firstborn son
------------------V23 – Speak to Pharaoh. Refusal and consequences.
---------------V24 – Moses, wife, and sons at lodging place. Messianic reference.
------------V25 – Foreskin, feet, bridegroom of blood.
---------V27 – Aaron going to wilderness to visit Moses
------V28 – Moses told Aaron about the signs
---V29-30 – Moses and Aaron speak to the people
V31 - YHWH visited and showed mercy on the people who believed.

An Abbreviated List of Biblical Sevens

I have not included every instance of a collection of seven. I lumped multiple instances of the same collection together, such as various commands concerning Unleavened Bread or Sukkot. I also ignored historical statements that didn't seem to put any special emphasis on "7", such as "in the seventh year of the reign of so-and-so." Feel free to let me know if I missed any.

• 7 daughters of Jethro
• 7 days of Creation
• 7 clean animals on Noah’s Ark
• 7 congregations of Revelation
• 7 women of Isaiah
• 7 spirits of God
• 7 lamps of the Menorah
• 7 days of Unleavened Bread
• 7 days of Sukkot
• 7 days of Miriam’s shame
• 7 days of uncleanness for women and lepers
• 7 sprinkles from the red heifer
• 7 animals offered at various times
• 7 weeks of Shavuot
• 7th month, 1st day is Yom Teruah
• 7th year release
• 7th day Sabbath
• 7 years of oppression under Midian
• 7 years of rule by Ibzan
• 7 months with the Ark in Philistia
• 7 trumpeters with the Ark
• 7-fold light of the sun (Isa 30:26)
• 7 children of one mother (Jer 15:9) 
• 7 years burning weapons (Eze 39:9)
• 7 months burying the dead (Eze 39:12)
• 7 steps and cubits of Ezekiel’s Temple
• 7 weeks of Daniel
• 7 shepherds of Micah (Mic 5:5)
• 7 eyes of God (Zec 4:10)
• 7th day sin offerings (Eze 45:20)
• 7 husbands of the Sadducean widow.

Pharaoh's Bad Marriage

Exodus 1:10  Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

And we all know how that worked out.

There are four ways to preserve a relationship that has begun to deteriorate:

1. Disable the other person. Through emotional abuse, you can make a person doubt themselves and their ability to survive on their own. Through physical abuse, you can confine or even cripple a person so that they are physically incapable of leaving. Perhaps the most common method today of disabling a person to keep them in a relationship is by keeping them financially dependent. Your credit card issuer and your neighbor with two upside down mortgages can tell you how effective this tactic can be.
2. Instill fear of the unknown. Convince the other person that there is a big bad wolf hiding behind every tree outside the door, that every person they encounter will take advantage of them, and they will be very reluctant to strike out alone. This method has worked very well for politicians throughout history.
3. Bond. Be friends. Spend time together in situations that develop emotional attachment. Study, explore, play, fight, and work together. Have an adventure.
4. Improve yourself. Make a relationship with you look more attractive than a relationship with someone else by becoming a better you. You have probably heard it said that you can’t change someone else. You can only change you. I haven’t read it yet, but Athol Kay’s Married Man Sex Life Primer appears to be based on this idea. It’s on my reading list.

Each of these methods works to a greater or lesser extent and there is a time and place in which each would be appropriate. A healthy relationship, however, will be almost exclusively characterized by methods three and four. Pharaoh tried to keep the Hebrews in Egypt by physically and financially hobbling them. Although they wanted more than ever to leave Egypt, they had no ships, no weapons, no chariots, and no gold with which to obtain such things. They had no allies. They came to believe that they were too weak to face the Canaanites and that their God was too weak or too busy to rescue them. Pharaoh’s strategy might have worked if he had not dismissed Joseph’s God along with Joseph himself. God is the champion of the oppressed and does not allow his people to be abused, enslaved, and terrorized forever.

Girls on the Left; Boys in the River

Exodus 1:16
...if it be a son... When a woman marries, ideally she leaves her father's people and joins her husband's. Hebrew women were as accustomed to this institution as were their contemporaries. Pharaoh knew that their daughters would be much easier than their sons to assimilate into Egyptian society. If his goal was only population control, one might think Pharaoh would have been wiser to kill the girls, thereby reducing the number of Hebrews for two generations instead of only one.  However, there were three good reasons to target boys.

1. If he had been successful, then the next generation of Israelites would have been Egyptians. He would have eliminated the Hebrews forever, while dramatically increasing the number of Egyptians in the next.
2. Battles are fought by men. By God’s design, they are more likely to forcefully resist oppression.
3. As a shadow of Yeshua, Moses’ arrival was almost certainly prophesied. Pharaoh, like Herod centuries later, thought to circumvent God’s design through force.

Update January 20, 2009: This could almost make one become a conspiracist: Declining Male Fertility Linked to Water Pollution.