An Analysis of Narrative Closure in Exodus 1-18

Reading Old Testament narrative is a thrilling adventure, filled with colorful characters and unforgettable events. How does a reader venture beyond the basic storyline and grasp the literary themes and theological messages that the author communicates through the biblical text? One valuable interpretive tool for discerning these themes and messages is closure, how the author signals a sense of completion toward the end of a narrative unit. An Analysis of Narrative Closure in Exodus 1-18 begins by exploring several methods--discourse, plot, and literary analyses--for determining the unit boundaries in the layers of the book's structure. Turner then defines the literary devices that promote closure in each unit's end-section and explains the literary themes and theological messages behind them. This analysis guides the reader to significant moments in Israel's history, the honest portrayal of human struggle, the development or devolution of the human characters, and the primary importance of YHWH's glorious name, character, and acts in Exodus.