Biblica_1:Layout 1 21-11-2011 12:59 Pagina 322 322 MARK LEUCHTER purely mythic character and its archaic language 5. The archaic lin- guistic character of Exod 15 indeed suggests its antiquity, but it cannot be used unconditionally to prove an early date. Contempo- rary discussions of Biblical Hebrew linguistics have pointed to dif- ficulties in linguistic features as a sure criterion in dating Hebrew poetry. Though a lack of archaic forms is firm evidence for the lateness of a work, the presence of archaic forms and patterns is, for many scholars, not necessarily evidence of the antiquated ori- gins of the work in which they appear 6. Linguistic evidence is sug- gestive, but it must be viewed alongside other factors in order for a more convincing case to be made for a work’s antiquity. The recent study by B.D. Russell attempts to revisit the issue of the poem’s compositional origins in just such a way 7. While advo- cating the linguistic argument for an early date, RUSSELL offers sup- port for the poem’s antiquity by virtue of allusions to the work in other material including Psalms 74, 77 and 78 8, Isaiah 11–12 9, and der Psalmen (FRLANT 148; Göttingen 1989) 96-115; S. KREUZER, Die Frühgeschichte Israels in Bekenntnis und Verkündigung des Alten Testaments (BZAW 178; Berlin 1989) 247-248; A. KLEIN, “Hymn and History in Exodus 15”, paper presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (San Francisco, CA). 5 See, e.g., D.A. ROBERTSON, Linguistic Evidence in Dating Early Hebrew Poetry (SBLD 3; Missoula, MT 1972) 152; CROSS, CMHE, 121-124. A sum- mary of other scholars who assign an early date to the poem may be found in the discussion of S.C. RUSSELL, Images of Egypt in Early Biblical Liter- ature. Cisjordan-Israelite, Transjordan-Israelite, and Judahite Portrayals (BZAW 403; Berlin 2009) 143. 6 For the most thorough and current discussion, see I.M. YOUNG – R. REZETKO – M. EHRENSVAARD, Linguistic Dating of Biblical Texts (London 2008) I-II. Nevertheless, while linguistic evidence may not necessarily be conclusive, when it is considered alongside other evidence it may indeed provide useful corroborating evidence for dating certain compositions. 7 B.D. RUSSELL, The Song of the Sea. The Date of Composition and In- fluence of Exodus 15:1-21 (SBL 101; Frankfurt a. Main 2007). 8 RUSSELL, Song, 113-130. Russell is uncertain regarding the date of Psalms 74 and 77, but concludes that Psalm 78 is a late 8th century work. I have argued elsewhere, however, that Psalm 78 originated in an earlier Jerusalemite context before its inclusion into the Psalms of Asaph by the late 8th century; see my essay “The Reference to Shiloh in Psalm 78”, HUCA 77 (2006) 1-31. The linguistic evidence RUSSELL cites for Psalm 78 as an 8th century work (Song, 128-130) may be explained by successive rehearsal in ongoing royal liturgical contexts; see below for more on this concept. 9 RUSSELL, Song, 109.