Biblica_1:Layout 1 21-11-2011 12:59 Pagina 334 334 MARK LEUCHTER the colors of cosmic metaphor already in Judg 5, where features of the ancient Canaanite combat myth were infused into the poem’s picture of society and warfare 52. However, it is only with Exod 15 that these concepts are lifted from historical contexts and expressed in purely mythic terms, where specific individuals and events are eschewed and replaced with an atemporal scheme and a lack of specific geo-lo- cales 53. This contrasts significantly with Judg 5, which makes very clear the geographic and socio-economic specifics of Israel’s tribes and clans on the one hand and the centrality of named individuals (Yael, Sisera, Shamgar, Deborah, Barak). Exod 15 avoids this by speaking in the abstract about YHWH’s cosmic might and its interna- tional scope, a common and indeed essential feature of Israel’s cultic recitations 54. Nevertheless, by evaluating its tropes we may see how the ideology and experiences behind Judg 5 were made mythic. From the outset of the poem, the author speaks in the language of symbol- ism and archetype: I will sing of YHWH, for he is highly exalted; Horse and his rider (wbkrw sws) he has thrown into the sea (My) (Exod 15,1) In the language of the poem, it is YHWH exclusively who dom- inates over the enemy. The image of the enemy is none other than that of a chariot rider recalling Egyptian domination, and a later line in the poem confirms that this is the intended image: Pharaoh’s chariots (h(rp tbkrm) and his armies he cast into the sea (My) (Exod 15,4) Egypt, 148, that Exod 15 is a southern/Judahite composition. The southern and south-eastern regions he notes therein were familiar territories for cara- van clans of Kenite-Midianite origin, whose influence is felt early on within the central highlands. See especially L.E. STAGER, “Forging an Identity: The Emergence of Ancient Israel”, The Oxford History of Biblical Israel, 107- 108; J.D. SCHLOEN, “Caravans, Kenites and Casus Belli: Enmity and Alliance in the Song of Deborah”, CBQ 55 (1993) 30-38. 52 LEUCHTER, “Canaanite Chariots”, 267-268. 53 Nations are named, of course, in Exod 15,14-15, though these nations are mentioned in the abstract, and no particulars regarding topography, city names, population centers or territories are offered. 54 CROSS, CMHE, 140-144.