Biblica_1:Layout 1 21-11-2011 12:59 Pagina 339 339 EISODUS AS EXODUS: THE SONG OF THE SEA Exodus tradition associated with Ephraimite circles, Isaiah’s avoid- ance of the poem follows his predilection for valorizing native Ju- dahite mythotypes. Second, as Exod 15,13.17-18 suggest, Exod 15 is concerned with the mythic ramifications of life in the highland frontier, and liturgizes this experience for ritual rehearsal 73. If Isaiah does not refer to the poem, it may be due to its agrarian emphasis (see further below), which would not have served Isaiah’s interests in reifying an urban Zion tradition against the rural ire that had accrued by his day 74. Whatever the reasons for the lack of reference to Exod 15 in Isa- iah’s oracles, the pivotal term in identifying the poem as a product of the Zion tradition is dsx, and it is with the weight of this term in the mythos of the Davidic line that some commentators have as- sumed the poem’s origination in a Jerusalemite setting. Even this term, however, carries implications for kinship structures that need not be strictly associated with its later appearance in the Zion tra- dition 75. The other terms involved in this question (#dqm, K#dq and Ktlxn rh) are not as heavily encumbered, and are easily acceptable as part of a poem unaware, or at least unconcerned, with a Jerusalemite theology 76. The poem may therefore still be used to re- cover concepts from the pre-monarchic hinterland culture. In par- ticular, the phrase Ktlxn rhb demands attention, as it is here where the poem begins to shift from the realm of the divine to that of the poet’s own world, thereby incorporating Israel into its own myth 77. The construct Ktlxn rh is often cited as evidence of the monar- chic-era composition of the poem, with the assumption that it relates 73 See the conclusion to the present study for further discussion on this point. 74 The 8th century BCE socio-economic tension between the urban and rural sectors is conveniently summarized by M.L. CHANEY, “Models Matter: Political Economy and Micah 6:9-15”, Ancient Israel. The Old Testament in its Social Context (ed. P. ESLER) (Minneapolis, IN 2006) 146-149. 75 See F.M. CROSS, From Epic to Canon (Baltimore, MD 1998) 5-6. 76 PROPP, Exodus 1-18, 532, 568, notes that #dqm (“sanctuary”) need not re- late to a temple or shrine structure but is a viable description of sacred terrain, and that K#dq hwn in v. 13 is especially connected to old tent-shrine ideology. 77 Pace CROSS, CMHE, 141, who sees the first half of the poem as histor- ically rooted. Nevertheless, CROSS’s observation (CMHE, 142) that Ugaritic myth utilizes similar terminology for the divine realm supports the view that the poet wishes to establish a sort of parallel between the Israelite highlands and the divine abode.