In go down, moses, the noted harvard scholar richard newman has collected the lyrics to 200 spirituals, along with the music to 25 of the most popular. African american slaves had always seen the story of the israelites enslavement in egypt as a parallel to their own enslavement, and. It describes events in the old testament of the bible, specifically exodus 7. The voices of faulkners southblack and white, comic and tragicring. And the lord said unto moses, go down, as soon as he was got to the top of the mount he was bid to go down again to the bottom, with a message to the. Deuteronomy with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. As a folk song, it is thought of as having been created by a community rather than an individual, in this case the community of. And the title of that story comes from an old africanamerican spiritual of the same name. That practice fits well for stanzas 14, go to tune page.
Lets just say that reading faulkner can be confusing, but its way more interesting than any summary even shmoop could present. Thus saith the lord, bold moses said, let my people go, if not, ill smite your firstborn dead, let my people go. It slows down, however, to examine key passages in exodus and. Tell him, this is what the lord, the god of the hebrews, says.
And moses told the words of the people unto jehovah. Another person wrote the beginning of the book deuteronomy 1. It was clear to me from the first paragraph that faulkner was a genius. His commentaries display a rare combination of exegetical insight, pastoral concern, and theological depth which have inspired generations of christians. Then follows the burning bush episode where yahweh told moses that yahweh has heard the cry of the israelites and. Each chapter can exist on its own and tehy often are. Go down, moses, a collection of seven stories by william faulkner, first published in 1942 as a novel under the inaccurate title go down, moses, and other stories. New astonishing commentary on the book of moses youtube. And the lord spoke unto moses, go unto pharaoh, and say unto him, thus saith the lord, let my people go, that they may serve me, in which god commands moses to demand the release of the israelites from bondage in egypt. Although jewish teachings have expanded to fill thousands of booksincluding the tanach hebrew bible, talmud, midrash and moreall of it has its source in the timeless, divinely inspired words of the five books of moses. Go down, moses criticism anonymous this study guide consists of approximately 29 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of go down, moses. And the sun stood still god heard joshuas request, and gave him the thing he asked for, a prolongation of the day to near twice the length of any other day. Commentary the bear is the centerpiece of go down, moses, just as isaac mccaslin is the books central character.
Go down, moses directly reflects the drive to escape slavery and achieve freedom. If not, ill smile your firstborn dead, then let my people go. And the lord spake unto moses, go unto pharaoh, and say unto him, thus saith the lord, let my people go, that they may serve me, in which god commands moses to demand the release of the israelites from bondage in egypt. While i cant speak to that, i know i was not a fan of this book.
Goodreads members who liked go down, moses also liked. Go down, moses, a spiritual with its origins in the slave community of the southern united states, adopts the biblical story of moses from the book of exodus to express the unquenchable desire for freedom felt by the african americans held in captivity. Go down moses is a tremendous struggle to get through. Moses the reluctant leader has much to teach both disciples and leaders today. Exodus 19 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this versebyverse commentary contain gems of information found nowhere outside the ancient jewish writings. Exodus 19 commentary john gills exposition on the whole. Go down, moses is not considered one of william faulkners best works by many of his fans. Any study of the body of spirituals will reveal that this hunger is the clear and. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, these are your gods, o israel, who brought you. Calvin preached and wrote prolifically on the bible. Until this very day, the textwhich is written in hebrewhas been carefully preserved by the jewish people. Moses was the biblical leader sent by god to lead the hebrew slaves out of egypt after confronting pharoah. Then the lord said to moses, go in to pharaoh and say to him, thus says the lord, the god of the hebrews, let my people go, that they may serve me. Go down moses was always presented to me as a collection of short stories.
Moses was born when the persecution of israel was at the hottest, especially in that most cruel instance of it, the murdering of the newborn children. The book plunges you into a vast panorama of ambiguities and contradictions. Reflecting the joys and sorrows, hopes and fears of black slaves, these songs are some of the most powerful poetry ever created in america. Go down moses american childrens songs the usa mama. It describes events in the old testament of the bible, specifically exodus 8.
African american slaves had always seen the story of the israelites enslavement in egypt as a parallel to their own enslavement, and the story of the exodus from egypt expressed their. When the people saw that moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against aaron and said to him, come make us a god who shall go before us, for that man moses, who brought us from the land of egypt we do not know what has happened to him. Go down, moses, away down in egypts land, and tell king pharaoh, to let my people go. Calvins commentaries are, in the words of philip schaff, one of the few exegetical works that have outlived their generation. Before you jump in, check out our websites section for a handy mccaslin family tree that might help you keep track of the names and relationships of the characters youll meet here and prevent you from losing your mind. Exodus 32 new international version niv the golden calf.
Faulkner claimed this book is a novel, and i agree. Some historians believe that moses in the song refers to harriet tubman, one of the leaders of the underground railroad, a group of abolitionists, both black and white, who formed a network of. Go down moses the spiritual is in the callandresponse pattern. This is many second faulkner book and both have not been to my liking, i may read another faulkner book several years in a future but nothing soon. Go down, moses, way down in egypts land, tell old pharaoh. Page 184 and it waxed great, even to the host of heaven. Powerful martellatos, shakes, mallets on the table, echo, syncopation, and dynamic contrasts to create interesting harmonies, and driving rhythms of this spiritual, known as let my people go, when israel was in egypts land, or go down moses. The book tells us in several places that moses was the author 1. Refrain 3 as israel stood by the waterside, let my people go, at gods command it did divide, let my people go. Moses was the author of the first 5 books of the bible. Read the five books of moses in hebrew or english with rashis commentary. For example, the bear poses great difficulty for the reader to the point of giving up on it unless stories preceding it have been read. Free bible commentary on deuteronomy in simple english.
Aaron answered them, take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and. Discussion about go down, moses often centers on the degree to which the song should be considered as a metaphor for the escape from slavery. Set in faulkners fictional yoknapatawpha county, the book contains some of the authors best writing. This bible study leads you through moses life covering several chapters in each lesson so you can see the big picture. Jul 15, 2014 the book will be go down, moses, a favorite among faulkners works, and one with a fair amount of thematic consonance with whats going on at mbird. Go down, moses is an extraordinary celebration of the most uniquely american form of music, the spiritual. This is the fact here attested, and this we are bound to believe on the divine testimony. Go down moses history go down moses is an american negro spiritual. Commentary the bear is the centerpiece of go down, moses, just as isaac mccaslin is the book s central character. What are the five books of moses often referred to as torah, especially when in scroll format, the five books of moses are the foundation of judaism. So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. The novel itself is a series of interweaving and cumulative short stories, with a novella about a bear taking up most of its second half. Chorus no more shall they in bondage toil, let my people go, let them come out with egypts spoil, let my people go.
Go down, moses is composed of seven interrelated stories, all of them set in faulkners mythic yoknapatawpha county. The book will be go down, moses, a favorite among faulkners works, and one with a fair amount of thematic consonance. One advantage of the internet is providing a certain type of community for people in places where theres little of it, and in that spirit were starting a mockingbird reading group no law. Go down moses is a spiritual phrase relating to the holy bible. Mar 27, 2010 introducing the incredible new research of jeffrey m. Go down, moses is a collection of seven related pieces of short fiction by american author william faulkner, sometimes considered a novel. Criticism has especially focused on the book of deuteronomy as it is said to have been written only at the time of. Go down, moses book by william faulkner thriftbooks. In this chapter we have an account of the coming of the children of israel to mount sinai, exodus 19.
The unity of the pentateuch and the fact that moses is the author of it have often been denied since the 19th century. But as to the manner in which this wonderful miracle was accomplished, god has not informed us. The book of exodus tells about the oppression of the israelites in egypt 1. Find books like go down, moses from the worlds largest community of readers. He focuses exclusively on the book of moses in this breathtaking 1,100 page commentary. Introducing the incredible new research of jeffrey m. He grinds up the golden calf, making the people drink it, which leads to a plague. In the whole history of literature, he surely stands among a select few at the very pinnacle of greatness.
The number and specific poetic content of the stanzas included in hymnals throughout history is quite fluid. It slows down, however, to examine key passages in exodus and numbers that give insight into gods instruction to moses. The most prominent character and unifying voice is that of isaac mccaslin, uncle ike, who will live to be an old man. Exodus 19 commentary john gills exposition on the whole bible. His thoughtful introduction and commentary place these songs within their historical context. For further reading go down, moses is an africanamerican spiritual, a type of lyric that is also referred to as a negro folk song. It is the longest story in the book, and it is faulkners most intense, focused, and symbolic exploration of the relationship of man and nature.
The traditional spiritual tubman is the theme for this arrangement. Powerful martellatos, shakes, mallets on the table, echo, syncopation, and dynamic contrasts to create interesting harmonies, and driving rhythms of this spiritual, known as let my people go, when. God, in his counsels of grace, has not only seen the people when they were in affliction, but in their ways. For example, the bear poses great difficulty for the reader to the point of giving up on it. A commentary on the book of daniel moses stuart full view 1850. As for this fellow moses who brought us up out of egypt, we dont know what has happened to him.