ANIMADVERSIONES Metamorphosis of a Ferocious Pharaoh The account of the plagues opens with a fantastic claim: ‘YHWH has given Moses (as) a God for Pharaoh and Aaron is his prophet’ (Exod 7,1). P’s account of the ensuing contest is a theomachy mounting an extremely harsh onslaught against Egypt in sharp contrast with the Priestly writer’s overall non-violent stance (1). YHWH hardens Pharaoh’s heart and Pharaoh increases oppression. Aaron’s rod is thrown at Pharaoh’s face (ynpl) (2), the rod changes into a dragon-gobbling dragon (ˆynt Exod 7,8-12), a feat that only hardens the king’s heart (Exod 7,13). Most translators have resisted the straightforward rendering of tannin as “dragon” (3) because dictionaries insist that in Biblical Hebrew tannin also means “serpent” or “crocodile” in spite of the fact that in cognate languages and in modern Arabic tannin only refers to a fabulous “sea-monster, dragon” (4). The meaning “serpent” is adduced from Deut 32,33 and Ps 91,13 where tannin is used in parallel with the earthly peten “horned viper”, although the peten itself is not entirely devoid of mythological connotations in cognate languages (5). But the main cluster of support for “serpent” is Exod 7,9.10.12 discussed below. The meaning “crocodile” is inferred from Ezek 29,3; 32,2. However, these naturalistic translations greatly weaken the potential of the text of Exodus and Ezekiel. 1. No Mundane Crocodile in Ezekiel Ezek 29,3-5; 32,2-6 envision Pharaoh as a huge reptile wallowing in the Nile (6). Commentators on these passages regularly embark on tame-the- tannim missions. Daniel Block affirms that “Ezekiel’s tannin has been thoroughly historicized, being compared with the king of Egypt” although he admits in a footnote that “it is still tempting to see here an allusion to the (1) A. DE PURY, “Der priesterschriftliche Umgang mit der Jakobsgeschichte”, Schriftauslegung in der Schrift (Hrsg. R.G. KRATZ – T. KRÜGER – K. SCHMID) (Berlin 2000) 39, uses the negative depiction of Pharaoh to date Pg just before Cambyses’ conquest of Egypt. (2) Rather than ‘thrown down in front of Pharaoh’ as in 4,3. (3) A quick look at about 70 European translations provided by BibleWorks 5 reveals that only a few render tannin as a mythological figure: Bíblia Catalana Interconfessional, Cesky´ Ekumeniky´ Preklad, Leidse Vertaling, NVB San Paulo Edizione, Young’s Literal Translation (monster). (4) The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (eds. M.E.J. RICHARDSON et al.) (Leiden 1999) IV 1764-1765. (5) See Akk. baπmu and Ugaritic bt¯n put in parallel with tannin as in Deut 32,33 and Ps 91,13 and rendered “Indeed I muzzled Tannin, I silenced him; I smote the windy serpent”: M. DAHOOD, Psalms 51-100 (AB; Garden City, NY 1968) 333; Sir 39,30. (6) W.H.C. PROPP, Exodus 1–18 (AB; New York 1998) 324.