7
these three Jewish themes line up well
with second century Christianitys
tendency to view baptism as (1) a conferral of forgiveness for sins, (2) the
initiation rite of Christs new covenant and (3) a prophylactic seal. If we are
correct, Melitos (patristic) exegesis of the OT finds its ori
gin in the Jewish
exegesis of the OT. We now treat the three Jewish themes in more detail.
(1) The Passover Sacrifice as an Act of Expiation
While Exod 12 (MT, LXX) stresses the identifying and protecting function of
the lambs blood on the doorpost (v. 1
3,23), there is nothing in the text that
suggests that it purified or atoned for sins. And yet, in Jewish paraphrases and
midrashic commentary, there are indications that in the time of Melito Jews
viewed the Passover sacrifice as an act of expiation. In the following five
passages, Jewish retellings of Exod 12 suggest that the slaughter of the lamb
and the application of its blood resembled, functioned like, and should be
grouped with, Levitical sacrifices that provided cleansing for sin.
(a) In two places Philo uses the verb hieratai to say that the entire nation who
offered the first Passover "acted as priest," foreshadowing the levitical priesthood
that was still to come (Philo De Specialibus Legibus II 145; De Vita Mosis II
224).
22
(b) Josephus also uses levitical language, the verb egnizon, to say that the
Hebrews at Passover "purified" their houses with the blood (
Jewish Antiquities,
Bk 2, Ch 14, 312).
23
(c) Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Targum Onqelos and Targum Ha-Hodesh
(Cairo Genizah AA) render
the MTs command to "put" blood (
ntn)
as "sprinkle"
blood (ndy),
24
assimilating Exod 12:22 to three other texts describing sacrifices
that required cleansing with a hyssop: Lev 14:6 (leprosy); Lev 14:51 (mildew) and
22
For the Greek text and English translation, see F. H. Colson, Philo, vol. 7 (LCL;
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1937), 394-95; vol. 6 (LCL; Harvard University Press,
1935), 560-
61. The concept of expiation helps carry Philos well
-known allegorization of
Passover as a passing-over (diabasis) of the soul away from the passions (see Philo Quaes. In
Ex 1.4).
23
For Greek text and English translation, see H. St. J. Thackeray, Josephus, vol. 4:
Jewish Antiquities, Books I-IV (LCL; Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1930), 300-301.
24
For Aramaic texts and translations, see Israel Drazin, Targum Onqelos to Exodus (New
York: Ktav, 1990), 120-127; E.G. Clarke, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan of the Pentateuch (Hoboken:
Ktav, 1984), 77-78; Martin McNamara, Robert Hayward and Michael Maher, Targum Neofiti 1:
Exodus; Pseudo-Jonathan: Exodus (Aramaic Bible 2: Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 1994), 190-92;
Michael L. Klein, Genizah Manuscripts of the Palestinian Targum to the Pentateuch, vol. 2
(Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1986), 208-14.