Biblical Scholars Identify Strategic Cultural Appropriation in Haggadah Texts as Mockery of Ancient Egyptian Imperial Propaganda

Prof. Joshua Berman’s new Haggadah reveals how the Torah "appropriated" Pharaonic symbols to subvert Egyptian authority and empower the Israelite people.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 2, 2026, 7:28 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from The Times of Israel

The Subversive Origins of Biblical Terminology

The liturgical core of the Passover Seder, which celebrates the liberation of the Israelites through divine intervention, contains linguistic markers that Professor Joshua Berman identifies as direct parodies of Egyptian royal texts. In his research at Bar-Ilan University, Berman highlights that the iconic phrase "a mighty hand and an outstretched arm" was a ubiquitous descriptor used to glorify the military and personal feats of the Pharaohs. By adopting this specific imagery, the Torah performs an act of cultural appropriation, essentially hijacking the propaganda of the oppressor to describe the power of God. This linguistic subversion is unique to the Exodus narrative, as the phrasing is notably absent from other biblical accounts of miracles or military victories, suggesting a targeted polemic against Egyptian theology.

Pharaonic Iconography and the Status of the Common Person

The visual language of ancient Egypt, which frequently depicted kings and gods standing "face to face" and in equal size, served to reinforce the divine chosenness of the Pharaoh. Berman argues that the Torah consciously "plagiarizes" this pagan imagery in the Book of Deuteronomy to elevate the status of the entire Israelite nation. When the biblical text describes God speaking to the people "face to face" at Mount Sinai, it effectively democratizes a status that was previously reserved only for the Egyptian elite. This narrative twist suggests that the divine is not merely interested in the powerful but seeks an intimate relationship with the common people, directly challenging the ubiquitous royal reliefs that the Israelites would have seen daily during their period of servitude.

The Shepherd’s Crook as a Stolen Symbol of Governance

Another primary symbol of authority explored in the "Echoes of Egypt" Haggadah is the shepherd’s crook, famously utilized by Moses to perform miracles and lead the Exodus. In the context of the New Kingdom, particularly during the reigns of Rameses II and Merneptah, the crook was a super-iconic symbol of Pharaonic governance often shown clutched across the chest of the king. By placing this instrument of imperial power in the hands of a former slave and runaway, the biblical narrative mocks the very foundations of Egyptian authority. The transformation of a royal scepter into a tool for liberating a...