The Book of Wisdom and the <i>Dægweorc</i> in the Old English <i>Exodus</i>

In the Old English poem Exodus, found in only one copy in the Junius 11 manuscript, 1 the compound daegweorc ('day's work') occurs four times (151a, 315a, 507a and 519b). 2 This is a noteworthy concentration of uses of the compound, which only appears nine times in the Old English corpus. 3 It is a significant term in Exodus, and its cumulative uses help to justify the actions of the Red Sea as it drowns the Egyptians violently in the poem. 4 Critical discussion on the term has particularly focused on its final use, at line 519b, which has been emended by some editors to daegword. 5 The usage at this point has received particular scrutiny because it occurs in a so-called '"homiletic" passage', where it seems to refer to Moses giving the law to the Israelites. 6 This has a likely biblical influence; for example, Edward B. Irving Jr suggests that it could reflect Moses's 'day-long speech' in Deuteronomy, where Deuteronomy 30, the speech's climax, makes multiple references to the hodie ('day').