Exodus
Book Type
Book of Law (or Book of Moses); second book of the Old Testament; second book of the Bible; second book of the five-part Jewish collection known as the Torah.Introduction to the book of Exodus
Exodus begins where Genesis leaves off: The descendants of Jacob are living in Egypt and have multiplied into a large community. But Egypt’s new king, the pharaoh, regards the Israelites as a threat and forces them into slavery. Exodus tells the story of how God hears the cry of His people, delivers them from Egyptian bondage, and leads them to freedom.John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).
What does it mean to be in a relationship with God, the ultimate being in the universe? How does one establish that relationship? What is that relationship like, and what does it take to stay in it? These are questions that people around the world have been asking since the beginning of time. The book of Exodus provided the ancient Israelites with answers to such questions, revealing not only what was required of them in a relationship with God, but also what God had graciously done to make that relationship possible.New Living Translation Study Bible (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2008), Ex.
The title “Exodus” is an anglicized version of a Greek word that means “departure” in recognition of one of the book’s major events—the departure of God’s people from Egypt. Exodus could be considered the central book in the Old Testament because it records God’s act of saving the Israelites and establishing them as a covenant community, a nation chosen to serve and represent him. Exodus describes the enslavement and oppression of the Israelites; the preparation and call of Moses; the conflict between Yahweh the God of Israel and the gods of Egypt (represented by Pharaoh); the exodus of the Israelites; their establishment as a nation in covenant with the Lord; their rebellion; and the Lord’s provision for their ongoing relationship, symbolized by his presence at the tabernacle they built for him.Dorian G. Coover-Cox, “Exodus,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 87.
Theme & Overview
God reveals himself to his people and delivers them from slavery in Egypt to establish a covenant with them in the desert.A spectacular escape and a hair-raising chase scene are only two of the many riveting stories in the book of Exodus. The “NIV Quest Study Bible” says this book is more than an epic adventure with Moses as its central character; it also recounts God’s supernatural rescue of the Israelites from oppression in Egypt. Despite God’s miraculous intervention, the Israelites did not remain loyal to him and ended up wandering in the desert for 40 years. The book recounts how God revealed his name, his attributes, and his redemption. It’s where we find the Passover story and Ten Commandments. Israel’s faltering faith reminds us that even imperfect people can get to know the God who loves them perfectly. The story of Exodus establishes themes of rescue and redemption that are repeated in both the Old and New Testaments.The core message of Exodus is that God alone can set people free from bondage. The Israelites cannot rescue themselves. Throughout the book, God reveals Himself with the repeated statement “I am Yahweh” (e.g., 6:6–8; 20:2; 34:10; this name often appears as “the LORD” in English translations). In doing so, Yahweh affirms that Israel is indeed His people.God gives His people guidance about how to live and how to worship. Idolatry is not an option; Yahweh is not like other gods and cannot be worshiped in the same way. By giving the Israelites His law, God teaches them how to live justly. But as Moses indicates, the people need more than God’s law; they need His presence to dwell among them (33:15–17; 40:36–38).Exodus proclaims God’s deliverance of Israel. God frees His people and sustains them. He is their great rescuer. This act of deliverance is remembered throughout the Bible as the quintessential example of Yahweh’s power to save (Neh 9:9–15; Psa 78; Isa 48:20–21). Just as Yahweh saved them before, He would save them again (Isa 51:9–11; Hos 11:1–11). And, in Christ—the one greater than Moses—we too have a great rescuer (Heb 3:1–6). Jesus came to fulfill the law of Moses and free us from the bondage of sin (Matt 5:17–20; Gal 5:1). Thanks to Christ’s actions on the cross, we also have God’s very presence among us, the Holy Spirit (John 14:16–17; 16:17).The message of Exodus is that God has set the captives free and continues to do so. God hears the cries of all who are oppressed, from sin or any worldly or spiritual powers, and He is faithful to answer (Rom 8:31–39; Heb 2).John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).
The overarching theme of Exodus is the fulfillment of God’s promises to the patriarchs that he would make their descendants a great nation. This is carried out despite the opposition of the greatest superpower in the ancient world of the time, Egypt, and despite the unbelief and disobedience of the people themselves. Exodus shows that the success of the exodus must be ascribed first to the power and character of God, who remembers his promises, punishes sin, and forgives the penitent. Second, it highlights both the faithfulness of Moses, who follows divine instructions exactly, and his prayerfulness. It is his prayer, e.g., that leads to victory over Amalek (17:8–16) and his intercession that persuades God to pardon the people after they had begun worshiping the golden calf (chs. 32–34).Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 140.
Author
Moses is the traditional author of this book; Exodus is part of the "Law of Moses."Recipients
The Israelites:
Moses wrote Exodus to the Jewish people during their 40-year wilderness journey in the Sinai Peninsula. Exodus records the history of Israel from the generation immediately following Joseph, until the time the Jews received the law of God in the wilderness. The word Exodus emphasizes the escape of the Jews under Egyptian slavery toward life as a people in a new land.Date
Written during the 40 years in the wilderness, approximately 1440–1400 BC.Background
The title, Exodus, comes from a Greek word that means “going out,” which is fitting for the book’s subject: the exit of the Hebrew people from Egypt. The text does not name its author, but Jewish and Christian traditions ascribe the book to Moses. Assigning the events of Exodus to a specific historical period is difficult because there is little evidence from outside the Bible. The exodus can be dated to sometime during the 15th–13th centuries BC. The story is set mostly in Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula—particularly Mount Sinai. The events surrounding God’s call of Moses (Exod 2–4) take place in Midian, just east of Sinai.John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).
The Purpose & Audience (Reasons for the letter)
The opening chapters of Genesis depict a serious problem: God made the world and human beings for blessing (Gen 1:27–28), but the world fell under a curse. Humanity had become deeply corrupted (Gen 6:5), alienated from their Creator (Gen 3:23–24) and from one another (Gen 4:14). Death, violence, and confusion were rampant (Gen 4:8, 23–24; 11:9). Was there a way back to the blessing that God originally intended?In Gen 12–50, God’s plan to restore the world begins to unfold. God chose Abraham and his descendants to be in a special covenant relationship with him, promising to make them into a prosperous nation through which the entire world would be blessed (Gen 12:1–3). Abraham believed God despite the fact that his wife seemed hopelessly barren (Gen 15:6), and God soon began to fulfill his promises (Gen 21:1–7).As the book of Exodus begins, however, the validity of God’s promises to Abraham is in question. Yes, Abraham’s descendants had grown to a great number, but they were now slaves in Egypt, and pharaoh, the mightiest king in the world, was committed to keeping them subjugated. As for the Promised Land, Abraham and his descendants had never actually owned any of it except for a burial plot (Gen 23). How would a group of slaves, slated to be absorbed into the Egyptian underclass, ever inherit the Promised Land and become a blessing to the world? Could God keep his promises? Did he even want to keep them? Did he really care for the Israelites, and did he even know what they were going through? If not, then the promises of Genesis were of no real value.“Few events in history have had such far-reaching effects as Israel’s Exodus out of Egypt. The Exodus event lies at the very heart of the Old Testament. The Exodus is to the Old Covenant what the resurrection is to the New” (PAGE H. KELLEY: Exodus: Called for Redemptive Mission).
In answering those questions, Exodus moves us far down the road to understanding who God is. God really does know our situation, and he values us. The Lord is in an altogether different category from “all other gods” (18:11). He is revealed in Exodus as the greatest being in existence (3:5–6, 14–15; 6:3), superior to human kings who think of themselves as gods and to all the forces of nature. He is the one true God.The people of Israel had spent some 400 years absorbing Egypt’s mistaken pagan beliefs. Now they would have to unlearn them: There are not many gods, only one. God is not the same as the natural world around them; he stands apart from the world, which he created. God cannot be manipulated by magic. Existence is not defined by an eternal struggle between positive and negative forces. God is holy, absolutely other, profoundly ethical in all of his relationships, passionately loyal to his creatures, and desiring to do good for them (34:5–6).God used a covenant (chs 19–23) to teach his people who he is and what their relationship with him should be like. By contrast, most of the requirements of God’s covenant have to do with how people treat one another (see 20:3–17). Those who are in a covenant relationship with God must treat one another ethically.God rescues his people and calls us into a life of holiness in order that we may have a living, personal relationship with him. The Tabernacle chapters (chs 25–40) are not an add-on; they are what the Exodus was all about. Yes, God would keep his promise of taking the people to the Promised Land, but his goal was for them to live in his presence without being destroyed by his holiness, and that is what happened (40:34–38). Salvation is not merely the forgiveness of sins. God’s goal for us is that, having been rescued from the bondage of sin, we might live daily in the glory of his presence and manifest his holy character.New Living Translation Study Bible (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2008), Ex.
The book of Exodus shows God at work with the goal of having such close fellowship with people that he is described as dwelling among them. He rescued the Israelites in order to make himself known, not only by the exercise of his power but also through an ongoing covenant relationship based on his capacity for patience, grace, and forgiveness. The record of what the Lord did for the Israelites provided grounds for them to recognize him as their God who deserved their complete loyalty and obedience. This record would make clear to the Israelites their identity as God’s people and would continue the display of his glorious identity.EXODUS CONVEYS FOUR STRONG MESSAGES:1. The LORD God: God revealed himself to Moses and Israel as Yahweh, “I Am Who I Am.” This covenant name for God carries profound meaning and affirms the power, authority, and eternal nature of God.2. Redemption: The Israelites prayed for deliverance and God responded. God worked through his servant-leader Moses, but he did it in such a miraculous way that it was obvious that God was at work. The Israelites could not save themselves; rescue was all the work of God. The Passover was established to serve as an annual reminder of God’s work on their behalf.3. Law: The law of God is encapsulated in the Ten Commandments, God’s absolutes for spiritual and moral living. The law is divided into two sections: the civil law—the rules that govern life in the community—and the ceremonial law—the patterns for worship and building the tabernacle.4. Tabernacle: God gave specific instructions on how the tabernacle was to be built, but its significance is in what it represented—God dwelling among his people. He was specifically understood to dwell in the holy of holies, inaccessible to the average Israelite. The tabernacle points ahead to the moment when Christ removed the veil of separation, giving all believers access to God. In the NT, believers become the tabernacle, for God doesn’t just dwell among his people; he dwells in them.CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIBLEExodus provides the high point of redemptive history in the OT. Many patterns and concepts from Exodus receive attention, further development, and fulfillment elsewhere in Scripture, especially in the past, present, and future work of the Lord Jesus. These include rescue from oppression, provision of sustenance, God’s faithfulness to his promises, the self-revelation of God, knowledge of God resulting from his actions, the presence of God, his glory, efforts required to preserve the knowledge of God, a new identity for people that is based on God’s actions, provision for worship, provision for life in community, connection between the reputation of God and his relationship with a group of people, obedience and rebellion, intercession, and gracious forgiveness.Dorian G. Coover-Cox, “Exodus,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 88–89.
Key Verses (ESV)
Exodus 1:8: "Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph."
Exodus 2:24–25: "And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew."
Exodus 12:27: "You shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.' And the people bowed their heads and worshiped."
Exodus 20:2–3: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me."Structure & Outline 1
The book of Exodus divides naturally into two halves (chs. 1–18 and chs. 19–40). The first half tells how God rescues the Israelites from Egypt and leads them to Mount Sinai. God saves the infant Moses and later commissions him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (chs. 1–4). As God’s representative, Moses repeatedly confronts Pharaoh, who refuses to let the Israelites leave despite the devastating plagues sent by God (chs. 5–10). After the 10th plague kills all of the firstborn throughout Egypt, Pharaoh relents; the Israelites leave Egypt and walk across the sea as God holds back the waters (chs. 11–15). In the wilderness, they soon run out of supplies, but God miraculously provides food and water (chs. 16–18).The second half of Exodus deals with the covenant God makes with the Israelites at Mount Sinai. This section begins with the Israelites camping at the mountain and receiving the Ten Commandments, which are followed by other regulations (chs. 19–24). God also gives Moses detailed plans for the Israelites’ worship, including instructions for the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle (Israel’s portable tent-shrine), and the priesthood (chs. 25–31). While Moses is up on the mountain, the Israelites decide to worship a golden idol shaped like a calf; in the fallout, God teaches the people how important it is to worship Him alone (chs. 32–34). The remaining chapters record the Israelites constructing the tabernacle and preparing for worship (chs. 35–40). • Deliverance from Egypt (1:1–15:21) • Journey to Sinai (15:22–18:27) • The law is given at Sinai (19:1–31:18) • The Israelites rebel at Sinai (32:1–34:35) • The tabernacle is completed (35:1–40:38)John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).
Outline 2
This book consists of 40 chapters. The historical details begin where Genesis ends, following the death of Joseph and his generation. Exodus 1 describes the growth of the Jewish people in Egypt and Pharaoh's plan to eliminate newborn Jewish sons. In chapter 2, Moses is born, and protected, yet flees from Egypt as an adult. Chapters 3—4 mark the calling of Moses to lead the Jews out of Egypt, with the Lord appearing in a burning bush.
Chapters 5—15 describe events which took place leading up to liberation of the nation of Israel from Egypt. This includes the 10 plagues, the institution of the Passover, as well as the Jews crossing the Red Sea on dry land and the destruction of Pharaoh's army in the sea.
Chapters 16—19 chronicle the early wilderness journey, leading to Mount Sinai. There, the Lord appears to the people, with Moses entering His presence on the mountain to speak with the Lord.
Chapters 20—31 include the giving of Ten Commandments, as well as other laws for the Jewish people and instructions for building the tabernacle. These explanations were delivered over a 40-day period where Moses met on the mountain with God.
In chapter 32, Moses returns to find the Jews worshiping a golden calf and living in sin. Judgment occurs, though Moses prays for the people. By chapter 34, God meets with Moses again and provides a new set of tablets with His laws. When Moses returns, his face shines with God's glory and he must wear a veil.
Chapter 35 includes regulations for the Jewish Sabbath as well as a call for contributions for construction of the tabernacle. The end of chapter 35 through chapter 39 describes construction of the tabernacle, its furnishings, and priestly garments. In chapter 40, the tabernacle God commanded the Jews to build is set up and consecrated for service. Aaron and his sons are set apart to lead the priestly duties and God's presence covers the tabernacle to end the book.