Exodus

The story of Exodus is the story of the Israelites moving from Egyptian slavery to freedom as the chosen people of God. This is the story of the creation of a theocracy. Theocracy is a society ruled directly by God.

Hebrews: a term commonly used for the Israelites before their establishment in Canaan.

The Twelve Tribes of Israel

These originated with the twelve sons of Jacob.

1. Reuben

2. Simeon

3. Gad

4. Judah

5. Issachar

6. Zebulun

7. Ephraim (son of Joseph)

8. Manasseh (second son of Joseph)

9. Benjamin

10. Dan

11. Asher

12. Naphtali

Also note the tribe of Levi

The Levites were the priests and were not a landed tribe. It was their job to be the priests and the benefit to them was that they would be taken care of.

Exodus falls roughly into two halves:

a. Chapters 1-18: the story of the departure from Egypt

b. Chapters 19-40: the reception of the law at Mount Sinai

While in Egypt, the Israelites have grown so numerous that "they filled the land" (1:7), creating a population boom of foreign immigrants that alarms Egyptian authorities and results in the Israelites' enslavement. The blessings of childbearing, which God had promised so many times to Israelite ancestors, has inadvertently brought Israel into conflict with a new Egyptian dynasty. And the new Pharaoh knows nothing of Joseph and what Joseph did for the Egyptian nation. (read 1:8).

Dating the Exodus

Using archaeological, biblical, and historical evidence, many scholars date the Exodus to 1290 B.C.E. and date the conquest of Palestine to 1250 B.C.E. However, Exodus chapter 12 verse 40 states that the Exodus lasted 430 years. Therefore, there is still much debate over dating the Exodus.

The Story of Moses

1. Moses' Infancy

According to Exodus 1-2, Moses is born under Pharaoh's decree that all Hebrew boys must be killed. He escapes this fate when his mother secretly sets him adrift on the Nile in a watertight cradle. A childless daughter of Pharaoh finds the boy and raises him as her own. Moses' mother serves as his nursemaid.

2. The Flight from Egypt to Midian

One day Moses witnesses an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses is so angered by this that he kills the Egyptian and buries him in the sand. The next day, Moses returns to the same location, where he finds two Hebrews now fighting. When Moses rebukes the aggressor for striking his fellow countryman, implying that the oppressed Hebrews should support each other, the aggressor shows no gratitude for Moses' attempt to defend or make peace among his people. Instead, the bully frightens Moses by alluding to the murder of the Egyptian, an offense that could bring the death penalty. Moses flees from Egypt and settles in Midian, where he lives as a shepherd. Moses meets and marries Zipporah, the daughter of a Midianite priest called Reuel or Jethro.

While tending sheep on "the mountain of God" in Midianite territory, Moses has an experience of God. This mountain is called both Mount Horeb and Mount Sinai. Climbing the mountain to investigate a bush that was burning without being consumed, Moses unexpectedly encounters God. God announces that he is the same God who had made promises to Moses' ancestors. These were vows which had for centuries gone unfulfilled. A voice from the midst of the fire orders Moses to remove his sandals, because this is holy ground. Out of this experience came Moses' call to lead the people out of Egypt. This call experience is significant because it was said to be the time when God revealed his personal name to Moses. In chapter 3 verse 14, God tells Moses that his name is I AM WHO I AM. God tells Moses to tell the Hebrews that I AM sent him. The name YHWH seems to be related to God's statement here.

YAHWEH'S WAR AGAINST PHARAOH

The following are plagues Yahweh brought on Egypt in order to free the Hebrew slaves.

1. water of Nile River turned to blood

2. frogs cover the land

3. infestation of gnats or more likely were mosquitoes (8:16-19)

4. swarms of flies

5. disease of livestock

6. the affliction of painful boils on humans and animals (9:8-12)

7. heavy hail with thunder and lightning

8. swarm of locusts

9. 3 days of darkness

10. death of Egyptian first-born. (Exodus 11:1-10, 12:29-32)

The Killing of Egyptian first born

For the climactic act of divine destruction in Exodus, Yahweh employs the Angel of Death to kill every Egyptian first-born, both human and animal, from the "firstborn of Pharaoh, heir to the throne," to the "firstborn of the prisoner in [Pharaoh's] dungeon." This is an example of retributive justice: an "eye for eye" and "life for life".

The Passover

To make sure that the Angel of Death distinguishes between Egyptian and Israelite households and spares the latter, the Israelites are told to sacrifice a goat or lamb and smear the blood on their doorposts, prompting the divine executioner to "pass over" their dwellings. According to the account in Exodus 12, the feast of Passover was initiated during the Hebrews' last night in Egypt, as they gathered safely inside blood-marked houses to eat unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and the sacrificed lamb. The eating of unleavened bread is explained by the haste with which the Israelites had to flee -- they had no time to allow yeast to leaven the bread. Passover became and still is a major annual holy day in both ancient Israel and modern Judaism.

The Escape From Egypt

How big was the group that left Egypt?

English translations say, "Six hundred thousand men...besides women and children" (12:37). If the average family was only five persons (and many were bigger), this would mean more than three million persons. This figure is highly unlikely. A more likely figure is 6,000 men and a total not exceeding 25,000 to 30,000 people.

The Flight of the Hebrews

Pharaoh is maneuvered into leading his army in pursuit of the Israelites. Trapped between Egyptian charioteers and a great sea, the Israelites seem doomed to return to slavery. At this crucial moment, however, Yahweh intervenes to deliver his people. Night came and with it a strong east wind. Exodus 14:21 says, "The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night...and the waters were divided." When the morning came, the east wind had left the land so dry that the Israelites could pass over to the mainland again. By the time they had crossed, the returning waters swallowed up the heavy Egyptian chariots in the sea (14:1-31).

The Hebrew Yam Suf

The Hebrew words yam suf are translated in the Septuagint as the "Red Sea." This is also the custom followed by the Vulgate and most English Hebrew Bibles. However, suf commonly means "reed," the Jerusalem Bible renders the phrase as "Reed Sea" or "Sea of Reeds," indicating the body of water may have been a large marsh or lake. Our textbook believes this lake could have been Lake Sirbonis. It is cut off from the Mediterranean Sea by a narrow sandy strip of land and located on the northern Sinai Coast.

Troubles in the Wilderness

First, people complained about water. The pools of water at Marah were stagnant. Moses threw the bark or leaves of a desert shrub into the water to make it drinkable (15:22-26). Soon they found an oasis at Elim that had plenty of fresh water (15:27).

Second, they complained about food. The supplies they brought from Egypt began to run low, and the complaints increased (16:1-12). The LORD met the needs of the people with: manna and quail. Manna was the secretion of a tiny scale insect, still eaten today by the Bedouin. Quail often fall exhausted in the Northern Sinai after migratory flights over the Mediterranean. They can be captured easily by hand during this time (16:13-36).

Thirdly, water again became a problem. Moses found a water-bearing rock that satisfied the thirst of the people (17:1-7).

Finally, the people came to Sinai. Soon afterward, Moses' family joined him there. His father-in-law Jethro was one of these family members. Jethro advised Moses to set up a system whereby the people would be divided into groups of 10, 50, 100, and 1,000. A leader would be responsible for the handling of all problems that arose in his group. If he could not handle them, he would consult the leader of the larger unit of which his smaller group was a part. That way, only the most pressing problems reached Moses. This allowed Moses to devote his time to the work of interceding with God for the people and teaching them God's laws (18:17-27).

The entire central section of the Pentateuch (Exodus 20:1-Numbers 10) is devoted to the enumeration of Yahweh's specific requirements for his people, who are to be a "kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation" (Exod. 19:6). The people remain camped at Mount Sinai for almost a year while Yahweh's teaching is conveyed through Moses. (Exodus 19:1; Numbers 10:11)

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:10-17 & also Deuteronomy 5:16-21)

The Ten Commandments are also called the Decalogue which literally means "ten words".

The Ten Commandments:

1. You shall have no other gods before me.

2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image.

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

5. Honor your father and your mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet.

The Covenant Broken (Exod. 32)

While Moses spends forty days atop Sinai, listening to Yahweh's exhaustive instructions for the Tabernacle and receiving the Decalogue that God's "finger" has inscribed on two stone tablets, the people urge Aaron, Moses's brother and Israel's high priest, to create a golden calf, which they immediately identify as the "god" who "brought [them] out of Egypt". Informing Moses that he has observed the Israelites' lapse into idolatry and that he plans to wipe them out, Yahweh offers to replace Israel with Moses and his family. After persuading Yahweh to "change his mind" Moses descends from the mountain, smashes the two tablets God had inscribed and calls on the Levites to slaughter the golden calf worshipers. Again climbing Sinai to confer with God, a second set of tablets are inscribed, the covenant was renewed, and the promise was repeated (34:1-16).

The Ark and the Tabernacle

Much of the remainder of Exodus is devoted to a detailed description of the Ark and the Tabernacle. This is found in Exodus 25-31. The Ark is described in Exodus 25. The Ark was an elaborate wooden box, carried on two long poles that passed through rings on the corners of the box. It was approximately 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. It was overlaid with gold. In addition, there was a mercy seat on top, with winged figures on each end. The seat represented the throne of God, and as such, symbolized the presence of God among the people. It was thought to be effective especially when carried with the people into battle.

The Tabernacle is described in Exodus 26-27. It was a tent of skins in which the Ark was kept. The tent was surrounded by a fence of skins that formed a sort of courtyard. Inside the tent were two rooms. The larger room was the Holy Place. The Holy Place contained:

1. a table for the "bread of the Presence" (25:23-30)

2. a seven-branched lamp called the menorah (25:31-40)

3. the altar for burning incense (3:1-10)

The smaller room was the Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies. It was separated from the Holy Place by a curtain. The Ark of the Covenant was kept here. Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and that happened on only one day in the year: Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.