The second book of the Bible. The book of Exodus tells the story of when God freed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Few books of the Old Testament are as important for the history and religion of the Israelites as the book of Exodus.
When God freed the Israelites from Egypt, they became a nation for the first time. At Mount Sinai, God made these tribes, who were all descended from Abraham, into one nation that he would rule. The book of Exodus explains how the Israelites returned to settle in the land God had promised Abraham. It also shows how their religious, political, and social life began.
The book of Exodus has a special pattern (called an "exodus motif") that appears throughout the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. In Psalm 68, David found comfort in remembering that his God was the same God who had rescued Israel from Egypt. The prophet Jeremiah said that God would bring Israel back to their land again. He said this would be even more amazing than when God brought them out of Egypt (Jeremiah 16:14–15). When Jesus and his parents returned from Egypt, Matthew connected this to the earlier rescue from Egypt (Matthew 2:13–15).
The story of the Jewish people being freed from Egypt is seen as a symbol of God’s salvation of all his people, both Israel and the church. Thus, the message of the book of Exodus is key to understanding God’s plan of salvation throughout the Bible.
The English title “Exodus” comes from an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint. The word "exodus" means “a way out” or “departure.” It refers to Israel leaving Egypt. In Hebrew, the book is called Shemoth, meaning "these are the names." This Hebrew title comes from the first words of the book, which lists the names of Jacob's sons who went to Egypt with Joseph.
Preview
- Who Wrote the Book of Exodus?
- When Was the Book of Exodus Written?
- What Is the Background of the Book of Exodus?
- Why Was the Book of Exodus Written? What Does It Teach About God?
- What Is the Message of the Book of Exodus?
Who Wrote the Book of Exodus?
According to tradition, Moses wrote Exodus and the other first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch). This could suggest that Exodus was written at Mount Sinai or shortly after the events there. Evidence supporting this view includes:
The book itself says that Moses wrote down God’s words (Exodus 17:14; 24:2, 7; 34:27–28). According to the book of Deuteronomy (31:9, 24), Moses wrote the law in a book that was placed beside the ark of the covenant.
Many Old Testament writers refer to portions of Exodus as the “law of Moses” (Joshua 8:31; Malachi 4:4).
The New Testament, including Jesus, calls Moses the author (Mark 7:10; 12:26; John 1:45; 7:19).
Scholars have different ideas about who wrote Exodus. Some believe Moses wrote almost all of it. One writer claims Moses was just a desert leader who never met the Israelites. Other scholars think different people wrote parts of the book at different times in Israel's history, and someone combined these parts long after Moses died. Some focus on special sections, like the "Song of Moses" (Exodus 15), and study how these developed over time. Another view is that people told the exodus story by word of mouth for many generations before anyone wrote it down.
While some scholars have these different theories, the book itself clearly states that Moses wrote it. There are details in Exodus that suggest the writer saw these events firsthand. For example, the writer remembered exactly 12 springs and 70 palm trees at Elim (Exodus 15:27).
The writer also knew a lot about Egyptian life, customs, and language. The materials described for building the sacred tent (called the tabernacle) provide more evidence. These materials included acacia wood for furniture (Exodus 25:10) and fine leather (possibly the hides from large sea animals) for the outer covering (verse 5). These materials were found in Egypt and the Sinai desert but not in the land of Israel. This suggests the book was written in the desert.
Moses was not only chosen by God to write Exodus, but he was also well-qualified. He was “educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action” (Acts 7:22). He also spent 40 years in the Midian and Sinai wilderness, where he learned about the land and its animals. This knowledge helped him write about the places where the Israelites traveled.
The exodus events were very important to Israel's history. These included God freeing them from Egypt and giving them his law. Moses carefully recorded these events so future generations would remember them.
When Was the Book of Exodus Written?
If Moses wrote Exodus, as the book itself says, then he wrote it during his lifetime. Scholars suggest two different times when the Israelites may have left Egypt
The “Late Date” View
This view suggests that the pharaoh who oppressed the Israelites was Seti I. He ruled Egypt from 1304 to 1290 BC. The pharaoh of the exodus would then be Ramses II. He rules Egypt from 1290 to 1224 BC. The exodus would have occurred in 1290 BC, and the conquest of Canaan would have begun in 1250 BC.
This view is based on two main points:
According to Exodus 1:11, the Israelites built the store city of Rameses, so Ramses II must have been ruling at the time. The city of Rameses could have existed earlier under a different name and been renamed later by Ramses II when he rebuilt it. Or, an earlier pharaoh named Ramses may have built it.
Archaeologists have found evidence that many cities in Canaan were destroyed around 1250 BC. Some think Joshua and the Israelites caused this destruction. This would mean the exodus happened around 1290 BC. This destruction could also have happened during other times of conflict in the time of the judges, or when other nations attacked the area.
The “Early Date” View
This view says that the pharaoh of the oppression was Thutmose III. He ruled Egypt from 1504 to 1450 BC. The pharaoh of the exodus would then be Amenhotep II. He ruled Egypt from 1450 to 1424 BC. This means the exodus would have happened around 1440 BC, and the conquest would have begun around 1400 BC. Three arguments support this view:
If the fourth year of King Solomon was 966 BC, then the 480 years before would place the exodus at 1446 BC (1 Kings 6:1).
If the time of Jephthah was 1100 BC, then the 300 years before would place the conquest at 1400 (Judges 11:26).
The late date does not leave enough time for the period of the judges, which lasted between 300 and 400 years. Based on these biblical references, the early date seems more likely.
What Is the Background of the Book of Exodus?
Things that happened in Egypt during the time of the exodus help us understand the events in the book of Exodus better. Exodus 12:40 tells us the Israelites lived in Egypt for 430 years. This means Jacob's family settled in Goshen (Genesis 47:4, 11) around 1870 BC, when Egypt was ruled by powerful kings of the 12th royal family.
Later, Egypt became weaker under two new royal families. Around 1730 BC, foreign rulers called the Hyksos took control of northern Egypt. These new rulers were the “new king” who “did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). The Hyksos were worried about the Israelites because they too were foreigners in Egypt. They saw that the Israelites were becoming too numerous and powerful (Exodus 1:9). Their solution was to make the Israelites slaves. The Hyksos used these slaves to build up the city of Rameses, which was then their capital in northern Egypt.
Around 1580 BC, an Egyptian leader named Ahmose drove out the Hyksos and made Egypt Egyptian-ruled again. The Israelites kept growing in number despite their hard work as slaves. So the new Egyptian kings (called the 18th dynasty) kept them as slaves and ordered all Israelite baby boys to be killed. Moses was born around 1560 BC when this order was still in place. The ruler at this time was Pharaoh Thutmose I (1539–1514 BC), who had built a large empire.
Thutmose I’s only surviving legal heir was a daughter named Hatshepsut. Her husband became Pharaoh Thutmose II and ruled from 1514 to 1504 BC. When he died, a young relative named Thutmose III was chosen as the next ruler. He was only ten years old. Thutmose III ruled Egypt from 1504 to 1450 BC.
Hatshepsut took control of the kingdom from Thutmose III and ruled for 22 years, from 1503 to 1482 BC. Such a strong-willed woman could have the courage to disobey her father’s command by saving the life of a Hebrew baby and raising him in the palace at Thebes.
Hatshepsut kept ruling even after Thutmose III became pharaoh. She may have wanted Moses to become ruler or to have an important position in Egypt. After Hatshepsut died, Thutmose III gained full power and likely wanted to get rid of Moses. This might explain why Moses had to quickly flee to the desert after he killed an Egyptian slave master.
When Thutmose III died in 1450 BC, Moses could return to Egypt. He then confronted the new ruler, Pharaoh Amenhotep II, with God's command: “Let my people go.”
Why Was the Book of Exodus Written? What Does It Teach About God?
The purpose of the book of Exodus is to show how God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:12–16 was fulfilled when the Lord rescued the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. It also explains:
The origin of the Passover festival
The beginning of the nation by establishing a covenant between God and Israel
The giving of the law on Mount Sinai
The book of Exodus tells the powerful story of a mighty God, creator of the universe, who exists beyond time and space. God intervenes in history to save a group of slaves. God defeats the ruler of the greatest empire on earth and then leads his people to freedom.
Exodus is the story of a family that grows into a multitude. Through God’s special agreement (called a "covenant"), a nation is formed. Through God's law, the nation is made stable and set apart from all others.
The book of Exodus tells the story of Moses, an unusual leader. He spent his first 40 years in an Egyptian palace, and his next 40 years taking care of sheep for a priest who lived in the desert. Though Moses did not want to be a leader at first, he opposed Pharaoh, talked with God face-to-face, and wrote almost one-fourth of the Old Testament.
The God of the Exodus story keeps his promises. In Genesis 15:13–16, God made an amazing promise to Abram:
"Then the LORD said to Abram, 'Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward, they will depart with many possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.'"
Because of this promise, Joseph, near the end of his life, spoke about how God would bring the Israelites out of Egypt. He even gave instructions about what to do with his body when this happened (Hebrews 11:22).
This promise sets up the main theme of Exodus: how God saves his people. To save (or redeem) means to free people from those who control them and give them freedom. The book of Exodus uses many words to describe how God saves his people:
It tells of the God who “remembers” his promise to the Hebrew patriarchs (Exodus 2:24; 6:5).
God “comes down to rescue” the Israelites (3:8).
God “saves” them (14:30; 15:2) so he can “bring” them out of the land of Egypt (3:10–12).
Redemption involves these aspects:
God is the redeemer. In Exodus 6:1–8, God answers Moses’s prayer to save his people. He uses the pronoun “I” 18 times to show that he is the one acting. Before that, the Israelites knew God as “El,” the ancient Near Eastern name for the most powerful god.
But in Exodus, Israel learned that God's name is “Yahweh.” That is his personal name, a reminder that he is the God of the covenant who cares for his people. In Exodus 3:14, God tells Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” Some people think this is proof that the name Yahweh comes from the Hebrew verb “to be.” In Israelite culture, the concept of “name” was the same as “character.” Knowing God's name meant knowing his character. Israel knew God as the one who is always present to help them wherever they went (Exodus 3:12; 33:14–16).The reason God saved Israel was his promise to the patriarchs. When God heard the cries of Israel, he remembered his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 2:24; compare 6:5). In response to their need, he selected the unwilling Moses to help save them. Moses gave every excuse, but God would not accept them. Moses is an example of how God prepares and helps his chosen servants to achieve his plans.
The reason God wanted to save Israel was his grace and love (Exodus 15:13; 20:6; 34:6–7). He saved Israel so they, and the Egyptians, might know him (Exodus 6:7; 7:5; 8:10; 14:18). The Lord worked to show everyone (Moses, the Israelites, Pharaoh, and the Egyptians) that he is the only God. For the ancient Israelites, knowing something meant experiencing it, not just understanding it with their minds. When God acts, he wants people not only to believe but also to trust him and do what he says.
God saved Israel through miracles (Exodus 4:21). MIracles are natural events controlled supernaturally by God. They are described as:
These miracles were not random displays of power but God's chosen acts. Some miracles proved that God sent Moses. The plagues proved that God is the most powerful god. The plagues directly challenged the Egyptian gods and goddesses:
The miracles in the wilderness showed that God would fulfill all his people's needs.
The pharaoh was the villain. He represented humanity's rebelliousness when confronted by God’s command (Exodus 4:21–23). The pharaoh hardened his heart ten times, which means the pharaoh's heart became stubborn and unresponsive to God. But God was also responsible for hardening the pharaoh’s heart, leading to the king’s decision to defy him.
The Passover showed how God saved his people. God said he would spare those who put lamb's blood around their doorways (Exodus 12:23–27; 15:16). The Passover showed how God saved people through an exchange. The lamb died instead of the firstborn child in each family.
Israel received God’s redemption. God took them as his special people (Exodus 6:7). They were no longer free to do as they wanted. Even before the exodus, God had claimed the Israelites, telling Pharaoh, "'Israel is My firstborn son, and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me'" (Exodus 4:22–23).
The price of redemption was obedience. Because he freed Israel from slavery, God gave them the Ten Commandments (listed in Exodus 20:1–17) and the rest of the law for them to obey. The people quickly pledged their obedience (Exodus 19:8; 24:3). But, they disobeyed even quicker (32:8).
The Lord is holy and wants his people to be holy and completely devoted (Exodus 34:14). So, he must punish disobedience. But God is compassionate, so he also forgives. Throughout Israel’s history, God asked for his people to remember the exodus and repent (Micah 6:3–4). Those who were faithful gave thanks to God with Moses’s "song of redemption" (Exodus 15; compare Revelation 15:3–4).
What Is the Message of the Book of Exodus?
The book of Exodus can be divided into four parts. Each part describes one aspect of how God was involved in the lives of the Israelites during the 15th century BC.
God Reveals Himself (Exodus 1–6)
The book of Exodus begins with the 70 descendants of Jacob who joined Joseph in Egypt while there was a famine in their land (compare Genesis 46–50). They were prosperous for over a hundred years in the land of Goshen until a new family of Egyptian pharaohs took power in Egypt. These new rulers treated Israel harshly. The Israelites were growing quickly in number, so the Egyptians made them slaves. They forced them to do hard work, like building cities where the pharaoh could store supplies.
The pharaoh then ordered that all baby boys born to Israelite mothers should be killed at birth. The women who helped with births (called midwives) did not follow this order. They chose to obey God instead of the pharaoh, even though they had to lie. God blessed them because they respected him more than the pharaoh.
The pharaoh then made a new order: all Israelite baby boys must be thrown into the Nile River. But one baby, Moses, was saved. The pharaoh's daughter found him in a basket floating on the Nile. She then paid Moses's own mother to take care of him, not knowing it was his real mother. Later, Moses grew up in the pharaoh's palace as the princess's adopted son.
As an adult, Moses chose to identify with his Hebrew relatives, showing the lasting impact of his early teaching from his godly parents (see Hebrews 11:24–26). He tried to free the Israelites from the Egyptians by helping one person at a time. But he had to run away to Midian, a region at the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula or in Arabia beyond the northern top of the Gulf of Aqaba. Moses married into the family of Jethro, who was also called Reuel. Reuel (meaning "friend of God") was probably the man's personal name, and Jethro (meaning "excellence") was his title.
Jethro is called a "priest of Midian" (Exodus 2:16). Some scholars suggest that Moses learned about Yahweh (the name of God) from Jethro and later taught this religion to the Israelites. This theory is known as the "Kenite hypothesis." However, the Bible presents a different view: Moses and the Israelites already knew about God before leaving Egypt (Exodus 1:21; Acts 7:24–25). God personally revealed his name, YHWH, to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14–15). It seems Jethro believed in God only after he saw that God has rescued Israel from the Egyptians(Exodus 18:10–11).
When Moses was in Midian, the Israelites suffered and cried out to God in their pain (Exodus 2:23–25). God responded by coming down to rescue Israel (Exodus 3:8). He appeared to Moses in a burning bush and introduced himself as the same God who promised the patriarchs "a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 2:17). Moses will lead the Israelites there with the help of Aaron, his brother.
Confident in God’s presence and miracles, Moses took his wife, Zipporah, and their two sons to Egypt. On the way, the Lord confronts Moses and tries to kill him (Exodus 4:24). That is probably the Hebrew way of saying that Moses became sick with a mortal illness. Moses was going to lead God's people, but he had not followed God's command to circumcise his son (a special ceremony God required for all Israelite boys, Genesis 17:14).
Moses recovered after his son was circumcised and continued on to Egypt, meeting Aaron at Mount Sinai. The Israelites welcomed them more kindly than Pharaoh did. The pharaoh refused to honor God who sent Moses. Instead of allowing the Israelites to sacrifice to their God in the wilderness, the pharaoh added to their workload. The people complained to Moses, and Moses complained to God. God appeared again to Moses and reassured him that he would deliver Israel with his power (Exodus 6). God was just beginning his plan.
God Delivers Israel (Exodus 7–19)
In Chapters 7–12, God sent ten disasters (called plagues) on the Egyptians. Even before the first plague, Pharaoh had refused to obey God (Exodus 7:13). The first nine plagues follow a recognizable pattern: three cycles of three.
While the first three plagues might have affected both the Egyptians and the Israelites, the final six only affected the Egyptians. The Egyptian magicians were able to duplicate the first two plagues, but they admitted the third was "the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19).
Some scholars identify four attempts by Pharaoh to negotiate terms with Moses, beginning with the plague of flies. But each time, either Moses refuses the limited offer, or Pharaoh ends the negotiation without doing what Moses asks (Exodus 8:25–29; 10:8–11, 24–29). The first plagues were unpleasant, but the final ones brought a lot of suffering. Since many of the plagues were common to that area, they themselves are not miraculous. The miracle was how natural occurrences were multiplied and limited to the land of Egypt.
The nine plagues hardened the pharaoh’s heart even more. So, God prepared one final plague: the death of every firstborn male. God warned the Israelites to be prepared to leave. To avoid the plague, they had to paint blood from a pure male sheep or goat on their doorways. While they were eating the Passover meal, the angel of death began moving through the land of Egypt. In his grief, the pharaoh allowed the Israelites to leave the land. They had been freed. Just as God promised, God led the Israelites in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
But, once again, the pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he pursued the Israelites. God parted the waters of the sea with a great wind. The literal meaning of the body of water is “sea of reeds.” This term can refer to any shoreline where the water is shallow enough for reeds to grow (see 1 Kings 9:26, where the same term refers to the Gulf of Aqaba near Eloth). Whatever the location, God defeated the Egyptians there. The rescue was complete.
Moses and the Israelites responded with faith in God and with a song of victory and praise (Exodus 14:31–15:21). But soon their praise turned into complaining because of:
bitter water (Exodus 15:22–26),
a lack of meat and bread (16:1–15), and
a lack of water (17:1–7).
In each situation, God provided for their need. He also gave them victory over the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8–16). When the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai, Jethro and Moses’s family rejoined him. Jethro confessed his faith in the Israelite's God and shared a meal with the leaders. He also helped Moses reorganize their legal system. He the returned to Midian (Exodus 18).
Next, the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai (also called Horeb, Exodus 3:1). They prepared to meet the Lord who had rescued them (Exodus 3:12). The Lord established a covenant with Israel, making them his people, "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." They quickly responded, "We will do everything that the LORD has spoken" (Exodus 19:5–8).
God Instructs Israel (Exodus 20–24)
God freed the Israelites from slavery, so he had the right to tell them how to live. The commands God gave them at Mount Sinai were not hard rules to make life difficult. Instead, they were instructions to help them live well as God's people (Exodus 20:2–3).
The Law (or Torah, meaning “instruction”) given at Sinai has three parts:
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) concern a person’s relationship to God and other people. The Ten Commandments are based on God’s permanent nature. These laws are unique in the history of the nations.
The Judgments (Exodus 21–23) are social rules for governing the people while living under God's command. They are similar to the laws of the neighboring nations.
Ordinances (Exodus 24–31) are rules for religious ceremonies.
Moses received the laws during his time with God on the mountain.
The Ten Commandments form the basis of all other laws in Israel (Exodus 20:1–17). The first five are about honoring the Lord. The second five are about respecting others. The last commandment is about a person's thoughts and intentions. This guards against all sins not covered by the first nine commandments.
The judgments in Exodus 21–23 discuss:
How masters and slaves should treat each other (21:1–11)
What crimes are punishable by death (21:12–17)
How to pay for hurting people or damaging property (21:18–22:15)
How people should treat each other (22:16–23:9)
Special days of rest (Sabbaths), feasts, and offerings (23:10–19)
Many judgments would only apply once Israel was living in the land God promised them. God warned them not to rebel or follow the religious practices of other peoples. God also promised that if the people obeyed his commands, he would:
Drive out their enemies
Protect them from sickness
Give them success (Exodus 23:22, 25–27).
Exodus 24 records a reaffirmation of the covenant between God and Israel. Moses sealed (or made it official) with the blood from a sacrifice. After this, God showed himself to Israel's leaders, letting them see some of his glory. After this, Moses climbed the mountain again to receive:
Stone tablets with God's commands
Instructions for building the meeting tent (tabernacle)
Rules about priests and how to worship God
God’s Presence with his People (Exodus 25–40)
Before rescuing Israel, God told Moses, “I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptian” (Exodus 6:7). Moses had seen God keep this wonderful promise. But there was one more step: “They are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8).
God could live among his people because he had come down to save them and because they promised to obey him. God asked people to give materials for this sacred place if they wanted to give. He showed Moses exactly how to build the tabernacle and what furniture to put in it.
God chose Aaron and his sons to serve as priests in the tabernacle. He gave rules about different offerings, including a special yearly ceremony called the Day of Atonement. God chose two men, Bezalel and Oholiab, to build the tabernacle and make its furniture. God filled them with his Spirit to do this special work.
The Israelites had just promised to obey God completely. But when Moses stayed on the mountain for 40 days, they became impatient. They told Aaron to make them an idol (a statue to worship). Aaron gave in to their demands and made a golden calf to worship, like the false gods of other nations (Exodus 32:4).
God told Moses about the people’s worship of idols, wild celebrations, and bad behavior. God said that he was angry enough to destroy them all and start again with Moses’s descendants. Moses begged God to spare Israel until God decided not to destroy them. Then Moses went down from the mountain to punish the people. Moses asked again for God to forgive Israel, and God in his mercy pardons their terrible sin (34:8–10).
God offered to make another covenant with the people (Exodus 34:10). Moses spent 40 more days with God and wrote the commands on new stone tablets. These replaced the ones he had broken when he saw the people worshiping the golden calf. When Moses came back to the people, his face was glowing because he had been with God. He had to cover his face with a cloth because of this bright light.
Now that God had forgiven Israel, the people could start building the sacred tent. The people brought so many gifts for building it that Moses had to tell them to stop giving.
Finally, everything was ready. Moses checked all the work, and they set up the tabernacle on the first day of the first month. This was almost a year after the first Passover. Then, the priests were given their special duties. They lit the lamps. They offered the first sacrifice.
A cloud came down and filled the tabernacle, showing that God's presence was there. God was now living among his people, just as he had promised. This is how the book of Exodus ends.