Exodus – Brief Introduction
Within this study our primary view of the Book of Exodus will be to see it as part of the biblical canon. The book has an indispensable role among the books of the Torah, through the Old Testament, and indeed through the entire work of Christian scripture. Questions of how the content of Exodus connects with archaeological findings and other related things can certainly be part of our conversation. Even so, we will not lose our focus on how the book speaks as a divinely inspired work given to a covenant people.
Authorship of the book is traditionally credited to Moses. Academic studies have long examined evidence of how the text of Exodus may have been first recorded. If a person wanted a taste of what that work involves, an easy step in would be with a documentary produced by Timothy Mahoney called The Moses Controversy. Mahoney has done several documentaries, all under the general title Patterns of Evidence, in which he explores the intersection of biblical, archaeological and historical evidence regarding Egypt and the book of Exodus. While I would stop short of necessarily endorsing every one of his conclusions, his work does bring to light the nature of the relationship between modern academic work and biblical study.
Exodus is a book that contains themes that are essential to the Bible. For instance, we will find quickly that Exodus is a work of deliverance. We will see a God who is mindful of His people, who cares about their suffering, whose hand is moved at their cries for help. Throughout centuries the Exodus narrative has been a source of hope for God-fearing people who have lived in oppression. Exodus also emphasizes the theme of covenant. Though the concept of covenant has been revealed in the book of Genesis, the meeting at Mt. Sinai will show us the establishment of covenant between God and a chosen people on a grand scale.
Exodus also addresses matters of trust. To follow God involves trusting in His ability to provide what is needed in times of hardship. The forty year wilderness journey of the Israelites finds its beginning in the book of Exodus. In their struggle to trust God we will see clear connections to our own struggles to do the same. Along the way the Israelites will also be introduced to the matter of holiness. This God who seeks to live in covenant is a God who reveals Himself. Details of matters such as the tabernacle and the function of the priesthood were to help the people understand the holiness of their covenant God. And as we might expect, Exodus will also highlight the theme of restoration. It will not take long before the people break covenant with God. They will discover that there are consequences of breaking covenant, but they will also find that God will not abandon His own commitment to the body of his people.
The Exodus narrative will prove to be absolutely crucial to the larger biblical narrative. The establishment of Passover is a picture that points forward to the day when God would send the true Lamb, whose blood would save people from death. It reveals a God who stands sovereign in authority and power over every false God contrived by humans. Exodus shows us the ability of God to bring food and water in the midst of stark wilderness, an authority in which Jesus would walk when he spoke to wind and waves to make them still (see Mark 4:35-41). Exodus will introduce us to the prophet Moses, a man used so powerfully by God that the Messiah was expected to be like him (Acts 3:22). When the book of Genesis ends, the people of God’s promise were just a small family unit who migrated to Egypt to survive a famine. When the Exodus narrative is complete (including Leviticus through Deuteronomy), the people of God’s promise are a nation of twelve tribes, hopeful to see the promise become a reality in a land of abundance.
Exodus 1 – A New Pharaoh
The chapter begins with a recap of Jacob’s family in Egypt. Eleven of the twelve sons are said to have come to Egypt with Jacob—Joseph obviously being already in Egypt. The number given to the sons and their households is said to total seventy, a number that would carry a theological meaning of completion (a multiple of seven). The names of the sons and grandchildren are specifically mentioned in Genesis 46. Verse 6 indicates, not surprisingly, that while in Egypt Joseph, all his brothers and all of their generation died. Nevertheless, the family of Israel (v. 7) multiplied greatly and became strong in the land. Exodus 12:40 tells us that Jacob’s family was in Egypt for 430 years. “The land” that was “filled” with them would specifically be the region known in the Bible as Goshen, the northwestern part of the Nile delta.
There is historical and archaeological evidence of a time in Egypt’s history when the northern region of the country was ruled, in some fashion, by people known as the Hyksos. The word is said to mean “rulers of foreign lands,” or even “shepherd kings.” Historical accounts portray contrasting stories of how they ruled and how they eventually left Egypt. What appears to be confidently known is that they were Semitic people who were influential and, for a time, helpful to the prosperity of Egypt. The time of their presence is marked from 1650 to 1550 BC, a time when Egypt was a divided kingdom. Whether or not these Hyksos were the family of Jacob is uncertain and remains a matter of debate.
The “new Pharaoh” sees that the people of Israel are “more and mightier” than the Egyptians, a remarkable statement that expresses great concern and even fear. The king’s concern is that the Israelites will become allied with an enemy of Egypt and fight against Egypt. Curiously, the king is concerned that the Israelites will depart from the land, an indication that their presence in the land has been profitable for Egypt.
Verses 11-14 indicate that the labor of the Israelites now becomes forced and, by nature, becomes oppressive. The strategy in the mind of the Egyptian king is to gain control of the Israelites by reducing their birth rate and making their life harsh. What we are told is that the king’s actions have the opposite effect.
The two cities mentioned in verse 11 are said to be “storage cities.” Archaeology has supported the construction of such cities at certain periods of Egyptian history. The mass storage of food may coincide with an increased effort of the Egyptian government to control essential features of life.
Verses 15-22 tell us specifically of the king’s effort to stem the increase of Hebrew people in Egypt. His actions, first of killing male children at birth by the midwives, followed by the casting of male children into the Nile, reminds us of similar actions taken by Herod the Great at the news of a competing king being born in Israel (see Matthew 2:16).
We might notice at this point of the text that the children of Israel are called “Hebrew.” We noticed in Genesis that the term is generally not used by Israelites, but by other people groups. For instance, the wife of Potiphar used it to speak of Joseph (Gen. 39:14,17). Context also suggests that the term is not used in a complimentary way. In many instances, the term is used to refer to a low class, even slave class of people.
Exodus 2 – Moses
Chapter 2 introduces us in short order to Moses. Into the season of Israelite oppression, a Levite man and wife give birth to a son. The name fittingly connects to the Hebrew word meaning “to draw out.” It is something that will happen only months into Moses’ life, and it is something God will do for His people under the leadership of Moses years later.
To keep him from being killed because of Pharaoh’s order, the mother hid Moses for three months. When she felt that his existence could no longer be hid, she places him in a basket and puts him among the reeds in the Nile river. When coming there to bathe, the daughter of Pharaoh finds the child. Moses’ sister, who has been stealthily watching, comes to the princess and asks if she would like for a nursing Hebrew woman to take the child and feed him. The princess so instructs Moses’ sister, and Moses is reunited with his mother.
At a later point in time, Pharaoh’s daughter officially adopts the child and gives Moses his name (v. 10). From this point we are told nothing else about Moses until he reaches adulthood. What we can safely conclude is that Moses is raised with the best Egypt has to offer. What we do not know for certain, but might reasonably conclude, is that while Moses was raised in an Egyptian home with an Egyptian family, he was also raised to know his identity as a child of the Hebrew people. There reason for the conclusion is based on the verses immediately following (11-15).
Two connected events bring an end to Moses’ years as a young adult in Egypt. The first is his witnessing of a Hebrew being beaten by an Egyptian. While it is almost certain Moses had seen similar actions before, this may have been when he had reached the limit of his tolerance. As such, Moses struck down the Egyptian and hid his body. The second event was witnessing two Hebrew men fighting with each other, obviously dealing blows to one another. Moses intervenes, at least partially on the basis that the two men share a common identity. The men, however, turn on Moses and reveal that they are aware of his killing of the Egyptian. Somehow Pharaoh heard what Moses had done and tried to have him killed. Moses escaped, though, leaving Egypt and fleeing as far as a region known as Midian.
Midian was located at the far northwest part of modern Saudi Arabia, just east of the Gulf of Aqaba. This means that Moses had fled entirely across the Sinai Peninsula. Once there he encounters the daughters of one called “the priest of Midian” named Reuel. In the next chapter we will see the same person referred to by the name Jethro. We are not certain why multiple names are used. One of the names could be a title while the other is a proper name. Reuel is a Hebrew word meaning “friend of God,” while Jethro means “abundance.” The title used in verse 16 could refer to religious function, or could more simply indicate he was a person of influence and respect among the people of Midian.
The encounter between Moses and the daughters of Midian reinforces Moses’ character as an advocate for the weak and vulnerable. Such character would fit well in the role of a shepherd, something he would spend many subsequent years doing. Further, his shepherding of flocks would be advance training for his role as the chief shepherd to bring the nation of Israel into the land of promise.
Moses receives a wife from among the daughters of Reuel, a woman named Zipporah. The two of them produce a son who is given the name Gershom, a name reflecting one who lives as a “stranger in the land.”
The chapter ends with the news of Pharaoh’s death, an event which very well could have added to the oppression of the Israelite people as leadership is passed to a next generation leader who would be even less familiar with Joseph and his contribution to the well being of Egypt. Verses 24-25 give us language that drives us forward with anticipation: “God heard…,” and “God saw….”
