Exodus

Following the glory years under Joseph, Israel was subjected to Egyptian slavery for many years until God raised up Moses and delivered Israel (Exod. 1-15). The great event of the exodus (about 1446 b.c.) is not mentioned in Egyptian records. This oversight is not surprising, since ancient Near Eastern chronicles tended to record political successes, not failures.

Egypt's religion was polytheistic. Its major national gods were Ra, the sun god; Osiris, the god of the dead; and Isis, Osiris's wife. Elaborate ritual systems built up around the cults of the dead associated with Osiris. Egyptians also worshiped numerous lesser gods, many of them associated with specific locales and households. In addition, Pharaoh was considered to be divine, in contrast to beliefs about kings in most of the ancient Near East.

ARTICLE: Dates of the Exodus

The Book of Exodus does not give specific data that definitely links the biblical events with specific events or persons in Egypt. We are only told of "a new king" (Exod. 1:8) "who did not know about Joseph," an anonymous "Pharaoh" (Exod. 1:11,19,22; 2:15), and a "king of Egypt" (Exod. 1:15; 2:23).

This much we do know: Pharaoh, meaning great house and designating the monarch's residence, was used as a title for the king himself for the first time in the Eighteenth Egyptian Dynasty. Also, the Pharaoh of the oppression died (Exod. 2:23) and was not the Pharaoh of the exodus (Exod. 4:19).

The two main views identify the Pharaoh of the exodus as a Pharaoh of (1) the Eighteenth Dynasty (1580-1321 b.c.) or (2) of the Nineteenth Dynasty (1321-1205 b.c.). The first is called the "early date," and the latter is called the "late date."

The early date of the fifteenth century has two main arguments in its favor. (1) The summarizing statement in 1 Kings 6:1 that there were 480 years from the exodus until the fourth year of Solomon (967 b.c.) yields a date of 1447 b.c. for the exodus (967 + 480 = 1447). (2) The supporting figure from Judges 11:26 comments that three hundred years had elapsed since Israel entered Canaan until the commencement of Judge Jephthah's rule (Jephthah is commonly placed around 1100 b.c. (1100 + 300 = 1400).

Both of these texts would set the exodus at 1446 b.c.. and the conquest forty years later at 1410-1400 b.c. They would also make Thutmose III the pharaoh of the oppression (1490-1436 b.c., as dated by Albright, Wright, and Pritchard, or 1504-1450 b.c. as dated by the revised Cambridge Ancient History). In this case, Amen-hotep II would be the pharaoh of the exodus.

Lately, many have pointed to one Greek manuscript that has 440 years instead of 480 or to the fact that 480 is a round number involving twelve generations of forty years each. The first variation is too insignificant to count.

The second argument of round numbers fails because the priestly line in 1 Chronicles 6:33-37 actually yields eighteen generations, not the stylized twelve that many have assumed. Moreover, the numbers recorded in Judges do support the total given in Judges 11:26.

It is important to note that the oppression by the Ammonites (Judg. 10:8-12:14) and the oppression by the Philistines (Judg. 13:1-16:31) occurred simultaneously, one on the east side of the Jordan and the other on the west. Thus the forty-seven years of the Ammonite oppression does not continue the chronology since it fits into the narrative of the Philistine oppression featured in the first Book of Samuel.

Even when the additional fifteen to twenty years for Israel's conquest and settling of land are allowed, we still come up with 480 years from the exodus to Solomon's fourth year.

Over against the early or fifteenth century date for the exodus stands the late or thirteenth century date. Most biblical scholars and archaeologists conclude that the Israelites entered Canaan around 1230-1220 b.c., toward the end of the late Bronze Age (generally accepted date is 1550-1200 b.c.).

Four arguments are usually advanced to support this theory.

Opponents of the late date have replies for the four previous arguments.

1. Exodus 1:7-14 seems to place the building of these cities as one of the first tasks Israel accomplished during its four centuries of bondage. Rameses is probably to be identified with Qantir. The use of the name Rameses may simply be a case of a modernization of a name much as modern historians might say that Julius Caesar crossed "the English Channel." Note that Genesis 47:11 refers to the area where Jacob's family settled in Egypt as "the district of Rameses." This certainly is a case of updating terms. Exodus 1:11 offers no definitive proof for a late date; archaeology offers no proof for equating Pi-Ramesse with biblical Rameses.

2. The conclusion that the Transjordan was unoccupied at the early date of the exodus was based solely on surface observation of these territories fifty years ago. Since that time excavations at Dibon have demonstrated thirteenth-century occupation. A tomb excavated in Heshbon has yielded a number of artifacts dating from 1600 b.c.

3. The alleged Israelite burning levels in such sites as Lachish, Bethel, and Debir were probably caused by later thirteenth century incursions by the Egyptians, but certainly by the invasion of the Sea Peoples in 1200 b.c.

4. Important inscriptions are now coming to light that indicate that the Eighteenth Dynasty did have a keen building interest in the delta region of Goshen where the Israelites resided. Some texts imply that these Eighteenth Dynasty pharaohs had a secondary or temporary residence in the delta region.

5. The strongest evidence for the early date continues to be 1 Kings 6:1 and Judges 11:26. Many, but not all, conservatives tend to favor the early date. Some archaeological evidence supports this date while other evidence tends to question this conclusion or is itself subject to interpretation and in need of further confirmation.

In other words, the offer of covenant entailed function only. It did not make Israel Yahweh's people, for that relationship had long since been established and recognized (see Exod. 3:7; 4:22-23; 5:1). What the Sinai covenant did was to define the task of the people of Yahweh.

In conclusion, the theology of Exodus is rooted in servanthood. It centers in the truth that a chosen people, delivered from bondage to a hostile power by the power of Yahweh, were brought to a point of decision. What would they do with God's offer to make them the servant people long before promised to Abraham? Their willing acceptance of this generous offer then obligated them to its conditions, conditions spelled out in the Book of the Covenant (Exod. 20:1-23:33) and the remainder of the Book of Exodus.

With Oppressed People (1:1-22). The Exodus story begins by recalling the Genesis account of the descent of Jacob and his sons to Egypt and their sojourn there until after Joseph's death (Gen. 46-50). The Genesis link reminds readers that God sent Israel into Egypt to deliver them from famine. Their prosperity and success in their new land show that Israel was the recipient of God's blessings on creation and to Abraham.

Egyptian hospitality did not long out-live Joseph, however, and within a generation or two before Moses' birth had changed to bitter hostility and oppression. Israel was put under forced labor and eventually subjected to the slaughter of their male newborns. Even in the years of oppression God was with Israel and caused them to prosper. The Lord had revealed to Abraham that his offspring would suffer oppression but that their bondage would be lifted by a great redemptive act. The Egyptians would be judged and the slave people set free to return to their own land (Gen. 15:13-16). Israel's experience of slavery was not a disaster that proved its God to be irrelevant; it was but part of the redemptive plan of the Lord of history. In contrast to the Lord of history stand the pharaohs who came and went (see 2:23) and trembled with fear.

With Young Moses (2:1-22). God's saving presence is clear in the early life of Moses, the human agent of God's deliverance. Moses' Levite parents saved him from a cruel death by hiding him in a basket in the Nile. Rescued by Pharaoh's daughter, Moses was reared by his mother, who introduced him to the God of Israel. Though Moses later enjoyed the privileges of the Egyptian royal court, he never forgot his Israelite heritage. When he saw a fellow Hebrew being abused, he came to his rescue, slaying the offending Egyptian official in the process. This rash, though heroic, act forced Moses into exile in Midian. There Moses came to the rescue of the daughters of Reuel (Jethro), a Midianite priest. Moses married Zipporah, one of the shepherd daughters.

Revelation to Moses (2:23-4:17). The death of the former king of Egypt paved the way for Moses to return to lead his people to freedom. But first the ever-living God had to reveal Himself to Moses in a convincing display of His power and purposes. God did this at Mount Horeb (Sinai) in the burning bush that was not consumed. In this marvelous appearance the Lord identified Himself as the God of the ancestors of Israel, the One who was aware of His people's suffering and was coming now to fulfill His pledge of deliverance and land. Though he knew of the God of his fathers and of the ancient covenant promises, Moses needed to know precisely how his God would identify Himself to His people. The answer was as Yahweh, the "I AM," who by that name would redeem them and live among them. (See the feature article "Names of God.")

Moses felt inadequate for the task God gave him. What was crucial was not Moses' "Who am I?" but God's "I will be with you." Moses doubted that the people would accept his leadership or believe his report about the burning bush experience. Therefore Yahweh gave Moses some tangible evidence of His presence and blessing, turning Moses' shepherd's staff into a serpent and causing his hand to become leprous. Still not confident of success, Moses argued that he was not articulate. To still his objections once more, Yahweh promised to make his brother Aaron his spokesman. Indeed, God had already sent Aaron on his way.

Moses in Egypt (4:18-13:16). Moses at last yielded to God and made his way back to Egypt with this message for Pharaoh: "Israel is my firstborn son ... Let my son go, so he may worship me." Along the way Yahweh met Moses and threatened to kill him because he who was about to lead the circumcised people of Israel had failed to circumcise even his own son. Only the quick intervention of Zipporah saved him, for she hastily circumcised her son in obedience to the covenant requirements.

At the edge of the desert Moses met Aaron. Together they entered Egypt to confront the elders of Israel. After Moses had related all that God had said and done, the elders and the people heard with faith and bowed themselves before the Lord.

Pharaoh's question, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go?" sets the stage for the conflict that dominates the scene through Exodus 15. Before the drama of redemption was over, Pharaoh would "know the Lord" and would yield to His powerful saving presence. But for now Pharaoh intensified the Israelites' sufferings. This led a bitter Moses to accuse Yahweh.

Yahweh renewed His pledge to be with Israel in deliverance, a pledge grounded securely in His very covenant name Yahweh. God commanded Moses to go back to Pharaoh with the promise that the Egyptian monarch would know that there was a higher authority. Moses would seem like God Himself to Pharaoh, and Aaron would be his prophet. By His mighty acts of judgment, God would make Himself known to the Egyptians.

Again and again Moses and Aaron commanded Pharaoh to let God's people leave Egypt to worship. Despite the signs, wonders, and plagues that revealed the mighty presence of the Lord, the king of Egypt would not relent. In round one of the conflict, the rod of Aaron became a serpent that swallowed those of the Egyptian magicians. Three plagues followed. The Nile was turned to blood, the land was filled with frogs, and Egypt was plagued by gnats. Pharaoh's own magicians could duplicate the first two feats, so he was not impressed. Pharaoh did, however, request that Moses and Aaron pray "to the Lord to take the frogs away." Pharaoh was becoming acquainted with Yahweh, the God of Israel. The plague of gnats, the final plague of round one, exceeded the magical powers of the Egyptian magicians and led them to confess, "This is the finger of God."

In round two of the conflict, the plague of flies demonstrated that Yahweh was present in Egypt. In this plague, the grievous disease of the cattle, and the boils, God distinguished between the Egyptians who suffered God's judgment and the Israelites who experienced God's protection.

Round three of the conflict likewise consists of three plagues. Before sending hail, the Lord asserted that He alone is the Lord of history. Yahweh had raised up Pharaoh for the express purpose of demonstrating His mighty power and proclaiming His holy name. Indeed, some of the officials of Pharaoh "feared the word of the Lord," and Pharaoh confessed his sin. Moses' prayer to end the hail demonstrated "that the earth is the Lord's." Pharaoh, however, again hardened his heart. Plagues of locusts and thick darkness followed to no avail.

The fourth and deciding round of the conflict consisted of but one final plague—the death of the firstborn of every family in Egypt. At last Pharaoh permitted Israel to leave Egypt with their flocks and herds. The structure of Exodus 11-13 underscores the abiding theological significance of this final plague. Here narrative language relating once-for-all saving events alternates with instructional language applicable to the ongoing worship of Israel. The Passover celebration, the consecration of the firstborn, and the feast of unleavened bread serve as continuing reminders of what God did to redeem His people. The firstborn of all the families of Israel belonged to the Lord because He had spared them when He had decimated the families of Egypt.

Exodus 1:1-13:16, which focuses on God's powerful, saving presence, builds steadily to its dramatic conclusion—the death of the firstborn of Egypt and Israel's exodus. Exodus 13:17-18:27 likewise focuses on God's presence, which here guides, guards, and protects.

MAP: Route of the Exodus

By means of the pillars of cloud and fire, the Lord guided Israel from Succoth to the wilderness of Etham, just west of the Red (or Reed) Sea. There they appeared to be boxed in by the sea to the east, the deserts to the north and south, and the advancing Egyptian armies to the west. Once more the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh so that through his defeat Egypt would know that Yahweh is God. For a tense night the presence of the Lord guarded Israel from the armies of Egypt. Then Yahweh, in the most marvelous redemptive act of Old Testament times, opened up the sea so His people could go safely through while their enemies perished. For generations thereafter Israel commemorated its salvation by singing the triumphant songs of Moses and Miriam, hymns that praised Yahweh as the Sovereign and Savior.

The journey from the Red Sea to Sinai was filled with miracles of provision of water, quail, manna, and water once more. All this occurred despite Israel's complaining insubordination. Hostile and savage desert tribes likewise fell before God's people as He led them triumphantly onward. When heavy administrative burdens threatened to overwhelm Moses, his father-in-law, Jethro, instructed Moses about how the task could be better distributed.

Again and again in the account of the plagues, Moses delivered God's message to Pharaoh: "Let my people go, so that they may worship [or serve] me." At last the moment of worship and service arrived, which the exodus deliverance had made possible. At Sinai Israel was to commit itself to God in covenant. Yahweh based His call to covenant commitment on His mighty acts of deliverance. Only through obedience to God's covenant could Israel fill its role as "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

Unanimously they agreed to its terms, so Moses prepared to ascend Mount Sinai to solemnize the arrangement. As Moses was about to go up, Yahweh came down, visiting the mountain with the thunder and lightning of His glorious presence. Moses warned the people to respect the holy (and potentially dangerous) presence of God on the mountain.

As suggested already, the Sinaitic (or Mosaic) covenant is in the form of a sov-ereign-vassal treaty text well attested from the ancient Near East. The treaty established the relationship between the King (God) and His servants (Israel). Its first section is a preamble introducing the Covenant Maker, the Lord Himself. Next a historical prologue outlines the past relationship of the partners and justifies the present covenant. Then follows the division known as the general stipulations, in this case the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments. After a brief narrative interlude, the Book of the Covenant gives the specific stipulations of the treaty.

Contracting parties often sealed their agreement with oaths and a ceremony that included a fellowship meal. The Sinaitic covenant also had its sacrifice, sealing of the oath by blood, and covenant meal. The covenant or treaty texts also had to be prepared in duplicate and preserved in a safe place for regular, periodic reading. Moses therefore brought down from the mountain the tablets of stone to be stored in the ark of the covenant (24:12-18; 25:16).

Once Yahweh and His people Israel had concluded the covenant, arrangements had to be undertaken for the Great King to live and reign among them. Therefore elaborate instructions follow for the building of a tabernacle (or worship tent) and its furnishings and for the clothing and consecration of the priests. The priests, of course, functioned as the covenant mediators. They offered sacrifices on the nation's behalf and presented other forms of tribute to the Great God and King.

The covenant fellowship almost immediately fell on hard times, however. Even before Moses could descend from the mountain with the tables of stone and other covenant texts, the people, with Aaron's consent, violated the covenant terms by casting an idol of gold and bowing down to it. This act of apostasy brought God's judgment and even a threat of annihilation. (See the feature article "Apostasy.") Only Moses' intercession prevented the annulment of the covenant with the larger community.

The Lord was attentive to Moses' cry and did not utterly destroy the idolaters immediately. God did renew His promise to bring His people into the land of promise. Yahweh, however, declared that He could not go with Israel lest He destroy the stubborn, rebellious people. Two narratives stressing God's intimacy with Moses only highlight the Holy One's separation from Israel more. God's people would never make it to the land of promise without God's presence. Twice Moses interceded with God on behalf of rebellious Israel. Yahweh twice revealed Himself to Moses as a God of mercy and compassion. God's mercy and compas-sion—not Israel's faithfulness—formed the basis for renewal of the broken covenant. Descending from the mountain with the tablets of the covenant, Moses appeared before his people, his face aglow with the reflection of the glory of God.

Exodus concludes with Israel's response to God's offer of forgiveness. Without delay the work of tabernacle construction was underway. When it was finally completed, all according to the explicit instruction of the Lord and through the wisdom of His Spirit, the building was filled with the awesome glory of God. By cloud and fire God revealed His presence among the people of Israel whether the tabernacle was at rest or in transit to its final earthly dwelling place in Canaan.

Contemporary Significance. The exodus deliverance is to the Old Testament what the death and resurrection of Christ are to the New Testament—the central, definitive act in which God intervenes to save His people. The Old Testament illustrates how God's acts of redemption call for a response from God's people. The proclamation of God's saving acts in the exodus was the central function of Israel's worship (see Pss. 78:11-55; 105:23-45; 106:7-33; 136:10-16). Christian worship focuses on God's saving act in Christ. (Compare the hymns in Phil. 2:6-11 and Rev. 5:12.) God's saving intervention in the exodus formed the basis both for the prophetic call to obedience (Hos. 13:4) and the announcement of judgment on covenant breakers (Jer. 2:5-9; Hos. 11:1-5; 12:9; Amos 2:10; 3:1-2). Today God's saving act in Christ forms the basis for the call to live a Christlike life (Rom. 6:1-14). God's saving acts in the past gave Israel hope that God would intervene to save in the future (Isa. 11:16; Mic. 7:15). Likewise, God's saving act in Christ is the basis for the Christian's hope (Rom. 8:28-39).

The exodus deliverance, the Sinaitic covenant, the wilderness experience, and the promise of a land provide models of the Christian life. The believer, having already and unconditionally been adopted into the family of God, under-takes his or her own "exodus" from bondage to sin and evil to servanthood under the new covenant. Christians live out their kingdom pilgrimage in the wilderness of this world system, as it were, pressing toward and in anticipation of the eternal land of promise to come.

Ethical Value. God saved and made covenant with His ancient people Israel and demanded of them a lifestyle in keeping with that holy calling. He demands that same adherence to His unchanging standards of all who call themselves His people. The Ten Commandments are an expression of the very character of a holy, faithful, glorious, saving God. Even the "statutes" and "judgments" designed specifically for Old Testament Israel exemplify standards of holiness and integrity that are part and parcel of God's expectations for His people of all ages.

One can also learn a great deal about practical living and relationships by examining carefully the narrative sections. One must be impressed with the faith of godly parents who, in the face of persecution and peril, placed their son in the hands of Yahweh to wait to see how He would spare him. From his birth, then, Moses enjoyed the benefits of a wholesome spiritual environment in the home.

Clearly Moses himself inspires one to a life of dependence and yet dogged determination. Despite his slowness in responding to the call of the Lord in the wilderness, he went on in faith to challenge the political and military structures of the greatest nation on the earth. By the power of his God he overcame the insurmountable and witnessed miraculous intervention over and over again.

Many other examples could be cited, but these are enough to show that Exodus is timeless in its moral and ethical as well as theological relevance.

Cates, Robert L. Exodus. Layman's Bible Book Commentary, vol. 2. Nashville: Broadman, 1979.

Cole, R. Alan. Exodus. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1973.

Youngblood, Ronald. Exodus. Chicago: Moody, 1983.