Summary...

Exodus is the first of four books which revolve around the life, actions and laws of Moses, the founder of the Jewish faith. While the first covenant with the Hebrews is established with Abraham and developed through Jacob/Israel, it is formalized by Moses, one of his descendants. In Exodus, the descendants of Israel emerge as a ‘nation’.

The book of Exodus begins a number of generations after the conclusion of Genesis. The Israelites (descendants of Israel, or Jacob) have grown to become a numerous population, and a new Pharaoh ruled in Egypt who did not know, or care, about the position Joseph once held in the country.

Suspicious and fearful of the Hebrew population, the Egyptians force them into slavery. Then, Pharaoh horrifically orders the deaths of all newborn Hebrew males to ensure that the population is controlled. One woman, from the tribe (extended family) of Israel’s son Levi, decides to hide her child by placing him in a reed basket and floating it down the river (I was never sure of the logic behind this, either). The floating baby is found by Pharaoh’s daughter, who raises him as her own.

Moses presumably grows up in privilege, until he one day observes an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses kills the Egyptian and leaves Egypt for the land of Midian, which is located around the area of where modern Saudi Arabia borders Jordan.  In Midian, he meets a priest (the Bible does not state what religion the priest follows) who becomes a mentor to Moses. Moses marries one of the priest’s daughters, Zipporah, and lives the life of a shepherd.

One day, Moses encounters the strange sight of a bush that appears on fire, but refuses to be consumed by its flames. Moses encounters the presence of God in the bush, who commands Moses to go and speak on his behalf to the Egyptian Pharaoh (a new one—we are told that the old king has died). Moses is to secure the freedom of the Israelite people. God promises to show his power to the people through miracles performed by Moses’ staff. Nervous about speaking, Moses is given help in the form of his older Hebrew brother, Aaron, who is to act as spokesperson.

Moses proceeds to Egypt, where the Pharaoh refuses to listen, instead making the tasks of the Israelite slaves more impossible. God continues to remind Moses and the Israelites of his commitment to the covenant made through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses performs the miracles as directed, bringing a series of plagues and disasters that terrorise the Egyptians. Pharaoh still refuses to listen, right up until a final, sobering warning: If the Israelites are not released, the firstborn children and animals of the Egyptians will all die.

So that the Israelites could be distinguished from the Egyptians, Moses and Aaron lead the tribes in a ritual that set them apart. The Israelites were to place the blood of a sacrificed animal over the doors of their houses, and would share a meal involving the meat of the sacrifice. Additionally, they were commanded to remember this event through eating ‘unleavened bread’ on the anniversary of the event. This festival was to be called the Passover, as it represented when God’s judgement would ‘pass over’ the marked houses to only strike the Egyptians.

The event happens, killing the firstborn children, and the Egyptians finally relent. The Israelites are allowed to leave, and begin their voyage to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, known as Canaan. They are led by the presence of God, embodied in a pillar of smoke and fire.

The Israelites are then pursued by the Egyptians, who plan to slaughter them all. The Israelites complain to God that he has effectively taken them ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’. However, they are saved by the sea opening up and providing a way through on solid ground, and then closing on the Egyptian pursuers. The Israelites then celebrate their covenant with God.

What Exodus may have meant to its original audience...

Its quite possible Exodus wasn't written down as a text until after the Jews were carried into exile in 586 BCE. That means that the themes of Exodus are speaking not only to the original hearers of the story, but also to those grappling with the idea of captivity in Babylon. Among these themes is the vital idea of remembrance... God remembering the Hebrews in their captivity, and the Hebrews remembering who their God is. The story of Exodus then serves as a reminder of hope to Jewish people everywhere that God will remember them, and that through following God's law and direction that they may return to the Promised Land.

The events of Exodus establish a pattern that repeats numerous times. The Israelites would cry in complaint that God had forgotten them, God would stay faithful to the covenant as he had promised and the Israelites would renew their faith, only to complain in fear and anger when the next challenge arose. Water, food and protection in battle are all provided for the Israelites by God, yet despite continuous supply of miracles, they continue to doubt and grumble.

Another major theme that emerges in Exodus is the establishment of rules and laws to guide Israelite society. This happens both through incidental stories, like Moses meeting his father-in-law who suggests that Moses establish a judicial system, to formal events of law-giving like when Moses receives the Ten Commandments. At this later event, Moses receives more than the ten well-known laws. He also receives directions for worship, for use of property, the status of slaves, and much more. Sometimes reasons are given for the laws, while at others the laws seem arbitrary and strange. Among the other laws are the establishment of the Sabbath as a day of rest and reflection for the Jewish people, some dietary laws, and the description of the tabernacle—a portable temple that the Israelites would take with them on their journeys. Sacred items of worship are also described, including the Ark of the Covenant (a special box in which reminders of God’s miracles were stored). Additionally, Moses’ brother Aaron is chosen as Israel’s first high priest, with his sons and other descendants to serve as priests. Priests are the sole people entrusted with the role of performing sacrifices, on behalf of the other Israelites.

Throughout this time, God reiterates the covenant with the people, and reminds them of the land that God has promised to take them to – even when events like the Golden Calf threaten to ruin the relationship that the Israelites have with God. Following that event, which I discussed in an earlier chapter, the tribe of Levi (from which Moses and Aaron come) are called together as a force, ‘doing the Lord’s work’ and punishing the Israelites who behaved poorly (worshipping a golden calf) while Moses was off receiving the law. This is described as the reason for the Levites receiving a special status among the Israelites.

A significant event recorded in Exodus is between Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3) where Moses encounters God for the first time. Here, when Moses asks God about God's identity, the response is simply "I AM who I AM". (Exodus 3:14, NRSV). This rather cryptic answer says much about the high view of God carried in the Hebrew Bible... that God is undefinable, unlimited by human comprehension. To say more about God would be presumptive, mere human additions to a being that refuses to be otherwise categorised.

How Jesus may have read Exodus...

As with all religious Jews, Moses remained a key figure in the thought-world of Jesus. The "Law of Moses" (Torah - first five books of the Bible traditionally attributed to Moses) was the cornerstone of all Jewish belief. Moses' law was something that Jesus constantly needed to reckon with when conversing with other religious authorities who refer to Moses when arguing with him (ie, Matt 19:7-8, 22:4; Mk 12:19; Lk 20:28; Jn 8:5, 9:28-29). Jesus refers Moses or his laws on several occasions (Matt 8:4, 23:2; Mk 1:44, 7:10, 10:3, 12:26; Lk 5:14, 16:29-31, 20:37; Jn 3:14, 6:32, 7:19-23,  even claiming to be its ultimate fulfillment (Lk 24:27, 24:33, Jn 5:46). The notion of Jesus' self-understanding as the law's fulfillment is most clearly made in Matthew 5:17-20 where Jesus says that he came "not to abolish but to fulfill the law" (NRSV).

Jesus thus demonstrated that he had enormous respect for Moses, but respect did not result in a blind allegiance to the common biblical interpretations of his day. The law could be challenged, argued with, and reinterpreted. Above all, it was to serve God's vision for the world and hope for humanity, rather than serve as an absolute command. When the Law of Moses clashed with empathy for the lost or sick, the lost or sick took a higher priority.

Elsewhere, according to the Gospel of John, Jesus makes a very controversial claim in John 8:58 when he states "Before Abraham was, I am" (NRSV). Famous throughout that gospel are a number of other "I am" sayings (seven in all) where Jesus uses God's self-description from Exodus 3 to define his own role and ministry on the earth (6:35, 8:12, 10:9, 10:11, 11:25, 14:6, 15:1). As done occasionally elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus and the gospel writers use quotations from the Hebrew Bible to contextualize and frame Jesus' identity and ministry... which means that further understanding of the Hebrew Bible is essential for understanding how Jesus saw himself!

What Exodus might mean for our faith today...

At the beginning of the Gospel of John, the author declares that "The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17, NRSV). The verse sets up the gospel as a whole, and in many respects continues to shape Christian responses to the Hebrew Bible. As Christians we should always prioritize the teachings and emphases of Jesus over the laws of Exodus.

However, that doesn't mean we disregard the text. In Exodus the idea of people in a covenant relationship with God is further developed. This establishes our core belief in a relational God, enhanced throughout the remainder of the Hebrew Bible and into the New Testament. We should consider the way that the concept of an Israelite/Jewish national identity is formed out of Exodus, with its history and traditions - setting the very scene for Jesus' interactions with the other Jewish people of his world. The idea of being 'called out of Egypt' by God and given a clearly defined law is central to the Jewish people. The beginning of numerous practices, such as the Sabbath and particularly the Passover dinner, are detailed first in Exodus. It is this dinner, celebrated by Jesus as the "Last Supper", that forms the basis of the Christian Eucharist, or Communion. Exodus also first describes the Tabernacle, the portable temple used by the Israelites up until the time of Solomon's temple, where God 'dwelt' among human beings. Later, the Tabernacle is used as a metaphor for Jesus, when John 1:14 says that Jesus dwelt among us.

While the archaeological and historical evidence for the Exodus is not overwhelming, its centrality to Jewish identity cannot be questioned. As Christians we should be aware of Exodus for its importance to ancient Judaism and role in forming the traditions out of which Jesus lived and spoke.

Some questions to ask about Exodus...

  • Aside from the "10 Commandments", the enduring popular image of the book of Exodus is of the plagues brought upon the people of Egypt, purportedly in response to Pharaoh’s refusal to release the Israelites from their captivity. Frogs, locusts, boils and raining fire (among others. See Exodus 7-10) build toward the terrible climax of the Plague of the Firstborn (Exodus 12), where the oldest child in all houses not marked by the blood of a freshly slaughtered lamb is killed. In this story, Moses has pre-warned the Israelites to prepare their houses, and so they are 'passed over' by the angel of death, the first “Passover”.

    The Passover has a central place in Jewish celebration of social identity and covenant with God, and our intention here isn’t to demean or belittle that event. However, neither can we ignore the apparent violence of the story, its death and terror. Innocent people are killed in the pursuit of Israel’s freedom. Indeed, no Egyptian house avoided the plague (Ex 12:30). A key and often overlooked point in this story, however, is the repeated phrase that “God hardens Pharaoh’s heart" (Exodus 7:3, 10:20, 10:27, 11:10, 14:4).A key and often overlooked point in this story, however, is the repeated phrase that "God hardened Pharaoh’s heart" (Exodus 7:3, 10:20, 10:27, 11:10, 14:4). Pharaoh’s hardened heart is, of course, central to the story as he continuously resists Moses' entreaties to release the Hebrew people.

    The horrific element of this story is that the same God that punishes is the same God who directs Pharaoh to his offense. The story in that sense plays out like a crime drama, where the judge overseeing a trial is actually the coordinator of an organised crime network, and Pharaoh is his unwitting henchman, set up to take the fall.

    There are several ways that people try to reconcile this tension. Exponents of ‘Just War’-type theories might look to justify the story with a statement about this ‘lesser evil’ serving a greater good in liberating thousands (some would say over a million) people from slavery, or some similar type of argument. The arguments may even seem convincing if we make the assumption that Egypt was a fundamentally flawed, intrinsically broken society who had set themselves on doing evil. The hardening of Pharaoh, this idea would suggest, was a means of ensuring justice is reached. Others might see the ‘hardening’ more as Pharaoh’s personal, unredeemable response to God’s goodness, rather than an ‘action’ of God.

    Another approach may be to focus less on the issue of responsibility and punishment, and more on what the story teaches about the Hebrew understanding of God’s sovereignty. In this reading, the purpose of the story is to emphasise that God is ultimately control of all things. But this is also problematic. If God is in control of even our feelings, what does this say for free will? Do we have choice? And if we can’t chose, and receive punishment anyway, what does that say about the nature of God’s justice?

    Perhaps a better response is to understand the impact of this story for the people for whom it was recorded for. If the Torah was compiled in the Babylonian Exile, then this story was finally written for Israelites living two-and-a-half millennia ago, definitely under some sort of oppression and probably hundreds of kilometres from home. The daily life of a people with limited prospects could only be given meaning in the belief that their suffering was part of some greater plan.

    This reading does not dismiss the suffering of Israelites or Egyptians, but reframes it from an horrific historical account to the contextualised, desperate explanation of one people’s suffering. Like other violent stories in the Hebrew Bible, this story is thus less a reflection of God, and more a reflection of God’s followers trying to make sense of their world.

    As a final note, it’s worth recognising that Jewish celebrations of the Passover do incorporate a remembrance of the suffering of the Egyptians, representing grief for their passing – so as to avoid ‘hardness of heart’ in relation to the Israelites historical foes.

  • In Exodus 32:25-29, Moses comes down from receiving the 10 Commandments to find the Israelites, who became bored/discouraged in his absence, "running wild". They have begun worshipping a golden calf, set up in the midst of the camp.

    The story says that Moses called those who were 'on God's side' to him, and was joined by a number of men from his own tribe of Levi. While the people have already been punished (having to drink the gold-dust of the melted-down idol), Moses then sends his devout followers throughout the camp, with orders to kill a male friend, brother or neighbour.

    For this, they are rewarded by being "ordained" for God's service - their murder of three thousand of their countrymen is viewed as establishing them as suitable guardians of the religious order.

    While some might be tempted to justify these actions (ie. suggesting they only killed criminals or really bad people), the idea that murder in the scriptures is somehow seen as a holy duty (especially straight after the commandment 'do not kill' is somewhat disturbing, especially in light of the political/religious climate of today. Christians, and Jews, need to be aware of what is in our own scriptures even as many people judgmentally point at selective passages from the Quran.

  • We won't labour the point throughout our whole exploration of the Hebrew Bible, but it is worth noticing that the commandment in Exodus 20:3 actually doesn't outright prohibit worship of other gods. It instead placed Yahweh above whatever other religious groups exist in the world at the time. The movement towards absolute monotheism, the worship of one God, is not complete for some time yet.