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			{{Short description\|Second book of the Bible}}
	{{dablink\|This article is about the second book in the Torah. Discussion of ], a major event in the book, is in a separate article. For other uses of the name, see ].}}
			{{About\|the second book of the Torah and the Old Testament\|the Israelite migration narrative\|The Exodus\|other uses\|Exodus (disambiguation){{!}}Exodus}}
	{{Books of the Old Testament}}
			{{redirect\|Exodus 4\|the single\|Exodus '04}}
	{{Books of Torah}}
			{{Tanakh OT \|Torah \|Pentateuch}}
	'''Exodus''' is the second book of the ], the ], and the ]. The major events of the book concern ], a departure of ] ] from ] under the ] of ].
			The '''Book of Exodus''' (from {{langx\|grc\|Ἔξοδος\|translit=Éxodos}}; {{langx\|hbo\|שְׁמוֹת}} ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; {{langx\|la\|Liber Exodus}}) is the second book of the ]. It is a ] of ], the ] of the ] leaving ] in ] through the strength of their ] named ], who according to the story ] as his people. The Israelites then journey with the ]ary prophet ] to ], where Yahweh gives the ] and they enter into a ] with Yahweh, who promises to make them a "], and a kingdom of priests" on condition of their faithfulness. He gives them their laws and instructions to build the ], the means by which he will come from ] and dwell with them and lead them in a ] to conquer ] (the "]"), which has earlier, according to the ], been promised to the "seed" of ], the legendary patriarch of the Israelites.

			Traditionally ] himself, modern scholars see its initial composition as a product of the ] (6th century BCE), based on earlier written sources and oral traditions, with final revisions in the ] (5th century BCE).{{sfn\|Johnstone\|2003\|p=72}}{{sfn\|Finkelstein\|Silberman\|2002\|p=68}} American ] ], in her commentary on Exodus, suggests that it is arguably the most important book in the Bible, as it presents the defining features of Israel's identity—memories of a past marked by hardship and escape, a binding covenant with their ], who chooses Israel, and the establishment of the life of the community and the guidelines for sustaining it.<ref>Meyers, p. xv.</ref> The consensus of modern scholars is that the ] does not give an accurate account of the origins of the Israelites, who appear instead to have formed as an entity in the central highlands of ] in the late second millennium BCE (around the time of the ]) from the indigenous Canaanite culture.{{sfn\|Grabbe\|2017\|p=36}}{{sfn\|Meyers\|2005\|pp=6–7}}{{sfn\|Moore\|Kelle\|2011\|p=81}}
	Jews call the book by its first words ''Ve-eleh shemoth'' (]: ואלה שמות) (i.e., "And these are the names") or simply "Shemoth" (שמות). The Septuagint designates the second book of the Pentateuch as "Exodus" (]: ''{{polytonic\|Ἔξοδος}}''), meaning "departure" or "out-going". The Latin translation adopted the name, which passed into other languages. As a result of the theme of the first half of the book, the term "an exodus" has come to mean a departure of a great number of people.

			==Title==
	The book is generally broken into six sections:
			The English name ''Exodus'' comes from the {{langx\|grc\|ἔξοδος\|translit=éxodos\|lit=way out}}, from {{langx\|grc\|ἐξ-\|translit=ex-\|links=\|label=none\|lit=out}} and {{langx\|grc\|ὁδός\|translit=hodós\|links=\|label=none\|lit=path', 'road}}. In Hebrew the book's title is שְׁמוֹת, ''shemōt'', "Names", from the ]: "These are the names of the sons of Israel" ({{langx\|he\|וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמֹות בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל}}).{{sfn\|Dozeman\|2009\|p=1}}
	*The account of the growth of the Israelites into a people, their enslavement in ], and eventual escape (1-12)
	*The journey from Egypt to ] (13-18)
	*The formation of a covenant between ] and the people, and its associated laws (19-24)
	*Intricate instructions for the construction of a tabernacle, priestly robes, and other ritual objects (25-31)
	*The episode of the ], and the regiving of the law (32-34)
	*The construction of the tabernacle, priestly robes, and other ritual objects (35-40)

			==Historicity ==
	A major ] runs throughout the second half of Exodus, centred on the episode of the golden calf.
			{{Main\|Sources and parallels of the Exodus}}
			] 1075, a 3rd or 4th century CE manuscript showing part of ]]]
			Most mainstream scholars do not accept the biblical Exodus account as historical for a number of reasons. It is generally agreed that the Exodus stories were written centuries after the apparent setting of the stories.{{sfn\|Moore\|Kelle\|2011\|p=81}} Archaeologists ] and ] argue that archaeology has not found evidence for even a small band of wandering Israelites living in the Sinai: "The conclusion – that Exodus did not happen at the time and in the manner described in the Bible – seems irrefutable repeated excavations and surveys throughout the entire area have not provided even the slightest evidence".{{sfn\|Finkelstein\|Silberman\|2002\|p=63}} Instead, they argue how modern archaeology suggests continuity between Canaanite and Israelite settlements, indicating a heavily Canaanite origin for Israel, with little suggestion that a group of foreigners from Egypt comprised early Israel.{{sfn\|Barmash\|2015\|p=4}}{{sfn\|Shaw\|2002\|p=313}} They also argue that the exodus narrative perhaps evolved from vague memories of the ] expulsion, spun to encourage resistance to the 7th century domination of Judah by Egypt.{{sfn\|Finkelstein\|Silberman\|2002\|p=69}}

			However, a majority of scholars believe that the story has an historical core,{{sfn\|Faust\|2015\|p=476}}{{sfn\|Redmount\|2001\|p=87}} though disagreeing widely about what that historical kernel might have been.{{sfn\|Geraty\|2015\|p=55}} Kenton Sparks refers to it as "charter myth" and "mythologized history".{{sfn\|Sparks\|2010\|p=73}} Biblical scholar ] notes that several literary texts from Ancient Egypt document the presence of Semitic peoples working for building projects under the ], suggesting a possible historical basis for the account of Israelite servitude to the Egyptians.{{sfn\|Davies\|2020\|p=152}} However, there is an increasing trend among scholars to see the biblical exodus traditions as the invention of the ] and post-exilic Jewish community, with little to no historical basis.{{sfn\|Russell\|2009\|p=11}}
	===The Israelites and their escape from slavery (1-14)===
	The latter chapters of Genesis describe a great famine which had struck the Promised Land, causing the Hebrews to relocate to Egypt. For their kinsman ] had risen to a position of great power there; thanks largely to his administrative skills, food in Egypt remained plentiful. Joseph persuades his entire extended family to come live under his protection so that he can support them for the duration of the famine.

			== Structure ==
	Once the famine ends, however, the Hebrews do not return to the Promised Land. Rather, they proceed to settle down in Egypt and remain there for many generations.
			There is no unanimous agreement among scholars on the structure of Exodus. One strong possibility is that it is a ] (i.e., divided into two parts), with the division between parts 1 and 2 at the ] or at the beginning of the ] (appearance of God) in chapter 19.<ref>Meyers, p. 17.</ref> On this plan, the first part tells of God's rescue of his people from Egypt and their journey under his care to Sinai (chapters 1–19) and the second tells of the covenant between them (chapters 20–40).<ref>Stuart, p. 19.</ref>

			== Summary ==
	Then a new ], who ''knew not Joseph'', becomes concerned about the military implications of the large increase in the Israelite population. He enslaves and oppresses them with forced labour, ordering the Hebrew ] to kill all male babies. However, a daughter of Pharaoh finds the male infant of a ], calling him ''Moses'' (translating as ''drawn from the water''). Moses is brought up as an ]. As his past becomes revealed, (that he is actually an Israelite), he takes sympathy for one of the slaves that is being whipped by the guards. He kills the guard and buries his body in the sand.
			{{multiple image
			\| align. = left
			\| width1 = 150
			\| image1 = Exodus map.jpg
			\| caption1 = 1585 map
			\| width2 = 168
			\| image2 = Wanderings in the desert map.jpg
			\| caption2 = 1641 map
			\| footer = Historical representations of the ]
			}}
			The text of the Book of Exodus begins after the events at the end of the ] where ]'s sons and their families joined their brother ] in ], which Joseph had saved from famine. It is 400 years later and Egypt's new ], who does not remember Joseph, is fearful that the ] and now numerous ] could become a ]. He hardens their labor and orders the killing of all newborn boys. A ] woman named ] saves her baby by ] on the Nile in an ]. ] finds the child, names him ], and brings him up as her own.

			]'' in the ], c. 244]]
	To escape from pharaoh (the punishment for killing a man was death penalty), Moses flees the country. ] takes him to ], where he becomes shepherd to the priest ] and marries his daughter, ]. As he feeds the sheep on ], God appears to him from a ], which fails to turn to ash. Yahweh orders Moses to demand the release of the Israelites from Pharaoh and gives him the power to perform ] to show his authority. ], mentioned for the first time and identified as Moses' brother, is appointed to assist him. On his return to Egypt, God tries to kill Moses, but ], ] Moses' son, fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant and saving Moses' life. (1-4)
			Later, a grown Moses goes out to see his kinsmen. He witnesses the abuse of a Hebrew slave by an Egyptian overseer. Angered, Moses kills him and flees into ] to escape punishment. There, he marries ], daughter of ], a Midianite priest. While tending Jethro's flock, Moses encounters God in a ]. Moses asks God for his name, to which God replies with three words, often translated as "]." This is the book's explanation for the origin of the name ], as God is thereafter known. God tells Moses to return to Egypt, free the Hebrews from slavery and lead them into ], the land promised to the seed of ] in Genesis. On the journey back to Egypt, God seeks to kill Moses. Zipporah ] their son and the attack stops. ''(See ].)''

			Moses reunites with his brother ] and, returning to Egypt, convenes the ] elders, preparing them to go into the wilderness to worship God. Pharaoh refuses to release the Israelites from their work for the festival, and so God curses the Egyptians with ], such as a ], an ], and the ]. Moses is commanded by God to fix the spring month of ] at the head of the ]. The Israelites are to take a lamb on the 10th day of the month, ] on the 14th day, daub its blood on their ] and lintels, and to observe the ] meal that night, during the full moon. The ] comes that night, causing the death of all Egyptian firstborn sons, prompting Pharaoh to expel the Israelites. Regretting his decision, Pharaoh commands his chariot army after the Israelites, who appear trapped at the ]. God ], allowing the Israelites to pass through, before drowning Pharaoh's pursuing forces.
	The Pharaoh refuses Moses' request and oppresses the people still further, ordering them to make ]. Moses subsequently complains to God, who announces to him that he will display his power to such an extent that the Pharaoh will be keen to send the Israelites away, even with all the jewelery of the Egyptians. The ] of Moses and his family appears at this point, rather than at the beginning of the story. (5-6)

			]
	God sends ], each time acting through Moses. Since each one has respite, and the Egyptian magicians are capable of duplicating some of them, the pharaoh becomes increasingly stubborn (7-10). Finally, a great plague, killing all the firstborn, occurs, passing over the houses of the Israelites, since they have completed the ] ritual, marking their houses. Pharaoh consequently relents and is only too glad to get rid of the Israelites (11-12).
			As desert life proves arduous, the Israelites complain and long for Egypt, but God miraculously provides ] for them to eat and ] to drink. The Israelites arrive at the mountain of God, where Moses's father-in-law Jethro visits Moses; at his suggestion, Moses appoints ] over Israel. God asks whether they will agree to be his people – They accept. The people gather at the foot of the mountain, and with thunder and lightning, fire and clouds of smoke, the sound of trumpets, and the trembling of the mountain, ] on the peak, and the people see the cloud and hear the voice (or possibly sound) of God. God tells Moses to ascend the mountain. God pronounces the ] (the ]) in the hearing of all Israel. Moses goes up the mountain into the ], who pronounces the ] of ritual and civil law and promises ] to them if they obey. Moses comes down from the mountain and writes down God's words, and the people agree to keep them. God calls Moses up the mountain again, where he remains for forty days and forty nights, after which he returns, bearing the set of stone ].

			God gives Moses instructions for the construction of the ] so that God may dwell permanently among his ], along with instructions for the ], the altar and its appurtenances, procedures for the ] of priests, and the daily ] offerings. Aaron becomes the first ]. God gives Moses the two tablets of stone containing the words of the ten commandments, written with the ].<ref>{{Bibleverse\|Exodus\|31:18}}; {{bibleverse\|Deuteronomy\|9:10\|9}}</ref>
	===The journey through the wilderness to Mount Sinai (13-18)===
			], 17th century]]
	] begins after Pharaoh's consent, and the Israelites leave ] to go to ]. The nobles of Egypt object to Pharaoh's consent, and so Pharaoh gathers together a large army to chase after the Israelites, who have by this point reached what is referred to as the 'Reed Sea' (often mistranslated as the Red Sea). Fortunately for the Israelites, they are divinely guarded, and are able to passage of Red Sea, when Moses causes the waters to part. The waters collapse once the Israelites have passed, defeating Pharaoh, and the Israelites joyfully sing the ] (13-14).

			While Moses is with God, Aaron casts a ], which the people worship. God informs Moses of their ] and threatens to kill them all, but relents when Moses pleads for them. Moses comes down from the mountain, smashes the stone tablets in anger, and commands the ] to massacre the unfaithful Israelites. God commands Moses to construct two new tablets. Moses ascends the mountain again, where God dictates the ] for Moses to write on the tablets.
	The Israelites continue their journey into the desert, and once in the ], they complain about the lack of food. Listening to their complaint, God sends them a ], and subsequently provides a daily shower of ]. Once at ], the thirst of the people gets to them, so ] provided from a rock. The ] perform a sneak attack on the Israelites, and although ] manages to lead an army to vanquish them, God still orders an eternal war against ] (15-17). Jethro hears of Moses' approach, and visits him, advising Moses to appoint ] (18).

			Moses descends from the mountain with a ]; from that time onwards he must hide his face with a ]. Moses assembles the Hebrews and repeats to them the commandments he has received from God, which are to keep the ] and to construct the Tabernacle. The Israelites do as they are commanded. From that time God dwells in the Tabernacle and orders the travels of the Hebrews.
	===The Covenant and its Laws (19-24)===
	In the third month the Israelites arrive at ], and God announces, via Moses, that the Israelites are ''God's people'', because he has ] them by his ]. The Israelites accept this call, and so, with ] and ], clouds of smoke, and the noise of ]s, God appears to them at the top of Mount Sinai (19).

			== Composition ==
	God then announces a summarised moral law, the ] (20). A more detailed ] is subsequently provided, concerning both ritual and civil law, and God promises ] to the Israelites if they obey, but warns against the ] of its inhabitants (21-23). God calls Moses up into the mountain to receive a set of ] ]s containing the law, and further instructions (24).
			=== Authorship ===
			])]]
			Jewish and Christian tradition viewed ] and the entire ], but by the end of the 19th century the increasing awareness of discrepancies, inconsistencies, repetitions and other features of the Pentateuch had led scholars to abandon this idea.{{sfn\|Meyers\|2005\|p=16}} In approximate round dates, the process which produced Exodus and the Pentateuch probably began around 600 BCE when existing oral and written traditions were brought together to form books recognizable as those we know, reaching their final form as unchangeable sacred texts around 400 BCE.{{sfn\|McEntire\|2008\|p=8}}

			=== Sources ===
	This section includes the famous phrase "Thou shalt not suffer a ] to live".
			{{One source section
			\| date = August 2022
			}}
			Although patent mythical elements are not so prominent in Exodus as in ], ancient legends may have an influence on the book's form or content: for example, the story of the infant Moses's salvation from the Nile is argued to be based on an earlier legend of king ], while the story of the ] may trade on Mesopotamian ]ology. Similarly, the ] (the law code in Exodus 20:22–23:33) has some similarities in both content and structure with the ]. These potential influences serve to reinforce the conclusion that the Book of Exodus originated in the exiled Jewish community of 6th-century BCE ], but not all the potential sources are Mesopotamian: the story of Moses's flight to Midian following the murder of the Egyptian overseer may draw on the Egyptian '']''.{{sfn\|Kugler\|Hartin\|2009\|p=74}}

			=== Textual witnesses ===
	===The Instructions for a Tabernacle, vestments, and associated ritual objects (25-31)===
			{{Main\|Textual variants in the Book of Exodus}}
	Intricate instructions, forming one of the least readable portions of the Torah, are then given detailing the construction of a ], so that God can dwell permanently amongst the Israelites (25-28). These directions provide for a particularly extensive construction:
	*The ], to contain the tablets
	*A '']'', with two ] ] either side, for God to sit at
	*A ], never to be extinguished, and its oil
	*A construction to contain these things, involving curtains for a roof, walls on ] feet, outer curtain, and a ] veil to separate the ], table, and menorah, from the remainder.
	*The outer court, involving ] on bronze ]s, connected up by ]s and silver ]s.

			== Themes ==
	Instructions are also given for the ]s of the priests (28):
			] (1829)]]
	*A shoulder-band (]), containing two ] stones, each engraved with the names of six of the tribes of Israel
	*A breastplate containing '']'' and '']''
	*]en chains for holding the breastplate set with twelve specific precious stones, in four rows
	*A robe for the ephod, with ]s and ]s around the seam
	*A ]
	*A ]
	*A golden ] plate with the inscription ''Holiness to the Lord''
	*A girdle

			=== Salvation ===
	Following these instructions are details of the ritual to be used to ordain the priests, including ], ], and seven days of sacrifices. There are also instructions for daily morning and evening offerings of a lamb (29). The specifications for construction of the tabernacle is then continued with directions for making a golden altar of ], ], ], and ] (30). ] and ] are identified, by God, as the appointed craftsmen to construct these things (31).
			Biblical scholars describe the Bible's theologically motivated history writing as "]", meaning a history of God's saving actions that give identity to Israel – the promise of offspring and land to the ancestors, ] from Egypt (in which God saves Israel from slavery), the wilderness wandering, the revelation at Sinai, and the hope for the future life in the ].<ref name="Dozeman">Dozeman, p. 9.</ref>

			=== Theophany ===
	===The golden calf, and regiving of the law (32-34)===
			A ] is a manifestation (appearance) of a god – in the Bible, an appearance of the God of Israel, accompanied by storms – the earth trembles, the mountains quake, the heavens pour rain, thunder peals and lightning flashes.<ref>Dozeman, p. 4.</ref> The theophany in Exodus begins "the third day" from their arrival at Sinai in chapter 19: Yahweh and the people meet at the mountain, God appears in the storm and converses with Moses, giving him the ] while the people listen. The theophany is therefore a public experience of divine law.<ref>Dozeman, p. 427.</ref>
	Whilst Moses is up the mountain, the people become impatient and urge Aaron to make them a ], which they worship with joy. God informs Moses that they have become ], threatening to abandon Israel, but Moses intercedes for them. However, when he comes down, he sees what they have done, and in anger smashes the two tablets of the law. After pronouncing judgment upon Aaron and the people Moses again ascends to God to implore forgiveness, and is successful (32-33). Moses consequently is commanded to make two new tablets on which God will personally write the commandments. God then gives the ], writing the ''ten commandments'' onto the tablets. Moses then returns to the people, who listen to him in respectful silence (34).

			The second half of Exodus marks the point at which, and describes the process through which, God's theophany becomes a permanent presence for Israel via the ]. That so much of the book (chapters 25–31, 35–40) describes the plans of the Tabernacle demonstrates the importance it played in the perception of ] at the time of the text's redaction by the Priestly writers: the Tabernacle is the place where God is physically present, where, through the priesthood, Israel could be in direct, literal communion with him.<ref>Dempster, p. 107.</ref>
	===The Construction of a Tabernacle, vestments, and associated ritual objects (35-40)===
	Moses collects the ], enjoins upon them the keeping of the Sabbath, and requests gifts for the sanctuary. The entire people respond willingly, and under the direction of Bezaleel, and Aholiab, they complete all the instructions, for making the tabernacle, its contents, and the priestly robes, and the Israelites put it together on the first day of the second month (35-40). This section is almost, but not completely, a word for word copy of Chapters 25-31.

	===~~Alternative~~ ~~theories~~===		=== Covenant ===
			]]]
	The Exodus is described only in the Old Testament . There have been alternative theories about the Exodus for centuries and many studies have been conducted.
			The heart of Exodus is the ].<ref>Wenham, p. 29.</ref> A covenant is a legal document binding two parties to take on certain obligations towards each other.<ref>Meyers, p. 148.</ref> There are several covenants in the Bible, and in each case they exhibit at least some of the elements in real-life treaties of the ancient Middle East: a preamble, historical prologue, stipulations, deposition and reading, list of witnesses, blessings and curses, and ratification by animal sacrifice.<ref>Meyers, pp. 149–150.</ref> Biblical covenants, in contrast to Eastern covenants in general, are between a god, Yahweh, and a people, Israel, instead of between a strong ruler and a weaker vassal.<ref>Meyers, p. 150.</ref>

			=== Election of Israel ===
	One is a thought provoking, but widely disputed, theory. In this theory, the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten, who introduced the revolutionary concept of monotheism in ancient Egypt, devoted so much attention to his new capital city of Akhet-Aten that he let the rest of Egypt fall apart. Akhenaten was followed as pharaoh by Smenkhkare, then Tutankhamun, then Ay. He was the High Priest of Akhet-Aten, known as the Divine Father (an hereditary title). Although originally a believer in Aten, Ay realised Egypt had to return to the old gods. The priests of Aten wouldn’t reconvert, so they had to go, along with the mass of Aten believers. Ay showered them with gifts, and sent them off to colonise Canaan, where the priests, the Yahus, became the Judahites, settling in the south in Judah, while the ordinary believers settled in the north, in Israel.
			God elects Israel for salvation because the "sons of Israel" are "the firstborn son" of the God of Israel, descended through Shem and Abraham to the chosen line of ] whose name is changed to Israel. The goal of the divine plan in Exodus is a return to humanity's state in ], so that God can dwell with the Israelites as he had with ] through the Ark and Tabernacle, which together form a model of the universe; in later ]s Israel becomes the guardian of God's plan for humanity, to bring "God's creation blessing to mankind" begun in Adam.<ref>Dempster, p. 100.</ref>

			== Judaism's weekly Torah portions in the Book of Exodus ==
	Ay was so respected as the Divine Father that he became worshipped as a personification of God; in the Aramaic version of the Old Testament God is called Ay, not Yahweh, and the word Adonay, used by Jews to avoid saying the name of God, Yahweh, aloud, means “Lord Ay”. When the Pentateuch came to be written during the Babylonian captivity, centuries later, Akhenaten became a template for Adam, and also for Abraham. The Israelite hero Moses, who in the Bible account led the Children of Israel out of Egypt, was based on Rameses, and his troublesome brother Aaron was the previous pharaoh, Horemheb, who succeeded Ay, and who tried to expunge all evidence of Aten worship and of his predecessors. Moses’ successor, Joshua, was Rameses’ successor Seti I. It is also argued that Hebrew was the lingua franca of the many different peoples at Akhet-Aten, borrowing from many sources including Egyptian and Ethiopian. The Exodus mystery has captured the attention of Western thinkers for centuries. Clemens of Alexandria in 200 AD was one of the first to mention a stunning similarity between the Egyptian symbols and those used by the ancient Hebrews.
			{{Main\|Weekly Torah portion}}
			]'', by ] (1659)]]
			List of Torah portions in the Book of Exodus:<ref>. Alephbeta</ref>
			* ], on Exodus 1–5: Affliction in Egypt, discovery of baby Moses, Pharaoh
			* ], on Exodus 6–9: Plagues 1 to 7 of Egypt
			* ], on Exodus 10–13: Last plagues of Egypt, first Passover
			* ], on Exodus 13–17: Parting the Sea, water, manna, Amalek
			* ], on Exodus 18–20: Jethro's advice, The Ten Commandments
			* ], on Exodus 21–24: The Covenant Code
			* ], on Exodus 25–27: God's instructions on the Tabernacle and furnishings
			* ], on Exodus 27–30: God's instructions on the first priests
			* ], on Exodus 30–34: Census, anointing oil, golden calf, stone tablets, Moses radiant
			* ], on Exodus 35–38: Israelites collect gifts, make the Tabernacle and furnishings
			* ], on Exodus 38–40: Setting up and filling of The Tabernacle

			== See also ==
	Thus the "Chosen People" might not have been slaves from a foreign country but high-ranking Egyptian priests and the adherents of the monothiest pharaoh Akhenaton, cast out of Egypt. This would mean that the source of Jewish, Christian and Islamic beliefs would go back even further, to the Pharaoh Akhenaten.
			{{Portal\|Bible}}
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

	==~~Dating~~==		== References ==
			=== Citations ===
	The time-span in this book, from the death of ] to the erection of the ] in the wilderness, covers about one hundred and forty-five years, on the supposition that one computes the four hundred and thirty years (12:40) from the time of the promises made to ] (Gal. 3:17).
			{{Reflist}}

			=== General bibliography ===
	There have been several attempts to fix the date of the events in the book to a precise point on the ]. These attempts generally rest on three considerations
			{{refbegin}}
	*Who the unnamed pharaoh was
			* {{cite book
	*The dates for non-biblical accounts of large numbers of semitic people leaving Egypt
			\| last = Barmash
	*The date that archaeology implies ] was destroyed
			\| first = Pamela
	Generally, fixing the identification of the Pharaoh is considered the key, and two dynasties are usually suggested:
			\| chapter = Out of the Mists of History: The Exaltation of the Exodus in the Bible
	*] or ] of the 19th Dynasty, around 1290 BCE, favoured by the large majority of both religious and secular scholars, although this contradicts several key aspects of the biblical account, and neglects several recent archaeological discoveries in Tel el-Dab'a and Jericho. See ].
			\| editor1-last = Barmash
	*] or ] of the 18th Dynasty, around 1444 BCE, favoured by a large minority of mostly religious scholars, since it precedes the destruction of Jericho, although some doubt surrounds the archaeological evidence supporting the Exodus and Canaanite conquest dating. However it should be noted that Egypt still dominated the Canaan at that period in history , making such a date less plausible. The carbon-dating tests at Jericho are also disputed in age.
			\| editor1-first = Pamela
	*Many others have been suggested, such as ], the Hyksos expulsion, and others. See ] and ].
			\| editor2-last = Nelson
			\| editor2-first = W. David
			\| title = Exodus in the Jewish Experience: Echoes and Reverberations
			\| year = 2015
			\| publisher = Lexington Books
			\| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jKYlCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1
			\| isbn = 9781498502931
			\| pages = 1–22
			}}
			* {{Cite book\|last=Childs\|first=Brevard S\|title=The Book of Exodus\|publisher=Eerdmans\|year=1979\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7sKWo7FRAgC \|isbn=9780664229689}}
			* {{cite book
			\| last = Collins
			\| first = John J.
			\| title = The Bible After Babel: Historical Criticism in a Postmodern Age
			\| year = 2005
			\| publisher = Eerdmans
			\| isbn = 9780802828927
			\| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yqClWOhqso0C&q=%22collective+memory%22&pg=PA45
			}}
			* {{cite book
			\| last = Davies
			\| first = Graham
			\| editor1-last = Day
			\| editor1-first = John
			\| title = In Search of Pre-exilic Israel: Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar
			\| chapter = Was There an Exodus?
			\| year = 2004
			\| publisher = Continuum
			\| isbn = 9780567082060
			\| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yM_X2yzRLx4C&pg=PA23
			\| pages=23–40}}
			* {{Cite book \|title=Exodus 1-18: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary: Volume 1: Chapters 1-10 \|last=Davies \|first=Graham I. \|publisher=] \|year=2020 \|isbn=978-0-567-68869-9 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkzODwAAQBAJ \|series=]}}
			* {{Cite book \|title=Exodus 1-18: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary: Volume 2: Chapters 11-18 \|last=Davies \|first=Graham I. \|publisher=] \|year=2020b \|isbn=978-0-567-68872-9 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v-zJDwAAQBAJ \|series=]}}
			* {{Cite book\|last=Dempster\|first=Stephen G\|author-link=Stephen Dempster\|title=Dominion and Dynasty\|publisher=InterVarsity Press\|year=2006\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G329hmhyBa8C \|isbn=9780830826155}}
			* {{Cite book\|last=Dozeman\|first=Thomas B\|title=Commentary on Exodus\|publisher=Eerdmans\|year=2009\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fRXjfa6RWPwC \|isbn=9780802826176}}
			* {{Cite book
			\|last = Dozeman
			\|first = Thomas B
			\|chapter = Exodus, Book of
			\|editor1-first= Freedman
			\|editor1-last = David Noel
			\|editor2-first= Myers
			\|editor2-last = Allen C.
			\|title = Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible
			\|publisher = Eerdmans
			\|year = 2000
			\|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC
			\|isbn = 9789053565032
			}}
			* {{Cite book
			\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CiqF7sVqDQcC&pg=PA73
			\|title = Methods for Exodus
			\|last = Dozeman
			\|first = Thomas B.
			\|year = 2010
			\|publisher = Cambridge University Press
			\|isbn = 9781139487382
			\|language = en
			}}
			* {{cite book
			\|last=Faust
			\|first=Avraham
			\|author-link =Avraham Faust
			\|chapter=The Emergence of Iron Age Israel: On Origins and Habitus
			\|title=Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective: Text, Archaeology, Culture, and Geoscience
			\|editor1=Thomas E. Levy
			\|editor2=Thomas Schneider
			\|editor3=William H.C. Propp
			\|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/11906343
			\|date=2015
			\|publisher=Springer
			\|isbn=978-3-319-04768-3
			}}
			* {{Cite book
			\|last1 = Finkelstein
			\|first1 = Israel
			\|author-link1 =Israel Finkelstein
			\|last2 = Silberman
			\|first2 = Neil Asher
			\|author-link2 = Neil Asher Silberman
			\|title = The Bible Unearthed
			\|publisher = Simon and Schuster
			\|year = 2002
			\|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lu6ywyJr0CMC
			\|isbn = 9780743223386
			}}
			* {{Cite book\|last=Fretheim\|first=Terence E\|title=Exodus\|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press\|year=1991\|url=https://archive.org/details/exodus0000fret \|url-access=registration\|isbn=9780664237349}}
			* {{cite book
			\|last= Geraty
			\|first= Lawrence T.
			\| author-link =Larry Geraty
			\|chapter= Exodus Dates and Theories
			\|title=Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective: Text, Archaeology, Culture, and Geoscience
			\|editor1=Thomas E. Levy
			\|editor2=Thomas Schneider
			\|editor3=William H.C. Propp
			\|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xpe1BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA55
			\| pages = 55–64
			\|date=2015
			\|publisher=Springer
			\|isbn=978-3-319-04768-3
			}}
			* {{cite book
			\|last1 = Grabbe
			\|first1 = Lester
			\|title = Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?
			\|year = 2017
			\|publisher = Bloomsbury
			\|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4lzyDQAAQBAJ
			\|isbn = 978-0-567-67043-4
			}}
			* {{Cite book\|last=Houston\|first=Walter J\|chapter=Exodus\|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&pg=PA67\|editor=John Barton\|title=Oxford Bible Commentary\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|year=1998\|isbn=9780198755005\|url-access=registration\|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordbiblecomme0000unse}}
			* {{Cite book\|last=Johnstone\|first=William D.\|chapter=Exodus\|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA72 \|editor=James D. G. Dunn, John William Rogerson\|title=Eerdmans Bible Commentary\|publisher=Eerdmans\|year=2003\|isbn=9780802837110}}
			* {{Cite book\|last1=Kugler\|first1=Robert\|last2=Hartin\|first2=Patrick\|title=An Introduction to the Bible\|publisher=Eerdmans\|year=2009\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L8WbXbPjxpoC \|isbn=9780802846365}}
			* Levy, Thomas E., Thomas Schneider, William H.C. Propp. (2015). . Springer International Publishing.
			* {{Cite book\|last=McEntire\|first=Mark\|title=Struggling with God: An Introduction to the Pentateuch\|publisher=Mercer University Press\|year=2008\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VwOs9f1FpmsC&pg=PA87 \|isbn=9780881461015}}
			* {{Cite book\|last=Meyers\|first=Carol\|author-link=Carol Meyers\|title=Exodus\|publisher=Cambridge University Press\|year=2005\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QHHITXsyskC \|isbn=9780521002912}}
			* {{cite book
			\|last1 = Moore
			\|first1 = Megan Bishop
			\|last2 = Kelle
			\|first2 = Brad E.
			\|title = Biblical History and Israel's Past
			\|year = 2011
			\|publisher = Eerdmans
			\|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Qjkz_8EMoaUC&pg=PA81
			\|isbn = 9780802862600
			}}
			* {{Cite book \|title="Did I Not Bring Israel Out of Egypt?": Biblical, Archaeological, and Egyptological Perspectives on the Exodus Narratives \|last=Noonan \|first=Benjamin J. \|publisher=Penn State Press \|year=2016 \|isbn=978-1-57506-430-7 \|pages=49–67 \|editor-last=Hoffmeier \|editor-first=James K. \|chapter=Egyptian Loanwords as Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus and Wilderness Traditions \|editor-last2=Millard \|editor-first2=Alan R. \|editor-last3=Rendsburg \|editor-first3=Gary A. \|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1DULEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA49}}
			* ]. ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary'' (1981), {{ISBN\|0-8074-0055-6}}
			* {{cite book \|last= Redmount\| first= Carol A.\| title= The Oxford History of the Biblical World\| chapter= Bitter Lives: Israel In And Out of Egypt\| editor-last = Coogan \| editor-first = Michael D. \| year = 2001 \| orig-year = 1998 \| publisher = OUP\| isbn= 9780199881482 \| chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4DVHJRFW3mYC&pg=PA59 \|pages=58–89
			}}
			* {{cite book
			\| last = Russell
			\| first = Stephen C.
			\| title = Images of Egypt in Early Biblical Literature
			\| year = 2009
			\| publisher = Walter de Gruyter
			\| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OMISLh2ZC08C
			\| isbn = 9783110221718
			}}
			* {{cite book\| last1 = Shaw \| first1 = Ian\| editor1-last = Shaw \|editor1-first = Ian\| editor2-last = Jameson \| editor2-first = Robert\| title = A Dictionary of Archaeology\| chapter = Israel, Israelites\| year = 2002\| publisher = Wiley Blackwell\| isbn =9780631235835\| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zmvNogJO2ZgC&pg=PA313}}
			* {{cite book
			\| last = Sparks
			\| first = Kenton L.
			\| editor1-last = Dozeman
			\| editor1-first = Thomas B.
			\| title = Methods for Exodus
			\| chapter = Genre Criticism
			\| year = 2010
			\| publisher = Cambridge University Press
			\| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CiqF7sVqDQcC&pg=PA73
			\| isbn = 9781139487382
			}}
			* {{Cite book\|last=Stuart\|first=Douglas K\|title=Exodus\|publisher=B&H Publishing Group\|year=2006\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8H9E00e5PSwC \|isbn=9780805401028}}
			* {{Cite book\|last=Wenham\|first=Gordon\|title=The Book of Leviticus\|publisher=Eerdmans\|year=1979\|url=https://archive.org/details/newinternational0000unse_y8f6 \|url-access=registration\|isbn=9780802825223}}
			{{refend}}

			== External links ==
	==Authorship==
			{{wikiquote}}
	Like the remainder of the ], traditional and religious attitudes are that the book is the work of Moses himself. Also like the remainder of the Torah, a majority of modern scholarship disagrees, and instead supports the ], which asserts that there were several, post-Moses, authors, whose stories have been intertwined by ]. The three main authors of the work are said, in this hypothesis, to be the ], ], and ]. In addition, the poetic ], and the prose ], are thought to have been originally independent works which the associated author, of these three, chose to embed in their works.
			{{Wikisource\|Exodus (Bible)}}
			{{Commons category\|Book of Exodus}}
			* at ]
			* (Jewish Publication Society translation)
			* {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610052209/http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=1 \|date=2011-06-10 }}—Rabbi ]'s translation and commentary at Ort.org
			* translation (with ]'s commentary) at Chabad.org
			* (Original ]—English at Mechon-Mamre.org)
			* {{librivox book \| title=Exodus}}—Various versions

			{{s-start}}
	Of these, in the hypothesis, the Elohist is identified as uniquely responsible for the episode of the golden calf, and the priestly source as uniquely responsible for the chiastic, and monotonous, instructions for creating the tabernacle, vestments, and ritual objects, and the account of their creation. Notable, the three main authors are also each uniquely associated with one part of the law code - the Elohist with the Covenant Code, the Priestly source with the Ethical Decalogue, and the Jahwist with the Ritual Decalogue.
			{{s-hou \| ]\|\|\|}}
			{{S-bef \| before = ] \| rows = 2 }}
			{{S-ttl \| title = ] }}
			{{s-aft \| after = ] \| rows= 2 }}
			{{S-ttl \| title = ]<br>] }}
			{{s-end}}
			{{Books of the Bible}}
			{{Ten Commandments}}
			{{Book of Exodus}}
			{{Authority control}}

			{{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Exodus}}
	The other parts of the book are believed to have been constructed by intertwining the Jahwist, Elohist, and Priestly, versions of each of the stories. Deconstructions of the stories into these sources, applying the hypothesis, identify heavy variations between stories, for example, the Priestly Source never warning Pharaoh about the plagues, but instead presenting the plagues as a test of his magicians, and always involving Aaron, whereas the Elohist always provides a warning, the Pharaoh is always described as giving in, but then hardening when Moses undoes the plague, and hardly ever includes Aaron in a positive light.
			]

			]
	==See also==
			]
	{{portal\|Bible}}
			]
	* ]
			]
	* ]
			]
	* ]
			]
	* ] in Exodus: ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]
	* ]. The Movie about Moses.

	==References==
	* Colin J. Humphreys, ''The Miracles of Exodus: A Scientist’s Discovery of the Extraordinary Natural Causes of the Biblical Stories'' 2003, HarperSanFrancisco
	* W. F. Albright ''From the Stone Age to Christianity'' (2nd edition) Doubleday/Anchor
	* W. F. Albright ''Archaeology and the Religion of Israel'' (5th edition) 1969, Doubleday/Anchor
	* ''Encyclopedia Judaica'', Keter Publishing, entry on "Population", volume 13, column 866.
	* Y. Shiloh, "The Population of Iron Age ] in the Light of a Sample Analysis of Urban Plans, Areas and Population Density." ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'' (BASOR), 1980, 239:25-35
	* ''Exploring Exodus: The Origins of Biblical Israel'' ], Shocken Books, 1986 (first edition), 1996 (reprint edition), chapter 5, "Six hundred thousand men on foot".
	* "" William Sierichs, Jr.
	* "The Rise of Ancient Israel : Symposium at the Smithsonian Institution October 26, 1991" by Hershel Shanks, William G. Dever, Baruch Halpern and P. Kyle McCarter, Biblical Archaeological Society, 1992.
	* ''The Biblical Exodus in the Light of Recent Research: Is There Any Archaeological or Extra-Biblical Evidence?'', Hershel Shanks, Editor, Biblical Archaeological Society, 1997
	* ''Secrets of the Exodus: The Egyptian Origins of the Hebrew People", by Messod Sabbah, Roger Sabbath, Helios Press, 2004

	==External links==
	===Online versions and translations of Exodus===

	==== Arabic translations ====
	*) from http://St-Takla.org

	====Jewish translations====
	* (Jewish Publication Society translation)
	* Rabbi ]'s translation and commentary at Ort.org
	* translation with ]'s commentary at Chabad.org
	* (Original ] - English at Mechon-Mamre.org)

	====Christian translations====
	*
	* (New Revised Standard Version)
	* King James Version (English)
	* (Authorized King James Version)

	===Translations identifying sources===
	*]


	* (Jewish Encyclopedia)

	]
	]
	]

	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
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Latest revision as of 00:55, 5 December 2024

Second book of the Bible This article is about the second book of the Torah and the Old Testament. For the Israelite migration narrative, see The Exodus. For other uses, see Exodus. "Exodus 4" redirects here. For the single, see Exodus '04.

Tanakh (Judaism)

Torah (Instruction)

Genesis	Bereshit
Exodus	Shemot
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Joshua	Yehoshua
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Historical

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Old Testament (Christianity)

Pentateuch

Historical

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Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

Deuterocanonical

Orthodox only
Tobit Judith Additions to Esther 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Wisdom of Solomon Sirach Baruch / Letter of Jeremiah Additions to Daniel
1 Esdras 2 Esdras Prayer of Manasseh Psalm 151 3 Maccabees 4 Maccabees Odes
Orthodox Tewahedo
Enoch Jubilees 1, 2, and 3 Meqabyan Paralipomena of Baruch Broader canon

Bible portal

The Book of Exodus (from Ancient Greek: Ἔξοδος, romanized: Éxodos; Biblical Hebrew: שְׁמוֹת Šəmōṯ, 'Names'; Latin: Liber Exodus) is the second book of the Bible. It is a narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites leaving slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of their deity named Yahweh, who according to the story chose them as his people. The Israelites then journey with the legendary prophet Moses to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh gives the Ten Commandments and they enter into a covenant with Yahweh, who promises to make them a "holy nation, and a kingdom of priests" on condition of their faithfulness. He gives them their laws and instructions to build the Tabernacle, the means by which he will come from heaven and dwell with them and lead them in a holy war to conquer Canaan (the "Promised Land"), which has earlier, according to the myth of Genesis, been promised to the "seed" of Abraham, the legendary patriarch of the Israelites.

Traditionally ascribed to Moses himself, modern scholars see its initial composition as a product of the Babylonian exile (6th century BCE), based on earlier written sources and oral traditions, with final revisions in the Persian post-exilic period (5th century BCE). American biblical scholar Carol Meyers, in her commentary on Exodus, suggests that it is arguably the most important book in the Bible, as it presents the defining features of Israel's identity—memories of a past marked by hardship and escape, a binding covenant with their God, who chooses Israel, and the establishment of the life of the community and the guidelines for sustaining it. The consensus of modern scholars is that the Pentateuch does not give an accurate account of the origins of the Israelites, who appear instead to have formed as an entity in the central highlands of Canaan in the late second millennium BCE (around the time of the Late Bronze Age collapse) from the indigenous Canaanite culture.

Title

The English name Exodus comes from the Ancient Greek: ἔξοδος, romanized: éxodos, lit. 'way out', from ἐξ-, ex-, 'out' and ὁδός, hodós, 'path', 'road'. In Hebrew the book's title is שְׁמוֹת, shemōt, "Names", from the beginning words of the text: "These are the names of the sons of Israel" (Hebrew: וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמֹות בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל).

Historicity

Main article: Sources and parallels of the Exodus

Most mainstream scholars do not accept the biblical Exodus account as historical for a number of reasons. It is generally agreed that the Exodus stories were written centuries after the apparent setting of the stories. Archaeologists Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman argue that archaeology has not found evidence for even a small band of wandering Israelites living in the Sinai: "The conclusion – that Exodus did not happen at the time and in the manner described in the Bible – seems irrefutable repeated excavations and surveys throughout the entire area have not provided even the slightest evidence". Instead, they argue how modern archaeology suggests continuity between Canaanite and Israelite settlements, indicating a heavily Canaanite origin for Israel, with little suggestion that a group of foreigners from Egypt comprised early Israel. They also argue that the exodus narrative perhaps evolved from vague memories of the Hyksos expulsion, spun to encourage resistance to the 7th century domination of Judah by Egypt.

However, a majority of scholars believe that the story has an historical core, though disagreeing widely about what that historical kernel might have been. Kenton Sparks refers to it as "charter myth" and "mythologized history". Biblical scholar Graham I. Davies notes that several literary texts from Ancient Egypt document the presence of Semitic peoples working for building projects under the 19th Dynasty of Egypt, suggesting a possible historical basis for the account of Israelite servitude to the Egyptians. However, there is an increasing trend among scholars to see the biblical exodus traditions as the invention of the exilic and post-exilic Jewish community, with little to no historical basis.

Structure

There is no unanimous agreement among scholars on the structure of Exodus. One strong possibility is that it is a diptych (i.e., divided into two parts), with the division between parts 1 and 2 at the crossing of the Red Sea or at the beginning of the theophany (appearance of God) in chapter 19. On this plan, the first part tells of God's rescue of his people from Egypt and their journey under his care to Sinai (chapters 1–19) and the second tells of the covenant between them (chapters 20–40).

Summary

1585 map

1641 mapHistorical representations of the Stations of the Exodus

The text of the Book of Exodus begins after the events at the end of the Book of Genesis where Jacob's sons and their families joined their brother Joseph in Egypt, which Joseph had saved from famine. It is 400 years later and Egypt's new Pharaoh, who does not remember Joseph, is fearful that the enslaved and now numerous Israelites could become a fifth column. He hardens their labor and orders the killing of all newborn boys. A Levite woman named Jochebed saves her baby by setting him adrift on the Nile in an ark of bulrushes. Pharaoh's daughter finds the child, names him Moses, and brings him up as her own.

Later, a grown Moses goes out to see his kinsmen. He witnesses the abuse of a Hebrew slave by an Egyptian overseer. Angered, Moses kills him and flees into Midian to escape punishment. There, he marries Zipporah, daughter of Jethro, a Midianite priest. While tending Jethro's flock, Moses encounters God in a burning bush. Moses asks God for his name, to which God replies with three words, often translated as "I Am that I Am." This is the book's explanation for the origin of the name Yahweh, as God is thereafter known. God tells Moses to return to Egypt, free the Hebrews from slavery and lead them into Canaan, the land promised to the seed of Abraham in Genesis. On the journey back to Egypt, God seeks to kill Moses. Zipporah circumcises their son and the attack stops. (See Zipporah at the inn.)

Moses reunites with his brother Aaron and, returning to Egypt, convenes the Israelite elders, preparing them to go into the wilderness to worship God. Pharaoh refuses to release the Israelites from their work for the festival, and so God curses the Egyptians with ten terrible plagues, such as a river of blood, an outbreak of frogs, and the thick darkness. Moses is commanded by God to fix the spring month of Aviv at the head of the Hebrew calendar. The Israelites are to take a lamb on the 10th day of the month, sacrifice the lamb on the 14th day, daub its blood on their mezuzot—doorposts and lintels, and to observe the Passover meal that night, during the full moon. The 10th plague comes that night, causing the death of all Egyptian firstborn sons, prompting Pharaoh to expel the Israelites. Regretting his decision, Pharaoh commands his chariot army after the Israelites, who appear trapped at the Red Sea. God parts the sea, allowing the Israelites to pass through, before drowning Pharaoh's pursuing forces.

As desert life proves arduous, the Israelites complain and long for Egypt, but God miraculously provides manna for them to eat and water to drink. The Israelites arrive at the mountain of God, where Moses's father-in-law Jethro visits Moses; at his suggestion, Moses appoints judges over Israel. God asks whether they will agree to be his people – They accept. The people gather at the foot of the mountain, and with thunder and lightning, fire and clouds of smoke, the sound of trumpets, and the trembling of the mountain, God appears on the peak, and the people see the cloud and hear the voice (or possibly sound) of God. God tells Moses to ascend the mountain. God pronounces the Ten Commandments (the Ethical Decalogue) in the hearing of all Israel. Moses goes up the mountain into the presence of God, who pronounces the Covenant Code of ritual and civil law and promises Canaan to them if they obey. Moses comes down from the mountain and writes down God's words, and the people agree to keep them. God calls Moses up the mountain again, where he remains for forty days and forty nights, after which he returns, bearing the set of stone tablets.

God gives Moses instructions for the construction of the tabernacle so that God may dwell permanently among his chosen people, along with instructions for the priestly vestments, the altar and its appurtenances, procedures for the ordination of priests, and the daily sacrifice offerings. Aaron becomes the first hereditary high priest. God gives Moses the two tablets of stone containing the words of the ten commandments, written with the "finger of God".

While Moses is with God, Aaron casts a golden calf, which the people worship. God informs Moses of their apostasy and threatens to kill them all, but relents when Moses pleads for them. Moses comes down from the mountain, smashes the stone tablets in anger, and commands the Levites to massacre the unfaithful Israelites. God commands Moses to construct two new tablets. Moses ascends the mountain again, where God dictates the Ten Commandments for Moses to write on the tablets.

Moses descends from the mountain with a transformed face; from that time onwards he must hide his face with a veil. Moses assembles the Hebrews and repeats to them the commandments he has received from God, which are to keep the Sabbath and to construct the Tabernacle. The Israelites do as they are commanded. From that time God dwells in the Tabernacle and orders the travels of the Hebrews.

Composition

Authorship

Jewish and Christian tradition viewed Moses as the author of Exodus and the entire Torah, but by the end of the 19th century the increasing awareness of discrepancies, inconsistencies, repetitions and other features of the Pentateuch had led scholars to abandon this idea. In approximate round dates, the process which produced Exodus and the Pentateuch probably began around 600 BCE when existing oral and written traditions were brought together to form books recognizable as those we know, reaching their final form as unchangeable sacred texts around 400 BCE.

Sources

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Although patent mythical elements are not so prominent in Exodus as in Genesis, ancient legends may have an influence on the book's form or content: for example, the story of the infant Moses's salvation from the Nile is argued to be based on an earlier legend of king Sargon of Akkad, while the story of the parting of the Red Sea may trade on Mesopotamian creation mythology. Similarly, the Covenant Code (the law code in Exodus 20:22–23:33) has some similarities in both content and structure with the Laws of Hammurabi. These potential influences serve to reinforce the conclusion that the Book of Exodus originated in the exiled Jewish community of 6th-century BCE Babylon, but not all the potential sources are Mesopotamian: the story of Moses's flight to Midian following the murder of the Egyptian overseer may draw on the Egyptian Story of Sinuhe.

Textual witnesses

Main article: Textual variants in the Book of Exodus

Themes

Salvation

Biblical scholars describe the Bible's theologically motivated history writing as "salvation history", meaning a history of God's saving actions that give identity to Israel – the promise of offspring and land to the ancestors, the Exodus from Egypt (in which God saves Israel from slavery), the wilderness wandering, the revelation at Sinai, and the hope for the future life in the Promised Land.

Theophany

A theophany is a manifestation (appearance) of a god – in the Bible, an appearance of the God of Israel, accompanied by storms – the earth trembles, the mountains quake, the heavens pour rain, thunder peals and lightning flashes. The theophany in Exodus begins "the third day" from their arrival at Sinai in chapter 19: Yahweh and the people meet at the mountain, God appears in the storm and converses with Moses, giving him the Ten Commandments while the people listen. The theophany is therefore a public experience of divine law.

The second half of Exodus marks the point at which, and describes the process through which, God's theophany becomes a permanent presence for Israel via the Tabernacle. That so much of the book (chapters 25–31, 35–40) describes the plans of the Tabernacle demonstrates the importance it played in the perception of Second Temple Judaism at the time of the text's redaction by the Priestly writers: the Tabernacle is the place where God is physically present, where, through the priesthood, Israel could be in direct, literal communion with him.

Covenant

The heart of Exodus is the Sinaitic covenant. A covenant is a legal document binding two parties to take on certain obligations towards each other. There are several covenants in the Bible, and in each case they exhibit at least some of the elements in real-life treaties of the ancient Middle East: a preamble, historical prologue, stipulations, deposition and reading, list of witnesses, blessings and curses, and ratification by animal sacrifice. Biblical covenants, in contrast to Eastern covenants in general, are between a god, Yahweh, and a people, Israel, instead of between a strong ruler and a weaker vassal.

Election of Israel

God elects Israel for salvation because the "sons of Israel" are "the firstborn son" of the God of Israel, descended through Shem and Abraham to the chosen line of Jacob whose name is changed to Israel. The goal of the divine plan in Exodus is a return to humanity's state in Eden, so that God can dwell with the Israelites as he had with Adam and Eve through the Ark and Tabernacle, which together form a model of the universe; in later Abrahamic religions Israel becomes the guardian of God's plan for humanity, to bring "God's creation blessing to mankind" begun in Adam.

Judaism's weekly Torah portions in the Book of Exodus

Main article: Weekly Torah portion

List of Torah portions in the Book of Exodus:

Shemot, on Exodus 1–5: Affliction in Egypt, discovery of baby Moses, Pharaoh
Va'eira, on Exodus 6–9: Plagues 1 to 7 of Egypt
Bo, on Exodus 10–13: Last plagues of Egypt, first Passover
Beshalach, on Exodus 13–17: Parting the Sea, water, manna, Amalek
Yitro, on Exodus 18–20: Jethro's advice, The Ten Commandments
Mishpatim, on Exodus 21–24: The Covenant Code
Terumah, on Exodus 25–27: God's instructions on the Tabernacle and furnishings
Tetzaveh, on Exodus 27–30: God's instructions on the first priests
Ki Tissa, on Exodus 30–34: Census, anointing oil, golden calf, stone tablets, Moses radiant
Vayakhel, on Exodus 35–38: Israelites collect gifts, make the Tabernacle and furnishings
Pekudei, on Exodus 38–40: Setting up and filling of The Tabernacle

References

Citations

Johnstone 2003, p. 72.
Finkelstein & Silberman 2002, p. 68.
Meyers, p. xv.
Grabbe 2017, p. 36.
Meyers 2005, pp. 6–7.
^ Moore & Kelle 2011, p. 81.
Dozeman 2009, p. 1.
Finkelstein & Silberman 2002, p. 63.
Barmash 2015, p. 4.
Shaw 2002, p. 313.
Finkelstein & Silberman 2002, p. 69.
Faust 2015, p. 476.
Redmount 2001, p. 87.
Geraty 2015, p. 55.
Sparks 2010, p. 73.
Davies 2020, p. 152.
Russell 2009, p. 11.
Meyers, p. 17.
Stuart, p. 19.
Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 9:10
Meyers 2005, p. 16.
McEntire 2008, p. 8.
Kugler & Hartin 2009, p. 74.
Dozeman, p. 9.
Dozeman, p. 4.
Dozeman, p. 427.
Dempster, p. 107.
Wenham, p. 29.
Meyers, p. 148.
Meyers, pp. 149–150.
Meyers, p. 150.
Dempster, p. 100.
Weekly Torah Portions. Alephbeta

General bibliography

Barmash, Pamela (2015). "Out of the Mists of History: The Exaltation of the Exodus in the Bible". In Barmash, Pamela; Nelson, W. David (eds.). Exodus in the Jewish Experience: Echoes and Reverberations. Lexington Books. pp. 1–22. ISBN 9781498502931.
Childs, Brevard S (1979). The Book of Exodus. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780664229689.
Collins, John J. (2005). The Bible After Babel: Historical Criticism in a Postmodern Age. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802828927.
Davies, Graham (2004). "Was There an Exodus?". In Day, John (ed.). In Search of Pre-exilic Israel: Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar. Continuum. pp. 23–40. ISBN 9780567082060.
Davies, Graham I. (2020). Exodus 1-18: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary: Volume 1: Chapters 1-10. International Critical Commentary. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-567-68869-9.
Davies, Graham I. (2020b). Exodus 1-18: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary: Volume 2: Chapters 11-18. International Critical Commentary. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-567-68872-9.
Dempster, Stephen G (2006). Dominion and Dynasty. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 9780830826155.
Dozeman, Thomas B (2009). Commentary on Exodus. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802826176.
Dozeman, Thomas B (2000). "Exodus, Book of". In David Noel, Freedman; Allen C., Myers (eds.). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9789053565032.
Dozeman, Thomas B. (2010). Methods for Exodus. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139487382.
Faust, Avraham (2015). "The Emergence of Iron Age Israel: On Origins and Habitus". In Thomas E. Levy; Thomas Schneider; William H.C. Propp (eds.). Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective: Text, Archaeology, Culture, and Geoscience. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-04768-3.
Finkelstein, Israel; Silberman, Neil Asher (2002). The Bible Unearthed. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743223386.
Fretheim, Terence E (1991). Exodus. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664237349.
Geraty, Lawrence T. (2015). "Exodus Dates and Theories". In Thomas E. Levy; Thomas Schneider; William H.C. Propp (eds.). Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective: Text, Archaeology, Culture, and Geoscience. Springer. pp. 55–64. ISBN 978-3-319-04768-3.
Grabbe, Lester (2017). Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-567-67043-4.
Houston, Walter J (1998). "Exodus". In John Barton (ed.). Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198755005.
Johnstone, William D. (2003). "Exodus". In James D. G. Dunn, John William Rogerson (ed.). Eerdmans Bible Commentary. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837110.
Kugler, Robert; Hartin, Patrick (2009). An Introduction to the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802846365.
Levy, Thomas E., Thomas Schneider, William H.C. Propp. (2015). "Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective: Text, Archaeology, Culture, and Geoscience". Springer International Publishing.
McEntire, Mark (2008). Struggling with God: An Introduction to the Pentateuch. Mercer University Press. ISBN 9780881461015.
Meyers, Carol (2005). Exodus. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521002912.
Moore, Megan Bishop; Kelle, Brad E. (2011). Biblical History and Israel's Past. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802862600.
Noonan, Benjamin J. (2016). "Egyptian Loanwords as Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus and Wilderness Traditions". In Hoffmeier, James K.; Millard, Alan R.; Rendsburg, Gary A. (eds.). "Did I Not Bring Israel Out of Egypt?": Biblical, Archaeological, and Egyptological Perspectives on the Exodus Narratives. Penn State Press. pp. 49–67. ISBN 978-1-57506-430-7.
Plaut, Gunther. The Torah: A Modern Commentary (1981), ISBN 0-8074-0055-6
Redmount, Carol A. (2001) . "Bitter Lives: Israel In And Out of Egypt". In Coogan, Michael D. (ed.). The Oxford History of the Biblical World. OUP. pp. 58–89. ISBN 9780199881482.
Russell, Stephen C. (2009). Images of Egypt in Early Biblical Literature. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110221718.
Shaw, Ian (2002). "Israel, Israelites". In Shaw, Ian; Jameson, Robert (eds.). A Dictionary of Archaeology. Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 9780631235835.
Sparks, Kenton L. (2010). "Genre Criticism". In Dozeman, Thomas B. (ed.). Methods for Exodus. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139487382.
Stuart, Douglas K (2006). Exodus. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 9780805401028.
Wenham, Gordon (1979). The Book of Leviticus. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802825223.

External links

Exodus at BibleGateway.com
Exodus at Mechon-Mamre (Jewish Publication Society translation)
Exodus (The Living Torah) Archived 2011-06-10 at the Wayback Machine—Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's translation and commentary at Ort.org
Shemot—Exodus (Judaica Press) translation (with Rashi's commentary) at Chabad.org
Shmot (Original Hebrew—English at Mechon-Mamre.org)
Exodus public domain audiobook at LibriVox—Various versions

Book of Exodus Pentateuch
Preceded byGenesis	Hebrew Bible	Succeeded byLeviticus
	Christian Old Testament

Books of the Bible

Old Testament

Hebrew Bible
(protocanon)

Deuterocanon
or apocrypha

Catholic, Eastern Orthodox & others	Tobit Judith Additions to Esther 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Wisdom Sirach Baruch / Letter of Jeremiah Additions to Daniel Susanna Song of the Three Children Bel and the Dragon
Eastern Orthodox & others	1 Esdras 2 Esdras Prayer of Manasseh Psalm 151 3 Maccabees 4 Maccabees Odes
Orthodox Tewahedo	Enoch Jubilees 1, 2, and 3 Meqabyan Paralipomena of Baruch Broader canon
Syriac Peshitta	Psalms 152–155 2 Baruch
Beta Israel	Testaments of the Three Patriarchs Abraham Isaac Jacob

New Testament

Canon	Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians Laodiceans 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation
Antilegomena	Acts of Paul Apocalypse of Peter Didache Gospel of the Hebrews Epistle of Barnabas 1 Clement 2 Clement 3 Corinthians Shepherd of Hermas

Subdivisions

Development

Manuscripts

v t e Ten Commandments
Tablets of Stone · Finger of God · Ritual Decalogue
Commandments	I am the Lord thy God Thou shalt have no other gods before me Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy Honour thy father and thy mother Thou shalt not kill Thou shalt not commit adultery Thou shalt not steal Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour Thou shalt not covet
Topics	Moses Biblical Mount Sinai Mount Sinai Mount Horeb Ark of the Covenant lid Book of Exodus The Exodus
In art	Descent from Mount Sinai (Sistine Chapel, 1481-1482 painting) Moses (c. 1513–1515 sculpture) Moses and his Ethiopian wife Zipporah (c. 1645-1650 painting) Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law (1659 painting) Catholic Total Abstinence Union Fountain (1876) Moses (1962 sculpture) Moses (1968 sculptures, 3/3)
Media	The Ten Commandments (1923 film) The Ten Commandments (1956 film) Les Dix Commandements (2000 musical) The Ten Commandments (2004 musical) The Ten Commandments (2006 miniseries) The Ten (2007 film) The Ten Commandments (2007 film) I Am (2010 film) The Ten Commandments (2016 film)
Related	Joshua In Catholic theology Tabot Alternatives 613 commandments Seven Laws of Noah Great Commandment Golden Rule Ethics in the Bible

Book of Exodus media

Art

The Crossing of the Red Sea (1482)
Crossing of the Red Sea (1542)
The Crossing of the Red Sea (1634)
The Adoration of the Golden Calf (1634)
The Manna (c. 1638)
Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law (1659)
The Fifth Plague of Egypt (1800)
Victory O Lord! (1871)
Dance Around the Golden Calf (1910)

Film

Biblical	The Ten Commandments (1923) The Moon of Israel (1924) The Ten Commandments (1956) Moses und Aron (1973) Moses the Lawgiver (1974) Moses (1995) The Prince of Egypt (1998) The Exodus Decoded (2006) The Ten Commandments (2006) The Ten Commandments (2007) Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) The Ten Commandments: The Movie (2016) Seder-Masochism (2018)
Modern settings	The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) The Reaping (2007) Exodus (2007)