Jaswinder Singh

Student id- 201910058

Exodus: The Book of Oppression, Slavery, and Freedom

Introduction
Judaism is the very oldest religion among Semitic traditions. This religion revolves
around the worship of a God that is intimately connected with the history of one
people. Contemporary Jews are to regard themselves not only as of the inheritors of
such historical traditions but also as participants 1. Tanakh is the canonical and most
sacred book of Jews particularly the Pentateuch scroll which contains the first five
books. With Exodus, the Pentateuch enters in the realm of history, albeit not history in
the modern sense. Exodus is the book that speaks of the physical and spiritual birth of
Israel as a nation. Hebrew-speaking Jews have always used the initial Hebrew words of
the book of the Exodus as its title, calling it ve’elleh shemot, which means “now these
are the names.” The Greek title is exodus usually refers to the mass liberation of people.
The book of Exodus is a record of several events. The main theme focuses on the
redemption of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Further, it depicts its
establishment as a nation governed by the law of God. The people of Israel experienced
God’s deliverance, guidance, and protection. They were ready to be taught what God
expected of them2. Finally, Moses received the Ten Commandments from God to make
a new nation with the monarch of the Lord. This journey of Hebrews from oppression to
deliverance became one of the most memorable occasions in their history. The Passover
is celebrated annually even today to commemorate God’s deliverance of the Hebrew
people from slavery. In some interpretations, Exodus of Israelite slaves to freedom has
come to be as the symbol for spiritual liberation as well as political and historical
liberation for peoples of many religions and nationalities around the world 3.

Background of Event
Exodus is ascribed by scripture to Moses but most of the Scholars understood this
book as a composite of traditions shaped over many centuries by an unknown number
1
Kunin, Seth D., Themes and issues in Judaism,{ London and New York: Cassell, 2000}, 81-82.
2
Nelson, Thomas, Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, {USA: Thomas Nelson, 1993}, 23.
3
Sara karesh & Mitchell M. Hurvitz, Encyclopaedia of Judaism, {New York: An imprint of infobase publishing, 2006},
150.

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of anonymous storytellers and writers 4. Exodus was probably written during the
wilderness wandering of Israel between the time of The Exodus and the death of Moses.
Nelson proclaimed that he edited his work in the plains of Moab shortly before his
death5. There is a specific place where the story of exodus took place, it is Egypt. Egypt is
a land with the rich and well recorded Ancient History. The name of the king is not
present in Exodus that was in power during this event of Exodus. Religion in ancient
Egypt was characterized by a complex polytheism. The ten plagues were direct
challenges to the worship of Egypt and deities who were thought to protect Egyptian life
and property. In this way, the supremacy of Yahweh, the God of Israel was vividly
demonstrated.

Slavery of Israelites
To know the enslavement of Hebrew people in Egypt we should better know what
slavery itself is. Encyclopedia Britannica states that Slavery is the condition in which one
human being was owned by another. The product of a slave’s labor could be claimed by
someone else, who also frequently had the right to control his physical reproduction.
The slave is deprived of personal liberty and the right to move about geographically as
he desired. There are likely to be limits on his capacity to make choices concerning his
occupation and sexual partners as well6. Collins dictionary describes the noun Slavery as
the state or condition of being a slave; a civil relationship whereby one person has
absolute power over another and controls his or her life, liberty, and fortune 7. Further,
Merriam Webster dictionary views it as the practice of slaveholding and the state of a
person who is a chattel of another 8. In a simple and precise manner, we can say that a
slave himself has no authority over his life and he does whatever his master wants. Now
we will try to apply these symptoms through the book of exodus and get the idea of
early Hebrew enslavement.

The Oppression of the Israelites

4
Coogan, Michael D., The New Oxford Annotated Bible: new revise standard version, {New York: Oxford university
press, 2010}, 81.
5
Nelson, Thomas, Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, {USA: Thomas Nelson, 1993}, 22.
6
Hellie, Richard., Slavery, Encyclopædia Britannica, December 05, 2019, URL:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/slavery-sociology, Access Date: May 07, 2020.
7
“Slavery Definition and Meaning: Collins English Dictionary.” Slavery Definition and Meaning | Collins English
Dictionary, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/slavery.
8
Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “slavery,” accessed May 8, 2020, https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/slavery.

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 The book of genesis mentioned the event of Jacob’s migration to Egypt with his
family. They were seventy in numbers. During the roughly four hundred years in Egypt,
the family of Jacob grew from seventy people to between two and three million. Israel is
the name of Jacob given by God when he had victory over God. The book of exodus
starts with the names of Israel’s descendants and generations. When the Israelites were
multiplied in number and filled the land of Egypt. They were free until the new king
comes because he did not care what Joseph had done for his people at the time of
feminine. He considers the increased Israelites population a great threat and attempts
to restrict their growth. To limit population growth the king introduced violence against
Hebrew that will recur as the story of oppression and Liberty continues 9. First, by
subjecting them to forced labor, he set taskmasters to built two great cities Pithom and
Remises. Israelites were forced to work in state agriculture as well as construction.
It first is important to recognize that no form of slavery mentioned in the Hebrew
Bible was the same as the race-based slavery most familiar to us from the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries, particularly in American history. The bondage of Israel was
not slavery in a strict manner rather it was the forced labor. The Hebrew word has a
root of bd, which means to serve, work, imposing task, service, labor, tasks, and
imposed10. The bondage of the Israelites in Egypt would be one form of compulsory
state labor in which they were required to construct buildings and do agriculture.
Another type of restriction or prohibition seems to relate to slavery where King gave the
order to kill the male child from the house of Hebrew. For this purpose as the story
continues he assigned two midwives to kill the male child by putting him into the river.
The divine authority seems to be more important than the word of the pharaoh because
they refuse to kill the male child and the Hebrew grew consistently.
Israel’s enslavement in Egypt constitutes the archetype of oppression. The strong
exploit the weak, denying them freedom with no recourse to justice. Oppression
violates the fundamental human dignity. It is clear that people had fear of Pharaoh
because when he gave them extra labor then they complain against Moses
nevertheless, who was helping them (Ex. 6:21). People had to do whatever Pharaoh said
to them. The term for groaning and crying out is repeated four times, signifying the
agony of the Israelites. People do not have the right to speak about their rights. When
they requested the king for leave to go for sacrifice before God, he strictly rejects their
proposal and in return give them extra work to do as punishment. After this King’s
taskmasters begin to beat the supervisors of Israelites who were Hebrew. However,
9
Coogan, Michael D., The New Oxford Annotated Bible: new revise standard version, {New York: Oxford university
press, 2010}, 84.
10
Meyers, Carol, Exodus: The New Cambridge commentary, {New York: Cambridge university press, 2005}, 34-35.

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they complained much time but they gain no justice (Ex. 5:15-20). Through bureaucratic
hierarchy, king distances, and thereby protects, himself from the protest of the
oppressed. Instead of giving justice king called them lazy to blame the victim as a
justification for oppression. This dictatorship makes the background for the origin of a
leader who can control the authority and lead the oppressed to release.

Moses: Leader Who Leads Israel Towards Freedom

Moses is a partner with God in the unfolding story of how Israel gains its freedom and
becomes established as a community 11. In very brief, Moses was born in Egypt to slave
parents from the house of Levi. He spent his youth in the Pharaoh’s Royal household
and fled to the median after killing an Egyptian guard. In the median, he spent forty
years and had a dramatic encounter with the god in the burning bush (Ex.3:2-4). Then
he returned to Egypt to lead God's people out of captivity (Ex.13-19). Then in wilderness
wandering, he received the law including the Ten Commandments directly from God on
mountain Sinai (Ex. 19:20). At last, he appointed Joshua as his successor.
In its literary form Exodus anticipates the events through naming. For instance, Moses
an Egyptian man meaning, one who draws out, used in anticipation Of Moses’ role in
drawing his people through the sea( Ex. 14: 21-29). The Hebrew word for basket appears
elsewhere in the Bible only as a designation for Noah’s ark (Gen.6:14) as the instrument
for saving God’s creation. Here in Exodus, it is the means for the person (Moses) who
will save the Israelites. He was Brave who defeated the shepherds and his motif of
saving recurs, anticipating the ultimate deliverance of the sea (Ex. 13:17-15:21).

Rebellion and Revolution

People were unmindful of Yahweh’s promises to them about the promised land,
therefore, they never took revolt against the pharaoh. The first time, Moses starts his
rebellion when he saves one Hebrew by killing other Egyptian and tries to adjudicate
between two others. Moses’ violent act is best understood as symbolic of the similarly
problematic violence soon to be prepared by God on Egyptians 12. It simply means that
Moses prefigures God’s saving deeds. When the cries of people come up to God (2:23-
25) then he called Moses at the mountain and sent him to the land of Egypt to look after
His people (3:1-4:26). God’s address to Moses in verse 3:7-10 explores the declaration

11
Ibid., 39.
12
Ibid., 44.

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of Moses’ role in the divine plan to free the Israelites. God Makes Moses the same as
himself and He said to him that Moses is now a God and Aaron is his prophet. The call
marks the formative moment in which an individual’s prophetic mission is initiated.
When Moses entered Egypt firstly, he assembled all the elders of the Israelites (Ex. 4:29)
to give them a revolutionary speech that he learns from God. Moses always said in front
of the pharaoh that let my people go. It means he was brave than other Hebrew
because he had the strength to speak in the front of a king in whose court he is not than
a servant. The oppositional position of Egyptians and Israelites in the exodus narrative
reflect Israelites’ struggle to find and maintain their distinctive identity in the fluid
cultural waters of the ancient Near East.

Struggle for Freedom

Foremost, Moses tried to commence pharaoh through requests but he rejected his
proposal. On the contrary, the pharaoh increases more suffering to Hebrews. To
struggle with Egyptian King God introduced ten plagues. The word plagues denote the
disaster (hail) that will strike Pharaoh, his courtiers, and the rest of people at least those
who do not seek the shelter of God. God sent his seven wonders with a warning and
three without warning (Ex. 7: 14- 10:29). These include the first nine plagues bloody
water, frogs, gnats, flies, pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. God always makes
a distinction between His people and pharaoh’s people (Ex. 8:23) because he protects
His people from every plague He sent in Egypt. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, which
means that he was not convinced. Sometimes he agrees to let the Israelites depart, at
other times his refusal preceded the horrific unleashing of some aspect of nature. The
nine signs and wonders have failed to convince the pharaoh to release the Israelites,
consequently, the worst of all come which was the slaying of the firstborn of Egyptian.
In the end, Yahweh defeated Pharaoh and bring the people to his mountain Sinai.

Passover, Departure, and freedom

The Hebrew term pesah as a verb probably means to protect and demonstrate God’s
guardianship of Israel. The Passover is a day of remembrance. The Miraculous departure
from Egypt becomes part of the collective memory of future generations alive through
religious practices that enable generations to recall and relive the experience of the
Exodus generation13.

13
Coogan, Michael D., The New Oxford Annotated Bible: new revise standard version, {New York: Oxford university
press, 2010}, 97.

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 Pharaoh finally releases Israel and Moses leads the people to the Sea. God shows the
path during their wilderness wandering from Egypt to Israel. He shows them the path of
their goal with clouds. He also protects his people by the shield of Fire. Yahweh parts
the waters for Israel and drowns the Egyptians when they in turn attempt to chased
them. With divine help, Israel beats back the Amalekites' attack. Moses receives the
Covenant Tablets and instructions for building God's earthly habitation, the Tabernacle.
Exodus concludes with the settling of Yahweh's Glory upon the Tabernacle.

Will Of God: Presupposed Everything

Situating the beginning of Moses’ mission within a call narrative made it clear to the
ancient audience that his leadership is rooted in the will of God 14. The motif of the
pharaoh’s hardened heart appears frequently in the narrative of Moses. This is the God
who hardened his heart (Ex. 4:22). God said it many times to Moses that he shall see
what He will do to the pharaoh. As a result, God is the subject and therefore the one
who controls how pharaoh responds. God did it because he wanted to show himself
before Egyptian as a supreme authority. Again, God multiplied his signs and wonder in
the land of Egypt that the Egyptians might know that he is the lord 15(Ex. 10:1-2). This is
God’s self-identification16.

Conclusion
As we have seen Exodus is not a separate book but is a part of the Torah. Its opening
verses connect it to Genesis and it closes with the completion of the tabernacle, which
shaped the primary structure for the later Temple with the divine presence. Thus,
Exodus is arguably the most important book in the Hebrew Bible. It presents the biblical
ideas about God, especially that God responds to and saves people who were suffering
and oppressed. As a story of Liberation Exodus has infused hope into many people. The
Israelites who were oppressed in Egypt escape from Pharaoh’s control through the
intervention of their God whose identity is revealed through their heroic leader Moses
who then carries out God’s directives to recur their release 17. The whole struggle from
slavery to freedom is under the will of God. As we said Pharaoh was not the evil one but
God made him hardened.

14
Meyers, Carol, Exodus: The New Cambridge commentary, {New York: Cambridge university press, 2005}, 56.
15
Nelson, Thomas, Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, {USA: Thomas Nelson, 1993}, 28.
16
Coogan, Michael D., The New Oxford Annotated Bible: new revise standard version, {New York: Oxford university
press, 2010}, 90.
17
Ibid., 81-83.

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 Bibliography
Books
 Coogan, Michael D., The New Oxford Annotated Bible: new revise standard version,
Oxford university press, New York, 2010.
 Kunin, Seth D., Themes and issues in Judaism, Cassell, London, and New York, 2000.

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  Meyers, Carol, Exodus: the new Cambridge commentary, Cambridge university press,
New York, 2005.
 Nelson, Thomas, Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, Thomas Nelson,
USA, 1996.
 Propp, William H. C., The Anchor Bible, Doubleday, New York, 1999.
Encyclopedias
 Dan Cohn-Sherbok, A concise Encyclopaedia of Judaism, one world publication, London,
1998.
 Sara karesh & Mitchell M. Hurvitz, Encyclopaedia of Judaism, An imprint of infobase
publishing, New York, 2006.
Online resources
 The Bible. King James Version. Bible Gateway, version 3.11, Bible gateway,
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+1&version=NIV, Access date:
May 7, 2020.
 Hellie, Richard., Slavery, Encyclopædia Britannica, December 05, 2019, URL:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/slavery-sociology, Access Date: May 07, 2020.