1.

The Theology of the Book of Exodus

In the Book of Exodus God gives

Israel his special name, his
special deliverance, his special
guidance, his special covenant,
his special worship, his special
mercy and his special description
of himself. In the Book of Exodus,
the people Israel is born.
 Torah is born, and with it the Bible; the
theology of Presence and response to
Presence is born, and with it the special
iconography of that large part of the
Hebrew-Christian tradition which
symbolizes ideas rather than beings; and
priesthood and cultus in ancient Israel are
born, laying the ancient sub-foundations of
Temple, Synagogue and Church. In the
Book of Exodus, Passover is begun, and
there is set in motion a continuity of
testimony to a living faith that continues to
this day.
 The primary burden of the Book of
Exodus, however, is theological. The
book is theological in concept, in
arrangement, in content, and in
implication. It is a book of faith, about
faith, and directed primarily to those
with faith. The centerpiece of this
unity is the theology of Yahweh
present with and in the midst of his
people Israel.
 The Presence of Yahweh promises
guidance, protection, and success in
the settlement of the promised land
(23:20–33). The Presence of Yahweh
solemnizes the covenant, both with
Israel (24:5–8, 18) and with Israel’s
leaders (24:9–17). And the Presence of
Yahweh is at the center of the
elaborate instructions for the media of
worship in Exod 25–31 and of the
account of their construction and
consecration in Exod 35–40.
 Two additional themes are natural
extensions of the Presence theme in
the Book of Exodus. The first of
these themes is Deliverance, or
Salvation, or Rescue. The second of
them is Covenant, the provision of a
means of Response to Deliverance.
God’s Presence in Israel’s midst
witnesses the need for Deliverance
and brings it about.
 Both within the Book of
Exodus and beyond it, the
exodus deliverance is
depicted as the act by
which Israel was brought
into being as a people and
thus as the beginning
point in Israel’s history.
 The Exodus contributes to the explanation
for Israel’s origin and continuing existence
as the people of God (because Yahweh
delivered our fathers, therefore we are his
people.) It similarly functions as theological
shorthand to provide justification for all
manner of practices, though, in all
probability, none of them has in origin
anything to do with it (Passover, was
probably an ancient nomad’s rite; covenant
is a commonplace of Ancient Near Eastern
life, law a gradually developing corpus.)
As a paradigm, the Exodus provides a pattern
for the continuing experience of God’s people
(as Yahweh delivered our fathers, so he
delivers us.)
a) Israel’s spurning of the God is the root
cause of all the dislocations of her
history, pre-eminently the exile.
b) The exodus functions positively as
paradigm of release into liberty. )
c) As springboard for creative
hermeneutics,
d) As ground for eschatological
expectation.
 The primary experience of the
people is that Yahweh is a Savior i.e.
it stresses his action in history. This
saving action led to the creation of
Israel. This is a story of an
oppressed and powerless group
who managed to escape from
oppressive conditions. The escape
is attributed to a God called Yahweh.
 2. The Shape and the Content of Exodus

Part One: Israel in Egypt (1:1–13:16)

Part Two: Israel in the Wilderness (13:17–18:27)
Part Three: Israel at Sinai (19:1–40:38)

Part One is then subdivided into three major sections,

each with a varied number of pericopae: Section I, The
Progeny of Israel, The Persecution and the Deliverer,
Exod 1:1–2:25, is comprised of seven pericopae; Section
II, The Call of the Deliverer, His Commission, and His
Obedience, Exod 3:1–7:7, is comprised of ten pericopae;
and Section III, The Ten Mighty Acts and the Exodus: the
Proof of Yahweh’s Presence, Exod 7:8–13:16, is
comprised of seventeen pericopae.
Part Two, the briefest of the three major divisions, has
no subsections, only eleven pericopae, the last of
which, The Beginning of Israel’s Legal System,
Exod 18:13–27.

Part Three is subdivided into four major sections, each

with a varied number of pericopae: Section I, The
Advent of Yahweh’s Presence and the Making of the
Covenant, Exod 19:1–24:18, is comprised of six
pericopae; Section II, Yahweh’s Instructions for the
Media of Worship, Exod 25:1–31:18, is comprised of
sixteen pericopae; Section III, Israel’s First
Disobedience and Its Aftermath, Exod 32:1–34:35, is
comprised of eight pericopae; and Section IV, Israel’s
Obedience of Yahweh’s Instructions, Exodus 35:1–
40:38, is comprised of eight pericopae.
 3. TIME IN EGYPT
 
3.1. 1450-1350 BC
- Amarna Letters show that groups of Apiru (Hebrews)
were already in Palestine by 1350.
- 1500-1400 BC evidence for Semitic slaves at Serabit el
Khadem,
- I Kings 6:1 dedication of the temple: 480 years after
Israel left Egypt. Temple was constructed on 950 BC + 480
years = 1430 BC.
3.2. 1300-1250 BC
- Egyptian records on the 19th dynasty, Seti I and
Rameses II during 1310-1300 BC.
- The famous victory inscription of Merneptah (Rameses
II’ son)
- The reign of Rameses II points between 1300-1280 BC.
4. THE PASSOVER
4.1. Lamb sacrifice - pastoral in origin;
shepherd’s rite of killing a new born lamb

4.2. Unleavened bread - farming village

ceremony of ridding the houses of the old
yeast and old grain

What Israel did, therefore, was to interpret the

ancient feast of the semi-nomadic shepherds in
terms of her own relationship with Yahweh. It
was no longer the quest for a temporary pasture
but for the final pasture, the promise land itself.
 
5. Tradition about the Exodus Event
5.1 Tradition of the Escape
5.2 Tradition by the Expulsion
5.3 The Route of Exodus
5.4 Theories about the Route
5.4.1 Sea of Reeds
5.4.2 The Gulf of Aqaba or Ezion Geber
5.4.3 Sirbonis Lake

There were in fact three different routes. We conclude that

there are different group of slaves who came out in
different times: once bonded together, they combined all
their remembrances. When the different entries into
Canaan were combined in the final narrative, these
different Exodus experience were united as well.
 Exodus 1:1-7

The author of the opening lines of the

Book of Exodus quite probably had at
hand, in some form, the genealogical
list of Gen 46:8–27. There is good
reason to suggest that these two
passages have the same author, and
that an original sequence may have
included at least Gen 46:8–27 followed
by 47:6–12, 27b–28; then 48:3–7;
49:28–33; 50:12–13; then Exod 1:1–5,
 A final important connecting link is reflected in
the significance of the names of the twelve sons
of Jacob. Present in these names, in a manner
unfortunately not always apparent, are clues to
the important questions connected with tribal
biography and the theological descendancy of
Israel.

These names, in the present arrangement of the

biblical text, also provide a point of contact with
the “Blessing of Jacob” in Gen 49:3–27. These
names, in the present arrangement of the biblical
text, also provide a point of contact with the
“Blessing of Jacob” in Gen 49:3–27.
 The beginning of the Book of
Exodus is a continuation, a
look at the present, and a hint
of what must come. What is
continued is the story of
Jacob’s family, begun in the
history of the patriarchs. The
naming of the twelve sons is a
link with both the past and the
future.
 In this recollection of God’s
covenant-promise, however, there
is also an allusion to what is to
come, for the promise was a
promise of land as well as
progeny. And with the promise of
progeny so wondrously and
abundantly fulfilled, the promise of
land must not be far from
fulfillment.
Exodus 1:8-14
The two parts of this section can easily be
separated on stylistic grounds: vv 9–12, and vv
13–14.

As the opening section of the Book of Exodus

establishes continuity with the theological history
of the fathers and describes their descendants’
situation in the intervening years, so this second
section focuses upon two radical changes in that
situation as a means of moving the narrative
forward to its major goal, the advent of God and
the birth of his people.
 Locked away in the middle of this
narrative is the assurance that the growth
of this people, now the major reason for
their misery, cannot be stemmed (v 12).
God is in it, and he is bringing his own
purpose inexorably to fulfillment. No
Pharaoh, and not even the people of Israel
themselves, can alter this growth. Thus the
situation is bound to grow more terrible
still, for God will not go back on his
promise, and a new Pharaoh cannot afford
to be wrong.
 Exodus 1:15-22

The key to an understanding of these

narratives of the Pharaoh’s attempts at
genocide is theological, as is the purpose for
which they have been brought into sequence.
As vv 7, 9, 12, and 20b make plain, what is
taking place in the family of Jacob/Israel is of
God. The promise to the fathers is in view,
both the half that is well on the way to
fulfillment and the half that is yet to come to
pass.
As the first two plans of Pharaoh
have been brought to defeat, so
also is the ominous third plan,
and for that matter, any further
plans as well. God is responsible
for the growth of Israel in Egypt,
and therefore no plan and no
force can succeed in ending or
even slowing that growth.
 Exodus 2:1-10

The purpose of the three narratives of chap. 2

is to present us with an exceptional deliverer,
exceptionally prepared, in the setting of a
persecution precipitated by God’s fulfillment
of the first half of his promise, and in
anticipation of his fulfillment of the second
half of that promise. By three entirely different
devices, these narratives perform a connecting
and transitional function. As subsequent
sections are to show, God is at no time far
from the scene, whether he is mentioned or
not.
The Levitical ancestry of Moses is
pointedly mentioned as having
come to him from both his parents,
who are said by the priestly source
in 6:20 to be nephew and aunt (see
n. 6:20.c). It is an anticipatory clue
to both the stature of Moses and
the sacerdotal nature of his
leadership as Israel’s first great
sacral hero.
The casting of the child in Nile recalls the
story of God’s salvation of Noah in the
days of the flood. The child is put into an
ark (tebah) and then cast into the water.
The child was saved not only by carrying
out the Pharaoh’s decree but in fact by
Pharaoh’s own daughter. The author
focused on the life of a single child; the
very child whom the Lord intended to
bring his people up out of the land – the
very eventuality that the King of Egypt
feared.
At center, Ex. 2:1–10 presents the
story of the birth of God’s deliverer,
Moses. That his birth is a turning
point toward an unseen better
future is made clear by the
incredible narrative of the first
months of his life. That his birth is a
turning point toward an unseen
better future is made clear by the
incredible narrative of the first
months of his life.
Exodus 2:11-15
The eagerness of the writer to communicate Moses’
identification with his people’s plight is shown both
by the repetition of the phrase “among his brethren”
and also by the pointed use of the uncomfortable
word “Hebrew” with the word “Egyptian.”

This narrative appear consciously to foreshadow

the central role of Moses in the narratives which
follow. Just as Moses rescued the Israelite being
beaten by the Egyptian, so in the near future he
was to deliver the Israelites from their Egyptian
oppressors.
The narrator’s purpose in designating
Midian as the land of Moses’ retreat is
after all not geographic but theological.

With this section of his narrative, the

redactor has achieved two important
purposes: (1) the association of Moses
with the agony of his people and (2) the
removal of Moses to the land of his final
preparation for his work as deliverer, the
land of Midian.
 Exodus 2:16-22

With this third section in the sequence on the

deliverer, the narrative moves to the place of Moses’
final preparation for his grand task.

Commentators have often proposed that this

“Midianite” section, along with vv 11–15 that lead so
inevitably to it, was composed primarily to get Moses
to the area of his experience of theophany and call.
Geography is not the concern, since the Midianites
appear to have had no fixed territory and since the
mountain of God was clearly some distance away
from the Midianite camp.
The point, rather, is a theological one.
The priesthood of Moses’ Midianite father-in-law is an
important detail, and so it is established at the very
first mention of the Midianites. Indeed, his priestly
vocation is more clearly remembered than his name.

With this third and climactic section of the narrative of

Ex. 2, we are brought to the threshold of the real
subject of the Book of Exodus. Having prepared
Moses in Egypt, having introduced him there to the
agony of his people, having removed him to the land
of his final preparation for his work as deliverer, the
narrator begins to answer the question “Why Midian?”
with an assertion placed in the mouth of Moses
himself.
 Moses has come to a people
who not only worship the God of
the fathers, but are free to do so.
Thus he is at home, because this
God is his God. And as this God
is also his people’s God, Moses
is soon to be directed to bring
them to a place where they can
worship him freely too.
 Exodus 2:23-25
This brief postscript serves as the
concluding bracket of an introductory
sequence of transitional narratives.
Just as the opening bracket provides a look
at past, present, and future, so also does
this closing bracket: the past is the promise
to the three great fathers; the present is the
death of the king of Egypt and the
continuation of the oppression, with no
letup, under his successor; the future is the
next step, implied in the important
assertion that God remembered .
 Exodus 3:1-10
The call of Moses follows the
pattern of a call narrative: a) God
appears or speaks to Moses (3:1-4);
b) He explains the reason for his
coming (3:4-9); c) He commissions
Moses to his task (3:10); d) Moses
objects (3:11); e) God reassures him
and insists (3:12); f) God follows with
a sign or prediction (3:12; 4:1).
 God now identified himself to Moses
as “the God of your father, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob (v. 6), and proceeded to
tell Moses of his plan; Moses was to
be the one who would deliver the
Israelites from bondage in Egypt and
to bring them into the land promised
to their forefathers (vv. 7-10). He was
to form them into a nation whose
central concern would be the worship
of God.
 Exodus 3:11-4:31
 
1. The First Objection (3:11-12):
Moses’ response to God’s call shows
that he immediately realized the
responsibility of his task. He replied to
God, “Who am I?” God responded to
Moses’ question not by building up
Moses’ confidence in himself but by
reassurance that he would be with him
in carrying out his task.
 2. The Second Objection (3:13-22) The
answer Moses receives is not, by any
stretch of the imagination, a name. It is an
assertion of authority, a confession of an
essential reality, and thus an entirely
appropriate response to the question
Moses poses.

“I AM that I AM,” replies God. It is a reply that

suggests that it is inappropriate to refer to God as
“was” or as “will be,” for the reality of this active
existence can be suggested only by the present:
“is” or “is-ing,” “Always Is,” or “Am.”
 Thus the name “Yahweh,” defined in terms of
active being or Presence is the name by which
God is to be known henceforth forever. It is to be
his “remembrance,” literally, that which is to
make his Presence a reality to the generations to
come.

When Moses asked about the name of God, he

was inquiring about more than just the identity of
God but the nature of God. The name was an
expression of the very essence of the one who
bears the name. The name is the reputation that
lends credibility to the claim of Moses’ calling.
 3. Third Objection (4:1-9):

In 4:1 Moses asked another question which

revealed his understanding of the true gravity
of the task God had given him.

In answer to this question, God gave Moses

three signs: a) his staff became a snake; b) his
hand became leprous; c) the water from the
Nile river became blood when poured out.
Each of these signs bears the unmistakable
mark of God’s creative power.
 4. Fourth Objection (4:10-17):

Moses raised one final objection – he was

not an eloquent speaker.

Through the whole narrative, Moses is

depicted as a reluctant but ultimately
willing leader. The writer has shown that
the leadership which Moses provided was
not motivated by a hunger for power. It was
a divine call and God alone would be able
to fulfill the task.
 Exodus 5:1-6:30
Within the narratives themselves it is
Pharaoh and the Egyptians who learn
the lesson. The purpose of the
narratives, however, is of course to
teach the reader this same lesson.
The second part of the Pharaoh’s
response also sets the stage for the
events that follow.
 . Moses was a leader called by
God and empowered to do his
work. The work of Moses was the
work of God. God used Moses,
but it was God who did the work.
Thus it is important to note that
Moses is not portrayed here as a
miracle worker. Rather, he is
portrayed as the Lord’s servant.
In the last analysis, then, the Exodus
was a work of God; even Moses and
Aaron had to be commanded to bring
the people out. The pattern here is
repeated many times throughout the
remainder of the pentateuchal
narratives, God’s initial call for faith
and trust is met with doubt and fear.
God then responds with a simple call
for obedience.
 Exodus 7:1-12:36
 
The purpose of the plagues is
suggested in 7:3-5, where God told Moses
that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart and
send signs and wonders upon Egypt.
These signs were to be a demonstration of
the power of God to the Egyptians (v. 5) as
well as to the Israelites (9:16).
It is possible to argue that the nature of the
signs themselves appears directed against
the Egyptians’ concept of the universe.
1. The First Plague: The waters of the
Nile River did in fact become blood.
2. The Second Plague: Frogs. 3.
The Third Plague: Gnats.
4. The Fourth Plague: Swarms of
Flies.
5. The Fifth Plague: All the livestock
of the Egyptians died of disease, yet
not one of the livestock of the
Israelites was affected.
6. Sixth Plague: Boils.
7. The Seventh Plague:
Hailstorms.
8. The Eighth Plague: Locusts.
9. The Ninth Plague: Darkness.
10. The Tenth Plague: Death of
the Firstborn:
The Plagues have basis in the natural phenomenon:
1. The Nile river is red at the time of the annual
inundation.
2. The phenomenon of swarms of frogs is an
outcome of the inundation.
3. The flooding of the Nile provides an ideal
circumstance for the source of mosquitoes.
4. With regards the Hailstorm, though rare in
Egypt, it does occur occasionally.
5. We could explain the darkness as an
intensification of the Khamsin.
6. Though the plagues could have been
natural events, what is important is that
the Israelites saw in these events the
hand of God.

7. Egypt was dominated by two

realities: Sun and Nile. The first plague
concerns the Nile River which is life-
giving becomes death-giving. In the ninth
plague, darkness covers the land. The
two great realities of Egypt are under
Yahweh’s control
8. There are doublets and inconsistencies:
a) the 4th (flies) is a doublet of the 3rd
(gnats);
b) the 6th (boils) affect the livestock and
human is a doublet of the 5th (pestilence)
i.e. livestock epidemic;
c) If the livestock were killed in the 5th
then how could they have been affected
by boils in the 6th, hailstorms in the 7th?; d)
If frogs already covered the land of Egypt
how could the magicians repeat the feat?
 
Exodus12:1-36
1. Chronology of the Passover Events
The Exodus occurred in the month of
Abib (13:4), which was later called Nisa
(Ne. 2:1). This month corresponds to
March/April.

On the tenth day of the month of Abib,

each household selected a lamb for a
sacrifice. It was to be kept for four days.
The text does not give reason why the
animal was to be kept from the tenth to
the fourteenth day of the month.
 2. Meaning of the Passover Celebration

The Feast of Passover was inaugurated

to commemorate the birth of the nation of
Israel. That feast marked a new beginning
can be seen in the inauguration of a new
calendar shaped around this event as the
first event of the year. The feast was also
intended to remind Israel of the Lord’s
salvation when he “passed over” their
houses and delivered their firstborn
(12:13, 27).
 3. Passover Instructions

The instructions to Moses and Israel on the

eve of the Exodus are recorded here in such a
way that they provide the directions for
celebrating the Passover throughout all future
generations.
With the destruction of the second temple in 70
AD, the biblical instructions for the Passover
could no longer be carried out because they
necessitated the temple service in Jerusalem.
The Feast of the Unleavened Bread thus came to
be the primary means for remembering the
Passover night.
 4. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread
The night of the Passover was to be
remembered throughout all generations by means
of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread.

Like the Passover, the description of the feast is

very simple. Beginning after dark on the 14th of
Abib (which, since the day began at evening, is in
fact the 15th of Abib), they were to go without
leaven in their food for seven days. The 1st day
(15th of Abib) and the 7th day (21st of Abib) were to
be special days in which they were to cease from
all unnecessary work and gather together in a
holy assembly.
Exodus 13:11-16
 Because God had redeemed the firstborn of Israel on
the night of the Exodus, it was the duty of the people to
devote every firstborn male to the service of worship.
The firstborn of the clean animals were to be devoted to
the Lord by being offered as a sacrifice.
The dedication of the firstborn was to be a memorial sign
of God’s redemption of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The
same purpose was assigned to the celebration of the
Passover Feast and the feast of the Unleavened Bread.
The Redemption of the Firstborn: The
Canaanite neighbors of Israel sacrifice
their firstborn. Israel revolted against
such practice thus they buy back their
firstborn which reveals her concern
for human life. Both firstborn of
humans and animals are God’s
exclusively property.

Redemption for the Israelite is thus the

acquisition of freedom something
important for semi-nomad.
In 15:13 there is the term redeemer (goel).
A redeemer is a family member
responsible for the integrity of the family.
For example, if a family property is in
danger of going to man outsider, the
redeemer sees to it that the property
remains in the family. The redeemer
intervenes at the crucial moments of
family life. Redemption means that God is
identified as a member of the family
interested in other members of the family.
Therefore, Redemption is much more than
simply buying back.
 Exodus 15:1-21

We have to understand the Song of

Moses as words of prophecy. The
poetic imagery that dominates the
song is that of the Lord as a mighty
warrior (v. 3). The weapon of this
warrior is not only his great
strength but also the mighty waters
of the sea.
Throughout the poem, however, the
picture of God’s great deeds
foreshadows most closely that of David,
who defeated the chiefs of Edom,
Philistia, and Canaan and made Mt. Zion
the eternal home for the Lord’s
sanctuary.

This poem is based on an earlier

Canaanite poem (1400 BC) that describes
the battle between Baal, god of fertility,
and Yamm, god of the sea.