Introduction to Exodus · ESV Expository

As Exodus begins the Israelites are enslaved in Egypt and in danger of being wiped out by Pharaoh and the Egyptians (ch. 1). As Exodus ends the Israelites are free and safely encamped at Mount Sinai, where the Lord has entered into a covenant relationship with them and has come down in glory to dwell in their midst (ch. 40). Exodus tells the story of how this change in fortunes happens. It emphasizes the Lord’s faithfulness to his covenant promises, his power to keep those promises, his desire to dwell among his covenant people, and his call for them to be a holy nation that embodies his character for all the world to see.1

The story may be thought of in six movements. The Lord delivers his people from slavery (1:1–15:21), leads them to Mount Sinai (15:22–17:16), and enters into a covenant relationship with them (18:1–24:11). Desiring to be near his covenant people, he gives Moses instructions for building his royal residence, the tabernacle, in their midst (24:12–31:18). While this is taking place the people commit full-scale rebellion against the Lord, making and worshiping a golden calf. The covenant is broken, and the story now describes the consequences that come as well as how the Lord graciously restores the covenant (32:1–34:35). With the covenant renewed the Lord’s royal tabernacle is built, and then the Lord comes down in glory to dwell in the midst of his covenant people (35:1–40:38).

Considering each of these movements in more detail will help to sharpen our understanding of the story’s shape and emphases.

The Israelites’ Need of Deliverance and How the Lord Brings It About (1:1–15:21)

Exodus begins with the Israelites in desperate need of deliverance and the Lord powerfully at work to provide it. By rescuing Israel the Lord shows his faithfulness to his covenant promises and also his sovereign strength over all earthly and heavenly powers.

As the book opens the Israelites are suffering under brutal Egyptian slavery and are under threat of being annihilated by Pharaoh and the Egyptians (ch. 1). A deliverer is clearly needed. Chapter 2 then introduces Moses, whom the Lord will use to lead his people out of Egypt, but by the chapter’s end Moses is forced to flee Egypt and live in Midian, far away from the people he is to deliver. How can the Israelites be saved?

To this point Exodus has made little mention of the Lord. That now changes, and chapter 2 ends by noting how the Lord has heard the Israelites’ cries for help and has decided to act in keeping with his covenant promises (2:23–25). Salvation will come, because God will bring it about! From this point onward the Lord and his appointed deliverer, Moses, are the story’s central characters.

In chapters 3–4 the Lord reveals himself to Moses as the great I Am and equips him for the task of delivering Israel. The deliverance itself takes place over many chapters (5:1–15:21), with a strong emphasis on the ways in which the Lord shows that he, not Pharaoh, is the true king of power and that he, not Egypt’s gods, is the true heavenly king. This theme is well captured by the song that concludes chapter 15, especially its last line: “The Lord will reign forever and ever!” (15:18).

The Lord Leads His People to Mount Sinai (15:22–17:16)

These chapters describe the Israelites’ travel from Egypt to Mount Sinai. Testing is a theme here: the Lord faithfully tests the people for their good, and the people faithlessly test the Lord in their doubt (15:22–17:7). The stories thus introduce us to the Israelites’ fickle faith and the Lord’s patience and grace with his slow-to-believe people. He is truly “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (34:6). The testing stories are followed by another instance of the Lord’s delivering his people from an enemy nation (17:8–16), underscoring that he is a God of power who protects and watches over his people.

The Lord Enters into a Covenant Relationship with His People (18:1–24:11)

Having brought the Israelites to Mount Sinai, the Lord prepares them to enter into a covenant relationship with him (18:1–19:25), and then he enters into that covenant with them (20:1–24:11). He does not want simply to rescue them; he wants to be in relationship with them.

As chapter 18 begins, someone from the nations (Jethro) recognizes that “the Lord is greater than all gods” (18:11), which reemphasizes the theme of the Lord’s sovereign might—and reminds us that God’s desire to bless the nations through Israel is not forgotten (Gen. 12:3). Chapter 18 finishes by describing Israel’s judicial system (Ex. 18:13–27), which prepares us for the giving of the law that is about to come. In the meantime the Israelites must prepare themselves for the Lord’s appearing by keeping themselves ritually pure (19:1–15), a signal that the Lord who will appear to them is holy. When the Lord then comes down in glory on the mountain, the sight is so awesome that it leaves the Israelites trembling with fear (19:16–25). This is no accident. The Lord is encouraging them to the type of godly fear that leads to faithful obedience (20:20). His people must keep the covenant if the world is to have any chance of learning who the Lord is.

In this awe-inspiring context the Lord delivers his covenant laws (20:1–23:33). In keeping with ancient Near Eastern convention the covenant is expressed as a “suzerain-vassal” (or “king-servant”) covenant, in which the Lord is covenant king and the Israelites are his covenant people. The laws he gives them help them to know how to live as his “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (19:6), since they show the Israelites how to embody his character of goodness, mercy, justice, and love. This in turn will enable them to make known to the world the glory of who the Lord is and the glory of being in relationship with him.

The Lord Gives Moses Instructions for Building His Tabernacle in Israel’s Midst (24:12–31:18)

In Israel’s day a king could enter into a covenant with distant nations among whom he never lived. For example, Ahaz, king of Judah, became covenant servant of Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria (2 Kings 16:7), who never lived in Judah. This was common in the ancient Near East. But the Lord is a covenant king who wants to dwell in the very midst of his covenant people. He therefore commands a tabernacle to be built.

The Lord’s instructions make clear the tabernacle is a palace-tent: it has rich fabrics, ornate furniture, uniformed palace servants (the priests), and a throne room in which the Lord sits enthroned over the ark. The ark is in the tabernacle’s innermost room (the Most Holy Place) and contains the covenant tablets. Their placement here, in the tabernacle’s very heart, testifies to the covenant’s central importance in Israel’s relationship with the Lord and to the fact that he sits enthroned over those tablets as a divine witness to what they say. Moreover, his presence in the tabernacle testifies to his desire to be with his people, which is a main reason that he redeemed them: “They shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them” (Ex. 29:46). He is a God who longs to be with us, near us, and among us.

The People Rebel against the Lord; Moses Intercedes; the Lord Graciously Renews the Covenant (32:1–34:35)

The story now plunges into a valley of tragedy before rising again to the heights of glory, a rise that can occur only because of the intercession of a faithful servant and the forgiving mercy of a compassionate God.

At the same time the Lord is giving instructions that will enable him to draw near to his people, his people abandon the very covenant they have just entered with him. Fearing that Moses will never return, they build a golden calf to go before them and worship it with wild excitement (32:1–18). When Moses learns of their faithlessness, he shatters the covenant tablets to symbolize graphically what they have done (32:18–20). He spends the rest of chapters 32–34 bringing judgment to bear for their infidelity (32:21–29) but also interceding on their behalf, asking the Lord not to abandon them but to show his grace and mercy by renewing the covenant (32:30–34:35). Moses is a shepherd who cares deeply for his sheep. The Lord hears Moses’ prayers and, in so doing, provides one of the fullest descriptions of his own character to this point in the Bible, a description that emphasizes above all his strong mercy, forgiveness, and steadfast love (34:6–7a). Yes, he is a God who brings judgment and discipline for sin (34:7b), but his deepest longing is that we might know his merciful love, a merciful love that makes it possible for him to have relationship with sinful people.

The Tabernacle Is Built, and the Lord Comes to Dwell in the Midst of His People (35:1–40:38)

The story comes to a glorious climax: the Israelites are renewed in their faith, and the Lord comes down to dwell amid his covenant people.

With the covenant reestablished, the tabernacle may now be built (35:1–40:33). The Israelites demonstrate their renewed faith by contributing with great generosity to the tabernacle’s needs (35:20–36:7) and carrying out the Lord’s commands exactly as he has given them (38:22; 39:1, 5, 7, 42). The tabernacle is built both beautifully and faithfully.

The moment the tent is complete, the Lord comes down in glory to dwell within it (40:34–38). “It’s as if God could not wait to be where he had wanted to be all along—in the midst of his people.”2 He has redeemed them so that he might have relationship with them.

Exodus thus finishes by sounding a theme central to the biblical story. In Eden God comes to walk in the garden with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:8); in the tabernacle he comes down so he might walk among the Israelites in their midst (Lev. 26:12). In the tabernacle he comes to dwell among them (Ex. 29:45); in Jesus he comes to dwell in our midst (John 1:14), and through his Spirit he makes his dwelling among the people of his church and walks among us (2 Cor. 6:16). At the end of time, when the heavenly city comes down to earth, a loud voice will declare, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 21:3–4a). This is the God we see in Exodus. This is the God we see in Jesus. This is the God who invites us into relationship with him today through Christ.

Title

The Hebrew title of this book is “Names.” This is because the Hebrew names of Pentateuchal books are taken from the first few words of each book’s opening sentence. In this case, “These are the names of the sons of Israel” (Ex. 1:1). The LXX and Vulgate use the title “Exodus,” which has been followed in the Christian tradition and means “going out, departure.” This name highlights the central role in the book of the Lord’s leading his people out of slavery and toward the Promised Land.

Author and Date

Since the date of the material is connected directly to questions of authorship, we may begin with the latter. Three questions will guide our discussion. First, who was the source of the material found in Exodus? Second, does Exodus fit historically within the time period the Bible assigns to it? Third, who put the material in its final form?

Who Was the Source of the Material Found in Exodus?

Although the Lord is the ultimate source of Scripture, he also inspired humans to record it (2 Tim. 3:16). From this perspective, who was the human source of the material found in Exodus? Close attention to the book suggests the answer to be Moses.

First, Moses is identified explicitly as writing down certain portions of Exodus: the beginning of chapter 17 (cf. 17:14), most of chapters 20–23 (cf. 24:4, 7), and 34:11–26 (cf. 34:27–28).

Second, the content of Exodus 20–23, which Moses is commanded to write down, is revelation he received for the Israelites while on Mount Sinai (24:4, 7). But the text is also clear that Moses received chapters 25–31 for the Israelites while on Mount Sinai (cf. 31:18), and a natural assumption is that he wrote down these words as well. Stated differently, it is natural to assume that chapters 20–23 set a pattern Moses followed elsewhere, namely, to record revelation given by the Lord for the Israelites so they would know what the Lord wanted them to do.

Third, Exodus 17:14 and Numbers 33:2 both give clear examples of Moses’ writing down various experiences of Israel in the wilderness. In other words he recorded not only revelation but also historical events to which he was witness. Once more a natural assumption is that he followed this pattern elsewhere, making it plausible that Moses would be the one responsible for recording his early flight from Egypt (Ex. 2:11–25), the Lord’s deliverance of the Israelites in the book’s beginning (chs. 3–19), and the story of their building the tabernacle at the book’s end (chs. 35–40).3 The plausibility of this understanding is strengthened by the fact that Moses not only was an eyewitness to the events of these chapters but also received revelation from the Lord during them (which, as argued above, he was likely to record). These chapters repeatedly refer either to the Lord’s speaking to Moses (3:4, 15; 6:1, 10; 7:1, 8, 14; 8:5; 10:1; 40:1; etc.) or to Moses as the one passing on the Lord’s words (35:1, 4, 30).

Finally, since Moses is the central dialogue partner with the Lord in Exodus 32–34, he is the most natural source of that material.

The above suggests that Moses was the primary source of most of the material found in Exodus. In light of on the biblical data, it seems he would have recorded this material sometime in the fifteenth to thirteenth centuries BC, depending on the date of the exodus (cf. Interpretive Challenges: The Date of the Exodus). This leads to our next question.

Does Exodus Fit Historically within the Time Period the Bible Assigns to It?

From the end of the nineteenth century through much of the twentieth a majority of historical-critical scholars embraced Wellhausen’s articulation of the documentary hypothesis, which argued that the Pentateuch consists of sources that came long after the biblical time of Moses.4 In this schema Exodus consists mostly of the J source (c. 840 BC), E source (c. 700 BC), and P source (c. 500–450 BC). Scholars in this camp thus tend to view Exodus as historically unreliable since they understand it to have come long after the events it describes.5 Rather than being a historical account dating to the second half of the second millennium BC, the material is understood to reflect political or religious interests of much later writers.

Beginning in the second half of the twentieth century and continuing to the present day, however, historical-critical scholars have begun to reflect a wider diversity of views on the origins of the Pentateuch. While North American and Israeli scholars still tend to accept some version of Wellhausen’s formulation of the documentary hypothesis, European scholars do not, even to the point of questioning the existence of the J and E sources (though typically not questioning that the Pentateuchal material is late).6 On the one hand this shows that historical-critical scholars have not reached a consensus regarding the Pentateuch’s formation. On the other hand, as far as the historicity of the Pentateuch’s contents is concerned, a general historical skepticism remains.

Is such a skepticism warranted? The biblical authors certainly did not think so. They constantly refer to God’s acts in Exodus as historical events that reveal his character and thus have ongoing implications for us today (cf. Relationship to the Rest of the Bible and to Christ).

But is there warrant for such belief? More specifically, is there warrant for thinking that Exodus overlaps enough with the historical and cultural realities of the second half of the second millennium that its material could date to that time and could therefore accurately represent actual historical events?

Many have answered this question in the negative by pointing out a lack of direct evidence in certain key areas. But, as the archaeological proverb states, “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” Hawkins expands on this point:

Historian David Hackett Fischer calls this approach the myth of “negative proof,” which he describes as “an attempt to sustain a factual proposition merely by negative evidence.” He argues that evidence must always be positive, and that “Negative evidence is a contradiction in terms—it is not evidence at all.”7

The above is especially important to remember with regard to four specific areas in Exodus regarding which there is a lack of confirmatory evidence. Table 2.1 summarizes Hawkins’ discussion.8

TABLE 2.1: Responding to Skepticism about Exodus’s Historicity

Area Where Evidence Is Lacking	Response
No mention of “Hebrews” or “Israelites” in official Egyptian records of the time.	Egyptians called their West Semitic slaves “Asiatics,” with no further distinctions; one therefore does not expect to read of “Hebrews” or “Israelites” in particular.
No inscriptional evidence on Egyptian monuments of the events in Exodus.	“Public stelae were designed to laud the pharaoh and his achievements, not highlight his gaffes. A pharaoh would not have commissioned a stele that acknowledged a failure on his part.”9
No non-inscriptional evidence (such as on papyrus) of the Israelites in the Egyptian Delta.	“There are almost no papyri from dynastic times, and none at all have been found in the eastern Nile Delta where the Hebrews dwelled. It is not that there are no papyri from the eastern Nile Delta that relate to the events in the book of Exodus; there are no papyri from the eastern Nile Delta at all.”10
No archaeological evidence of Israelite campsites.	“While it is true that sedentary people in settled areas usually leave a lot of archaeological evidence, in desert areas the opposite is true. The archaeological evidence produced by nomadic societies is negligible, such that they are often archaeologically invisible.”11

But this still leaves the question of whether Exodus fits well within the historical and cultural realities of the second half of the second millennium. If this question can be answered affirmatively, it would not prove that Exodus was written at this time but would leave open the possibility that it was and thus also the possibility that it does correspond to actual historical events.

Since the end of the twentieth century, several specialists have answered the question positively by comparing what we find in Exodus to what we know of historical and cultural realities in Egypt and the ancient Near East during the second half of the second millennium.12 They have identified not only many indications that Exodus fits well in this time period but also some that indicate it fits best in this time period (and not a later one). The following is a noncomprehensive list of some of these finds.

Indications That Exodus Fits Well in the Second Half of the Second Millennium BC

(1) The description of brickmaking in Exodus aligns with realities dating back to the second millennium, including oversight by taskmasters who used corporal punishment, the difficulty of meeting brick quotas, and the importance of straw for the work.13

(2) “Tents were widely used in the ancient Near East during the second millennium as the dwelling for nomadic and traveling folk . . . and . . . as a shrine.”14 This fits with the Exodus account of the Israelites’ use of tents for their dwellings (16:16) and the Lord’s use of a tent for his (40:34).

(3) The layout of the tabernacle complex, with the Lord in his tent as king surrounded by a rectangular courtyard (27:9–19), parallels the plans of the camp of Ramesses II (mid-13th century BC), in which his tent is similarly surrounded by a rectangular courtyard. Moreover, in both cases the length-to-width ratio of the complex and camp is two to one, while the length-to-width ratio of each tent is three to one.15

(4) The materials used in the tabernacle—from the acacia wood to the gold overlay to the fine linen—all fit well in an Egyptian context of the second half of the second millennium.16

(5) The ark was a box associated with the deity (the Lord), covered in gold, with winged heavenly beings, and carried by priests on poles. All these features parallel boxes used as portable shrines in Egypt in the second half of the second millennium.17

Indications That Exodus Fits Best in the Second Half of the Second Millennium BC

(1) The form of the covenant between the Lord and Israel introduced in Exodus and concluded in Leviticus parallels Hittite treaties known from the second half of the second millennium and is closer in form to them than to first-millennium treaties.18

(2) In a study of the forty-two names mentioned in the exodus generation Hess notes that many of their verbal roots occur in West Semitic or Egyptian sources in the second millennium (where the Bible places the exodus) and the first millennium (long after the biblical date of the exodus). But he also notes that none of their roots is currently attested only in the first millennium (the time when historical-critical scholars date the book), and two or three of them occur only in the second millennium. “It remains to be explained how roots that have no clear attestation in West Semitic personal names of the first millennium BC would have been used to invent early Israelite person names.”19 This suggests that the names in Exodus are “authentic personal names from the Late Bronze Age [i.e., 1550–1200 BC] of the West Semitic world.”20

In short, while the above evidence does not prove that the material in Exodus dates to the second half of the second millennium BC, it does show that it is plausible (and in some cases likely) that Exodus was written during this time. This also means it is plausible that a man named Moses who lived during this time was the primary human source of the book’s material (as the book itself suggests), and this commentary will proceed on that assumption. This also leads to a final question.

Who Put the Material in Its Final Form?

By and large, conservative scholars have understood Moses to be not only the human source of Exodus but also the human source and author of a substantial amount of the Pentateuch. I use the word “substantial” for the simple reason that most conservative scholars agree that Moses did not write his own death notice (Deut. 34:5–12) and that other Pentateuchal passages provide descriptions that seem to come from after Moses’ time, such as the mention of Dan (Gen. 14:14) and the reference to Israel’s having already conquered the land (Deut. 2:12b).21 To this we could add two verses that occur back-to-back in Exodus:

“The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.” (Ex. 16:35)

“(An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)” (Ex. 16:36)

The first of these describes an event from after Moses’ death (cf. Josh. 5:12), while the second suggests a period of time when the omer measurement was no longer in use.22

There is no question, therefore, that some editorial work took place on the Pentateuch—including Exodus—after the death of Moses. But how much of such editorial work exists, and why was it done?

Did such editorial work include simply the isolated examples above, which tend to update place names, explain customs no longer known to later readers, and note when an event came to completion, or was there a much more thorough revision of the materials?

Further, was the purpose of such potential work simply to update the text with historic and linguistic facts so that a later generation could better understand it, or was the goal to shape the material more fully to address specific issues a later generation was facing?

While scholars will undoubtedly continue to debate the answers to these questions, it may be noted that Exodus invites us to read it as a work that came to the Israelites as they fled Egypt and headed toward the Promised Land. As such, we are invited to step into that world while reading, meaning our first question of the text should always be to ask what the text would have meant to the first and second generation of Israelites coming out of Egypt. Only then will we be ready to ask what the text means for the Lord’s followers today.23

Genre and Literary Features

Above all else, the book of Exodus tells a story: a story of a people in hardship and of a God who delivers them and comes to dwell in their midst. The most commonly used genre in the book is narrative, the perfect vehicle for communicating the various elements of a story from initial conflict, to plot turns and twists, and to final resolution. Indeed, Exodus’s overarching story consists of several smaller stories, each with its own crisis and resolution, such as Pharaoh’s attempting to decimate the Israelites and the Lord’s preserving them (Exodus 1); the possible death of Moses as a baby and his rescue and adoption by Pharaoh’s daughter (ch. 2); Pharaoh’s refusal to release the Israelites and his driving the people out of his land (chs. 5–12); the Israelites’ being trapped between the sea and the Egyptian army, facing certain death, and the Egyptian army’s being the ones who die in the sea (ch. 14); the Israelites’ lacking food and water in the wilderness and the Lord’s miraculously providing it (chs. 16–17); and the Israelites’ breaking the covenant and deserving to be wiped out and the Lord’s restoring the covenant, taking them back as his people, and coming to dwell in their midst (chs. 32–34; 40). If Exodus is compared to a mountain range, each of these smaller stories is a mountain forming that range.

But narrative is not the only genre found within the book, since different aspects of its story require different tools to tell them well. Major events in a nation’s life may be remembered by means of annual celebrations or regular customs, which gives rise in Exodus to instructions for the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the consecration of the firstborn (chs. 12–13). A nation’s major events are also often celebrated in song, which is what we find in the musical poetry of Exodus 15 as the Israelites celebrate the Lord’s defeat of Egypt’s army in the sea. The covenant the Lord enters into with Israel takes the form of an ancient Near Eastern treaty between a sovereign king and a nation, which includes a preamble, a historical prologue, stipulations, and blessings and curses, all of which can be found in Exodus 20–23.24 And building a tabernacle requires something comparable to a construction manual, the focus of Exodus 25–31.

All the genres described above have been woven together into the beautiful tapestry that is Exodus. The job of the interpreter is to recognize these different genres as they occur and to adopt the reading strategy appropriate for each. At appropriate points in the commentary I have sought to identify such strategies, especially when approaching genres that might be more unfamiliar to many readers.25 Keeping such strategies in mind is one of the most helpful ways to appreciate what the text is saying and thus both the meaning and the beauty of Exodus’s story.

A further aid in understanding the book is to appreciate its different literary features. Wright has provided a helpful listing, of which the following is a summary:26

Change of pace. Exodus 2 covers a period of more than forty years, while Exodus 3–4 slows down to capture a single conversation, highlighting the importance of the conversation that takes place there.
Dialogue. Dialogue is very “effective . . . in sustaining interest, illuminating conflicts, creating emotional and theological tension, and stretching out the resolution of issues. The dialogues between Moses and God are particularly rich, especially in the call narrative (chs. 3–4), and they carry the whole theological freight of those breathtaking chapters 32–34.”27
Suspense. Suspense is a common feature of storytelling, since it maintains our interest as we wait to find out what will happen. Chapter 14 begins with the Lord’s telling the Israelites to turn back and camp by the sea, an event he says he will use to defeat Pharaoh (vv. 1–4). Just how he will do so is not revealed and, indeed, seems increasingly unlikely as the story continues and Israel is trapped between the Egyptian army and the sea. This only deepens the suspense—and keeps us reading! Such use of suspense occurs repeatedly in the book.
Patterning and threading. “The account of the plagues on Egypt displays a subtle patterning—a triple series of threes, with certain repeating structural features. . . . Through the whole sequence are threaded some significant themes through the repetition of key words and phrases.”28 Recognizing such patterning and threading helps to make clear the text’s narrative flow and emphases.
Repetition. One of the features of Exodus that can puzzle modern readers is the large amount of repetition between Exodus 25–31 (which describes how to make the tabernacle) and Exodus 35–40 (which describes the Israelites’ construction of it). From an efficiency perspective one could simply replace Exodus 35–40 with a summary statement, “The Israelites made the tabernacle just as the Lord had commanded.” But doing so would miss an important point: by repeating so many of the details from Exodus 25–31 chapters 35–40 make clear the Israelites are obeying the Lord exactly, a central theme in this section.29

Further literary features—such as hyperbole, foreshadowing, and the like—will be pointed out in the commentary as we come across them. But the above summary of Exodus’s genres and literary features is enough to show that its story is wonderfully rich and requires careful attention to understand and appreciate it in all its beauty.

Purpose and Theology of Exodus

The purpose of Exodus is to reveal God’s character and his will for his people, Israel. Stated differently, its goal is to make clear who God is and who he wants his people to be. It achieves this purpose by focusing on various theological themes. We may begin with the themes describing God’s character. The first five focus on the Lord as Israel’s King, and the last two on the Lord as Israel’s Father.30

Yahweh, the King

In Exodus, kingship is one of the main means used to describe the Lord. This can be seen explicitly in the song of redemption, which concludes, “The Lord will reign forever and ever” (15:18). It can be seen implicitly in two of the book’s main features: covenant and tabernacle. The covenant into which the Lord enters with Israel is a suzerain-vassal (or king-servant) covenant in which he is the sovereign king and Israel is his servant.31 The tabernacle is his royal palace-tent in which he sits enthroned over the ark as covenant king (cf. comment on 25:17–22). Yahweh is thus the reigning covenant king.

But kingship by itself is not a virtue. History is full of kings who are devoted to their people’s well-being but also of those who reign as cruel tyrants. Exodus therefore makes clear what type of king the Lord is—and the picture it paints is one of breathtaking awe and beauty.

Yahweh, the King of Covenant Faithfulness

As Exodus begins we are told the Lord will deliver the Israelites from their trials because he has “remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (2:24). When he makes a promise, he keeps it. The rest of Exodus makes this clear by showing how the Lord begins to fulfill the promises he has made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (cf. table 2.2). Yahweh is a king who is faithful to his covenant promises, and that faithfulness should encourage his people to obey him with bold trust.

TABLE 2.2: The Lord’s Promises and Faithfulness in Genesis and Exodus

The Lord’s Covenant Promises in Genesis	The Lord’s Covenant Faithfulness in Exodus
To become a great nation (Gen. 12:2; 15:5; 17:5–6; 26:4; 28:14; 35:11; 46:3).	“The people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them” (Ex. 1:7).
To give them a land (Gen. 12:1; 15:18–20; 26:3–4; 28:13; 35:12).	The Lord delivers Israel in order to bring them to the Promised Land (Ex. 3:8, 17; 6:8), and he provides his angel to lead them there (Ex. 23:20–23).
To curse the one who dishonors them (Gen. 12:3).	The Lord brings devastating strikes on Pharaoh and the Egyptians (chs. 7–12) and defeats them fully and finally in the sea (ch. 14).
To be their covenant God (Gen. 17:7–8; 28:15).	The Lord promises to redeem them in order to take them as his people (Ex. 6:6–7) and proceeds to do so, redeeming them (chs. 7–14) and then entering into covenant relationship with them (chs. 20–24).

Yahweh, the King of Power

One reason the Lord can be faithful to his covenant promises is his sovereign power. No one can oppose his plans, for he is the true and sole King of heaven and earth. The strikes he brings on Egypt show that he is the true and sole King of heaven as the Egyptians’ so-called “gods” are powerless before him (cf. comments on Ex. 7:8–13; 7:14–19; 10:21; 12:3–13 [at v. 12]; 15:1–19). Jethro, after hearing of the Lord’s mighty redemption of Israel, states it succinctly: “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods” (18:11). But the Lord’s defeat of Pharaoh and all his forces—the most powerful on the planet—shows that he is also the true and sole King of earth, the one before whom all other kings must bow in reverence (7:1–5; 9:13–30). Indeed, the text repeatedly notes that the Lord is sovereign over the decisions of Pharaoh’s very heart (cf. comment on 4:21–23). The Lord is the true and sole King of heaven and earth, who reigns in sovereign majesty and might. All peoples are to obey him fully, and those who know him as their covenant God can rely on his strong protection and care.

Yahweh, the King of Presence

As noted above (Cf. Overview), a king could enter into covenant with distant nations and never dwell among them. But the Lord is a king who seeks to live in the very midst of his people. Dwelling among them is in fact one of the very reasons that he redeems Israel: “I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God” (29:45–46). For the Lord redemption is always for the sake of relationship.

Yahweh, the King of Faithful Love

The Lord’s description of his character to Moses contains some of the most beautiful and hopeful words in Scripture: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (34:6–7a). Yes, he also brings discipline to bear on sin—as any loving parent does (34:7b). But the focus of his description is on his mercy and grace. His heart’s first impulse toward his people is not judgment but faithful, kind, forgiving love (cf. comment on 34:1–8 [at vv. 5–7]). This in fact explains his desire to be with his people: we long to be near those we love.

Yahweh, the Adopting Father-King

Pastor Tim Keller once tweeted that the only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 a.m. for a glass of water is the king’s child. His point was that God’s people know him not simply as King but also as Father—which means they receive his special attention and care. Exodus affirms this reality for the Israelites when it records how the Lord refers to them as his firstborn son (4:22–23). As the comments on that passage will show, being a firstborn son in ancient Israel meant enjoying a special place of worth in the family, which in turn meant the Lord cared for Israel with a special love. He is a king who adopts those he rescues. They are his children, and he will protect, love, and care for them as his very own.

Yahweh, the Redeeming Father-King

Redemption connects naturally to the Lord’s role as Father-King. The concept of redemption finds its roots in the social sphere, where it refers to one relative’s rescuing another relative from servitude (Lev. 25:47–55). As applied to the Israelites’ situation, the Lord is rescuing his son from cruel slavery in Egypt into the glorious freedom found in serving him. As Alexander aptly summarizes, “Since God has already spoken of Israel as his son (4:22), the liberation of the Israelites may be viewed . . . as a family affair.”32

The book of Leviticus returns to the Lord’s role as redeemer in the exodus. One of the reasons the Lord establishes the laws of jubilee is to create an ongoing institution of exodus-like redemption among his people (Lev. 25:54–55). As Hubbard notes,

Put simply, redemption [in Lev. 25:54–55] amounts to an institutional Exodus in Israel. . . . It perpetuates the first liberation—that from Egyptian slavery—within later, settled Israel. It frees her from unending servitude to later Pharaohs within her own ranks. . . . In short, through this institution, Yahweh provides . . . a “safety net” for vulnerable Israelites. In so doing, he shows himself to be the Great Kinsman, the powerful protector of the weak. Through redemption, he saves hopelessly poor citizens from an endless cycle of poverty. He prevents a reversal of the Exodus—a relapse into the cruel hands of Israelite Pharaohs.33

Through and through, the Lord is Israel’s redeeming Father-King.

Having seen the themes of Exodus regarding the Lord, we may now turn to those regarding Israel. Three may be identified, each of which relates directly to the themes above regarding the Lord. This is no surprise. Exodus tells the story of the Lord’s entering into relationship with Israel, and Israel is thus described in terms of the way she is to relate to him.

Israel as Servant

“Let my people go, that they may serve me” (Ex. 8:1; cf. 7:16; 8:20; 9:1, 13; 10:3). This text is programmatic for the book. Exodus describes how the Lord liberates his people from enslavement to a wicked ruler in order to serve him, the gracious King.

As noted at 3:12, the word “serve” (ʿabad) refers commonly to worship and its rites (cf. 5:1, 3 with 7:16; 10:7, 8; 10:24–26; cf. also Deut. 4:19; 5:8–9). But such worship was to be only one expression of whole-life obedience (Deut. 10:12–13; 11:13). In other words the Israelites were to serve the Lord in all of life, with worship being one aspect of this service. From daily work to tabernacle worship the Israelites were his servants.

Understanding Israel’s role as a servant sheds light on the severity of various sins in Exodus. On the one hand it shows that Pharaoh’s sin of refusing to let the people go to serve the Lord is all the more severe because he is holding back the true King’s servants from performing their duty. At the same time it shows that Israel’s apostasy with the golden calf is all the more severe because by it she is rebelling against her faithful king.

But understanding Israel’s role as servant also sheds light on the book’s entire flow, which can be thought of as follows: the Lord redeems his people to serve him (Exodus 1–19); he describes how to serve him in all aspects of life through obedience to his law (chs. 20–24); he gives them instructions for building a tabernacle so that he can dwell in their midst and they can serve him in worship (chs. 25–31); he renews the covenant with them after their rebellion so that they can reenter the freedom of serving him as their king (chs. 32–34); and he comes down and dwells in the tabernacle they have built so that they can come before him to serve him in worship (chs. 35–40). The Lord is the redeeming king who gives the Israelites the tremendous privilege of serving him in all of life.

Israel as Son

As noted above, however, the Lord is not simply the Israelites’ king, and they are not simply his servants; he is also their father, and they his children. In particular the Lord calls Israel “my firstborn son” (4:22). The implications are twofold.

First, being the Lord’s firstborn means the Israelites know the Lord has a special love for them and will protect and care for them as his very own (cf. above: Yahweh, the Adopting Father-King). No wonder he also calls them a “treasured possession” (19:5); that is how parents feel about their children. They are the apples of their parents’ eyes.

Second, being the firstborn means having a special role. As noted at 4:21–23, firstborn sons were to be “preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power” (Gen. 49:3), since they were responsible to maintain the household’s well-being and honor.34 This means they had to learn the father’s business and would “serve” him during his life: “Let my son go that he may serve me” (Ex. 4:23). The Israelites are thus no longer to “serve” Pharaoh as slaves but are to “serve” Yahweh as sons,35 obeying the Lord in all of life and maintaining his honor in the world. And this leads naturally to their role as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Israel as Kingdom of Priests and Holy Nation

The Lord states Israel’s mission succinctly in 19:6: “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” We may begin with the latter. The call to be a holy nation is a call to obedient living, which the Lord emphasizes in different ways throughout the book, from calls to obedience (19:5; 20:20; 23:21a) and commending examples of obedience (38:22; 39:1, 5, 7, 42; 40:16) to warnings against disobedience (23:21b; 34:7b) and the discipline and judgment that come for disobeying (32:25–29, 35). Clearly, the Lord wants his people to be faithful, and this is true not only in terms of general obedience to his covenant commands but specifically in terms of being faithful to serve and worship him alone. The Ten Commandments thus begin with two that require Israel to worship the Lord alone (20:3–6), and this command is reinforced multiple times throughout the book (20:22–23; 23:23–25, 32–33; 32:7–10, 25–29; 34:11–17). He is the King, and Israel is to be his faithful servant. He is the Father, and Israel is to be his obedient son. He is the husband, and Israel is to be his faithful wife. Israel’s call to be a holy nation through faithful obedience is thus a major theme explaining who the Lord wants his people to be.

Importantly, Israel’s obedience is to have a missional thrust. They are to be not simply a “holy nation” but a “kingdom of priests.” These two go together. As noted in the comment on 19:3–6:

The language of priesthood and holy nation . . . points to Israel’s role in the Lord’s world. Within Israel the Lord’s priests are to live holy lives, teaching the Israelites his ways and helping them to know how to live in relationship with him (Lev. 10:10–11; 21:1–23). Israel is to do the same within the world. This will take place especially by embodying the Lord’s holy character in the people’s own lives, thereby showing others the beauty and glory of who he is (Lev. 19:2; 20:26). Put differently, Israel is not simply to be the Lord’s treasured servant; she is to help the world understand why the Lord is to be treasured. Peter makes this very point to early Christians when referring to this passage: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). To enter into the Lord’s care is to receive his commission to help his world know, worship, obey, and love him.

Summary

Exodus thus presents a picture of the Lord as the one who is the true and sole King of heaven and earth, full of majesty and might, yet overflowing with mercy, forgiveness, kindness, and love. This king longs to be with his people and calls them as his servants and sons and priests to embody his very character in their lives—for his glory, their good, and the world’s blessing. This should all sound very familiar to the believer today, since Jesus is this same type of king and gives us this same type of calling (cf. comments on 15:1–19; 15:20–21; 25:8–9; 29:43–46; 32:25–29; 34:29–35; 40:34–38). In him we are freed from our slavery to sin into the glorious freedom of serving the true and living God. In him we are adopted as God’s own children. In him we are a kingdom of priests and holy nation, “that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

Relationship to the Rest of the Bible and to Christ

Biblical authors in the OT and NT return frequently to Exodus. They do so in different ways, from picking up on general themes and alluding to specific events to using direct quotes. They also return to Exodus for different reasons, from applying its teaching anew for the people of God to showing how it prepares us to understand the person and work of Jesus. While the commentary goes into greater detail at relevant points, we may summarize the way other biblical authors use Exodus under four headings.

The Lord’s Matchless Character

In response to Moses’ pleas for the Lord to forgive Israel for the golden calf, the Lord offers one of the most moving descriptions of his character in all the Pentateuch (Ex. 34:6–7). The description makes clear he disciplines for sin but emphasizes that he is a God of mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness. Many later biblical books return to this description and do so for different reasons:

to appeal for forgiveness for Israel’s sin (Num. 14:18–19; Neh. 9:17);
to appeal for the Lord’s help when facing the enemy (Ps. 86:15);
as one of many reasons for praising him (Ps. 103:8; 145:8);
to exhort sinners to repent before him (Joel 2:13);
to complain (!) that the Lord shows mercy and forgiveness to foreigners (Jonah 4:2).

Whether in prayer, praise, command, or even complaint, God’s people recognize that the Lord’s character is unchanging and that the reality of who he is has implications for their lives today.

The Lord’s Faithfulness and Deeds in Exodus

The Bible refers regularly to the events of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. A small sampling of these texts follows, arranged according to the reason(s) the exodus events are cited:

to make known to following generations the Lord’s mighty deeds, thus encouraging faithfulness to him (Ps. 78:1–8, 12–16, 44–51);
to remind Israel that such deeds show that his steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 136; cf. esp. vv. 10–15);
to urge those listening to praise the Lord for the way such deeds show his glory and his faithfulness to his promises and to follow this faithful and powerful God with their whole lives (Pss. 105 [esp. vv. 1–4, 24–45]; 135:8–9);
to remember the Lord’s faithful past deeds in order to give hope to present sufferers that the Lord will deliver them (Psalm 77);
to provide a picture of how the Lord will protect the Israelites in the future (Isa. 4:5–6);
to provide a picture of how the Lord will deliver the Israelites from exile (Isa. 11:16; 51:10–11; Jer. 23:7–8).

The frequent appeal to such a central event is unsurprising. Deeds are a demonstration of character, and the Lord’s deeds in the exodus events give his people every reason to praise him as a God of faithful power and love who is worthy of praise, trust, and allegiance.

Israel’s Faithlessness in Exodus

The Lord’s faithfulness in Exodus stands in contrast to Israel’s lack of it. The Bible uses such faithlessness in different ways:

as a warning to later Israelites generations as how not to behave (Deut. 6:16; Ps. 95:7–11), a warning picked up and applied by the NT to followers of Jesus (Heb. 3:7–11; cf. 1 Cor. 10:1–13);
to contrast with the Lord’s faithfulness and care, the latter of which are reasons the current generation should follow him faithfully so that they, too, may experience the same (Ps. 81:6–10, 13–16);
to confess similar faithlessness (Ps. 106:6–12, 19–23) yet also to remember how the Lord showed his faithfulness even to his sinful people, and to pray that he would do so again now (106:44–47; cf. Nehemiah 9).

As the story of the Bible continues, the ultimate sign of the Lord’s faithfulness is seen in the coming of Jesus Christ, which leads to a further way in which the Bible uses Exodus.

Exodus and Jesus

Later biblical writers saw Exodus as preparing us to understand different aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry:

Just as the Lord declares himself to be the great “I am” (Ex. 3:14), so Jesus declares himself to be the same (John 8:58).
Just as the Passover lamb is sacrificed to deliver the Israelites from destruction, so Jesus is sacrificed at Passover (Matt. 26:2) as the perfect Lamb to deliver us (cf. Ex. 12:46; John 19:36; cf. also 1 Cor. 5:7).
Just as the Israelites celebrate the Lord’s protective deliverance during the Passover, Christians do the same during Communion, which Jesus institutes during the Passover (Luke 22:1–23), to celebrate his protective deliverance.
Just as the Lord provides bread from heaven to satisfy the Israelites’ physical hunger (Ex. 16:4), so he provides Jesus as the true bread from heaven to satisfy our spiritual hunger (John 6:31–35).
Just as the Sinai covenant is inaugurated with the sacrificial blood of animals (Ex. 24:8), so the new covenant is inaugurated with the sacrificial blood of Jesus (cf. Luke 22:20; Heb. 9:15–28).
Just as in the old covenant the Israelites’ responsibilities include being “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6), so in the new covenant Jesus has rescued us to be the same (1 Pet. 2:9).
Just as the Lord dwells in Israel’s midst in the tabernacle and manifests his glory there (Ex. 40:34–35), so has he dwelt in our midst in the person of Jesus and manifested his glory there (John 1:14).
Just as Moses’ face beams with God’s glory after being in God’s presence on the mountain (Ex. 34:29–32), so Jesus’ face beams with God’s glory after being in his presence on the mountain (Matt. 17:2). But, whereas Moses veils the glory on his face (Ex. 34:33, 35), in Jesus God’s glory is unveiled (2 Cor. 4:6), so that those who turn to him in faith are “being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18).
Just as in an earthly tabernacle priests make atonement for God’s people, so in the heavenly tabernacle Jesus, the Great High Priest, makes perfect atonement for us (cf. Ex. 25:40 and Leviticus 16 with Heb. 8:1–7; 9:1–14).

Once more, the above list is not exhaustive. But it is enough to show that what God has done for his people in Exodus he has done again for his people today in Jesus—though with a strength and glory that outshines Exodus as the sun outshines a birthday candle. “What once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it,” seen in Jesus (2 Cor. 3:10)!

Preaching from Exodus

Scope of Coverage

For those preaching or teaching through the whole book I have divided the commentary into thirty-six units. Each unit ends with a Response section showing how that unit relates to a life of faith today. Response sections are typically divided into three or four parts, each concentrating on a main point to develop in preaching or teaching. Each part also begins with a question (instead of a statement) to aid those wanting to approach their preaching or teaching inductively.36

Many will choose to cover Exodus in far less than thirty-five sessions. I have therefore compiled suggestions for possible sermon series and put these freely online.37

Apologetic Issues

Different aspects of the Bible may seem to be not only confusing but also wrong or unjust. Aside from the natural rebellion that exists in our sinful hearts, there are at least two main reasons for these feelings. On the one hand every culture has values and assumptions that conflict with the Lord’s values as laid out in the Bible. And because cultural values and assumptions are often felt deeply, if even at the subconscious level, the Bible will feel confusing, wrong, or unjust when it embodies conflicting values. In such cases preachers or teachers may need to spend appropriate time naming their culture’s values and assumptions, explore where these values and assumptions do well but also where they leave us wanting, and turn to consider how the Lord’s values and assumptions provide a better story of the world and our place within it.38

On the other hand some aspects of the Bible will seem confusing, wrong, or unjust because God seems to go against his own values. For example, God gives people equal value as his image bearers, yet he issues laws regulating slavery of one person to another (Ex. 21:2–11). In such cases the preacher or teacher will need to be honest with the tensions we feel while also doing the necessary work to show how such tensions can be resolved.

In the commentary I have sought to provide help at various points for apologetic issues that stood out to me as I read Exodus (for an example with slavery, cf. comment on 21:2–6). But commentators can never anticipate the apologetic issues of all readers, since those issues vary widely across cultures. Where I have missed an issue relevant to one’s culture, my humble hope is that the commentary’s approach to other apologetic issues models an approach anyone might be able to adapt for one’s own context.

Principles of Application to Keep in Mind

Narrative and law are two of the most common genres in Exodus.39 In making application from these genres preachers and teachers must keep important principles in mind.

With narrative, preachers and teachers must remember the importance of avoiding moralism and of staying centered on the gospel. Consider narrative examples of negative behavior. Moralism results if we only say, “The Israelites sinned here. Do not be like them! Be obedient.” That is telling people, “Pull yourself up by your own moral bootstraps.” Instead, we must always point our hearers to the Lord’s provision for their lives of faith. The author of Hebrews certainly warns his audience not to be like the sinful Israelites, even quoting Psalm 95:7–11 (cf. Heb. 3:7–11). But he prefaces that warning with an exhortation to “consider Jesus” (Heb. 3:1), follows it by declaring that the Israelites’ sin was to “fall away from the living God” (Heb. 3:12), and concludes the larger section to which Hebrews 3 belongs by pointing people to the reality of Jesus as our “great high priest” as the reason we should “hold fast our confession” (Heb. 4:14). In other words, instead of simply saying, “Do not be like them,” the author says, “The reason for their disobedience was rooted in forgetting who God is; do not do the same! Remember him, especially what he has done in and through Jesus, so you might walk in paths of obedience.” The author thus uses disobedience as both negative example and positive exhortation to refocus one’s faith on the Lord as the only source of hope. In this way hearers are not left to pull themselves up by their own moral bootstraps but may look to the Lord for strength to follow him obediently.40

Similarly, with a positive narrative example, moralism results when we simply say, “Look at Moses’ faith here. You should have the same faith!” Far better to say, “Look at Moses’ faith here. How can he have such faith? Because of the reality of who God is. He is so worthy of our faithful trust. Let us put our faith in him!” In this way we use Moses’ positive example to point beyond him to the Lord as the one who gives us reason to have Moses-like faith.

As for applying law, preachers and teachers must bear several factors in mind.41 From the perspective of redemptive history the laws in Exodus are part of the Sinai covenant. Because Jesus inaugurated a new covenant (Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:6–13), we cannot simply assume OT laws are in force in the same way today.

At the same time they remain incredibly relevant to Christian living. Laws express the lawgiver’s values. Most societies value life and the right to personal property and therefore prohibit murder and theft. Their laws express their values. Similarly, the Lord’s laws in Exodus express his values.

Moreover, since his values flow from his character, which is perfect and constant (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8; James 1:17), we should expect the values behind his laws to have some application today. Because these laws give us a window into the Lord’s heart, those seeking to reflect his image have much to learn from them.

In preaching or teaching from a section of law we should therefore begin by identifying the value(s) being communicated to the original audience. If obeyed, what would that law have taught the Israelites about God’s character and the values he wanted his people to embody? Once these questions are answered, it is a short step to ask how the Lord demonstrates these same values in the NT, especially in his Son, Jesus. And then we can consider how the NT commands us as Christians to live out these values in the world today.42

Finally, we must remind ourselves and our hearers that law was never given to save us. Law does not establish our relationship with the Lord; it regulates and guides it. The Lord did not say to Israel, “Keep these laws and then I will redeem you.” He redeemed them first (Exodus 1–19) and then gave laws teaching them how to live in relationship with him (chs. 20–23). To obey the Lord’s laws is to respond to the redeeming King with appropriate worship, reverence, and love (cf. 20:2 with 20:3–17).

Old Testament or New, God’s laws are not a to-do list to earn relationship with him; they are loving directions from a heavenly Father that show us how to live in fellowship with him and reflect his character into the world. And, while we must repent of failing to obey them and of not reflecting his character well, we should preach and teach on law in such a way that our hearers can join the Israelites in praying Psalm 119, rejoicing that God has loved us so much that he has given us good laws to guide us in walking in paths that keep us close to him.43

Interpretive Challenges

The Date of the Exodus

Debate surrounds the date of the events in Exodus. The Merneptah Stela (1207 BC) lists Israel as an inhabitant of Canaan, meaning the exodus happened before that date. Traditionally the exodus has been placed at 1446 BC, since 1 Kings 6:1 states that Solomon’s temple-building began in the fourth year of his reign (966 BC), 480 years after the exodus. For others the store city “Raamses” in Exodus 1:11 is named after Ramesses II, a thirteenth-century pharaoh, placing the exodus at that time. (If so, the 480 years mentioned in 1 Kings 6:1 would be symbolic.) Conservative scholars have tended to favor the earlier date, though some go with the later one.44

In discussing this question Wright wisely observes, “There are many further questions and difficulties that scholars address—biblical scholars, archaeologists, Egyptologists, etc.—and we ought to recognize that there is as yet no conclusive or agreed certainty around the question.”45 What can be said, however, is that those following the biblical data agree that the exodus took place sometime in the fifteenth to thirteenth century BC—and with that we might have to be content for now.

Large Numbers in the Book of Exodus46

Exodus 12:37 states that “about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children,” departed Egypt in the exodus. This number corresponds to Exodus 38:26 and Numbers 1:46, which list the adult Israelite males as 603,550 (Levites not included; Num. 1:47). How such large numbers should be understood is widely debated. Four main approaches may be identified.47

(1) The numbers should be taken at face value. While the most traditional approach is to take the numbers at face value, this creates tensions with biblical and archaeological data.48 For example, Israel is called “the fewest of all peoples” (Deut. 7:7), and its small numbers are the reason the Lord will drive out the land’s inhabitants slowly over time (Ex. 23:30; Deut. 7:22). Yet simply adding a wife and three children per family leads to a total population of at least three million Israelites if we take the numbers at face value. If we add older men and the Levites not counted in the census, the number goes as high as four million. Such a population dwarfs the 140,000 people estimated to have lived in Canaan between 2000 and 1500 BC, the period just before Israel entered the land. Even if we multiply the estimation of 140,000 by ten—and it should be noted that the estimation is based on significant amounts of archaeological work and regional surveys—Israel’s population is still twice that of Canaan’s, conflicting with the biblical texts cited above. This suggests that a different approach is warranted.

(2) The numbers are symbolic. In the first of two approaches, the symbolism is explained using gematria, a code in which numbers correspond to letters of the alphabet, spelling out different words. In the second, the numbers relate to astronomical phenomena. For example, Benjamin’s total of 35,400 (Num. 1:37) divided by 100 is the same as the days in a short lunar year, 354. Few have adopted these approaches since they either fail to explain all the data or can explain it only by complex (and many would say arbitrary) calculations.

(3) The word ʾelef has been misunderstood. The Hebrew word ʾelef used in Exodus 12 and Numbers 1 usually means “a thousand” but can also mean “family” or “clan,” and a word built on the same root can mean “tribal leader.” Some suggest the text originally referred to one of these other meanings. So, for example, Reuben’s 46,500 (Num. 1:21) could represent 46 families totaling 500 people. The problem is that such approaches often assume a significant number of scribal errors. Given the lack of textual evidence for such errors, this approach is highly conjectural.

(4) The numbers involve deliberate hyperbole. The final approach, which has the fewest problems, understands the numbers to be inflated intentionally. Some suggest an inflation factor of ten, though others say the amount is no longer discernible.49 Although many modern people believe numbers are misleading if they are not reported with scientific accuracy, in the ancient Near East numbers were often inflated, particularly in military contexts (as demonstrated by Ugaritic and Assyrian texts of the same general time period).50 Doing so was neither unusual nor extraordinary. Given this convention, the Pentateuch’s first audience would have immediately recognized the numbers to be inflated and would have grasped the true communicative intent of the numbers: rather than seeing this as deceptive, they may have seen it as simply a way of emphasizing the Lord had been faithful to his covenant promise to make Abraham into a numerous people (Gen. 12:2; 15:5).

In sum the first approach to the large numbers in Exodus 12, 38, and Numbers 1 is historically the most common, though the last appears most likely. In either case, however, the numbers’ large size underscores that the Lord is a promise keeper: what he had sworn to Abraham has come to pass. And, since he has been faithful to that covenant promise, he can be trusted to fulfill his covenant promise to give his people a land. Israel could march into Canaan with full confidence in its covenant King.

Outline

As a quick comparison of commentaries will show, Exodus can be outlined in different ways. In the commentary outline I have sought to keep in front of the reader the geographical location of the Israelites, which is central to Exodus’s story, as well as the central themes of the relevant sections. This leads to eight main sections:

I. Israel in Egypt: the Lord promises deliverance (1:1–11:10)

II. Israel leaves Egypt: the Lord provides deliverance (12:1–15:21)

III. Israel travels through the wilderness to Sinai: the Lord tests his people and provides for their needs (15:22–17:16)

IV. Israel arrives at Sinai: the Lord prepares his people to receive his covenant and its laws (18:1–19:25)

V. Israel at Sinai: the Lord gives his covenant to Israel (20:1–23:33); the covenant is ratified (24:1–11)

VI. Israel at Sinai: the Lord gives instructions for the building of his palace-tent among them (24:12–31:18)

VII. Israel at Sinai: the people break the covenant; the Lord renews the covenant (32:1–34:35)

VIII. Israel at Sinai: the Lord’s palace-tent is built and he comes to dwell among his covenant people (35:1–40:38)

If we pay less attention to Israel’s geographical location and seek to form groups at a higher level, we could reduce the eight sections to six:

I. The Lord delivers Israel (1:1–15:21)

II. The Lord tests Israel (15:22–17:16)

III. The Lord enters into covenant with Israel (18:1–24:11)

IV. The Lord gives instructions for building his palace-tent in Israel’s midst (24:12–31:18)

V. The Lord renews the covenant Israel has broken (32:1–34:35)

VI. The Lord has his palace-tent built and comes to dwell in Israel’s midst (35:1–40:38)

If we think more broadly still and try to group the above under one-word titles, we could reduce the six sections to four:51

I. Deliverance (1:1–15:21)

II. Testing (15:22–17:16)

III. Covenant (18:1–24:11)

IV. Presence (24:12–40:38)52

Each of the above approaches has strengths and weaknesses. Generally speaking, with an outline that includes more main sections, one can capture finer emphases or nuances of the text but might not grasp the big picture. The opposite is true with fewer main sections. Deciding which approach to take will depend in large part on the interpreter’s audience and goals.

What follows below is the commentary outline of eight main sections and the next level of outlining for each section, thus giving the reader the big picture and some idea of how each section is developed. In the commentary itself the Section Outline at the beginning of each unit often goes into more detail to bring even greater clarity to that unit’s flow of thought.53

I. Israel in Egypt: the Lord promises deliverance (1:1–11:10)

A. Israel’s suffering in Egypt and need of a deliverer (1:1–2:22)

B. The Lord calls and commissions the deliverer: Moses (2:23–4:17)

C. Moses returns to Egypt (4:18–31)

D. An initial attempt at deliverance (5:1–6:9)

E. Preparation for the deliverance to come (6:10–7:7)

F. The Lord’s coming deliverance of Israel by great signs and wonders, showing his sovereignty over Pharaoh and Egypt’s gods (7:8–11:10)

II. Israel leaves Egypt: the Lord provides deliverance (12:1–15:21)

A. The institution of the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the consecration of the firstborn; the Lord’s deliverance of Israel through the last strike and Israel’s exodus from Egypt (12:1–13:16)

B. The Lord’s leading of his people out of Egypt and his final defeat of Pharaoh (13:17–15:21)

III. Israel travels through the wilderness to Sinai: the Lord tests his people and provides for their needs (15:22–17:16)

A. Three stories of testing and provision in the wilderness (15:22–17:7)

B. Israel defeats Amalek with the Lord’s help (17:8–16)

IV. Israel arrives at Sinai: the Lord prepares his people to receive his covenant and its laws (18:1–19:25)

A. Jethro’s visit, his expression of faith and advice to Moses, his departure (18:1–27)

B. The Lord’s invitation of special covenant relationship; his arrival in glory (19:1–25)

V. Israel at Sinai: the Lord gives his covenant to Israel; the covenant is ratified (20:1–24:11)

A. Fundamental stipulations of the covenant: the Ten Commandments, spoken by the Lord to the people (20:1–17)

B. The people’s fearful response to the Lord’s special appearance (20:18–21)

C. The Lord’s further commands regarding false gods and proper worship, spoken to Moses for the people (20:22–26)

D. Further stipulations of the covenant, spoken to Moses for the people (21:1–23:19)

E. Warnings against disobedience, and the blessings of obedience, on the way to the Promised Land and once within it, spoken to Moses for the people (23:20–33)

F. The covenant is ratified (24:1–11)

VI. Israel at Sinai: the Lord gives instructions for the building of his palace-tent among them (24:12–31:18)

A. Moses goes up the mountain to receive the stone tablets from the Lord (24:12–18)

B. Tabernacle contributions (25:1–9)

C. Tabernacle building instructions (25:10–27:21)

D. The priests’ garments (28:1–43)

E. The ordination ceremony for the priests (29:1–35)

F. The altar of burnt offering and its offerings (29:36–42)

G. The tent’s purpose (29:43–46)

H. Further instructions for items used in connection with the tabernacle (30:1–38)

I. The artisans who will make the tabernacle, its furniture and related items (31:1–11)

J. Keeping the Sabbath as the sign of the covenant (31:12–17)

K. The Lord gives the stone tablets of the covenant to Moses (31:18)

VII. Israel at Sinai: the people break the covenant; the Lord renews the covenant (32:1–34:35)

A. The people’s idolatry, the Lord’s anger, Moses’ first act of intercession for Israel (that the Lord would not wipe out the people) (32:1–14)

B. Moses’ anger at the people’s idolatry, his confrontation of Aaron, and his execution of justice (32:15–29)

C. Moses’ second act of intercession for Israel (that the Lord would forgive the people) (32:30–33:6)

D. Moses’ third act of intercession for Israel (that the Lord would go in Israel’s midst) (33:7–17)

E. Moses asks to see the Lord’s glory (33:18–23)

F. The Lord reveals his glory (34:1–8)

G. Moses’ fourth act of intercession for Israel (that the Lord would renew the covenant) (34:9–28)

H. The shining face of Moses (34:29–35)

VIII. Israel at Sinai: the Lord’s palace-tent is built and he comes to dwell among his covenant people (35:1–40:38)

A. Introduction (35:1)

B. Command to keep the Sabbath (35:2–3)

C. Gathering the materials for the tabernacle and related components (35:4–36:7)

D. Making the tabernacle and related components (36:8–39:43)

E. The setting up of the tabernacle (40:1–33)

F. The glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle (40:34–38)

Overview ofExodus 1–11

Exodus 1–11

This opening section of Exodus tells the story of Israel’s need for deliverance and how the Lord will bring it about. It focuses on the character of the Lord, who shows himself to be the God who cares attentively for his people, who faithfully keeps his covenant promises, and who is fully sovereign over all earthly and heavenly powers.

The story consists of six sections. The first introduces us to Israel’s need for deliverance and to the Lord’s deliverer, Moses (1:1–2:22). The second describes Moses’ call to be Israel’s deliverer and focuses especially on the faithful and powerful character of the Lord who calls him (2:23–4:17). The third section narrates briefly Moses’ return to Egypt and reunion with Aaron and highlights again the Lord’s sovereign power and covenant care for his people (4:18–31). The fourth describes the failure of Moses’ initial attempt at deliverance but reemphasizes that the Lord cares for his people and will powerfully deliver them (5:1–6:9). The fifth section is a transition that provides further background on Israel’s main leaders (Moses and Aaron) and offers a preview of how the Lord will display his sovereign power over Egypt when he delivers his people (6:10–7:7). This leads to the final section, in which the Lord sends a series of miraculous judgments against the Egyptians but not against the Israelites to make clear he is the divine ruler and cares deeply for his people (7:8–11:10). Taken together, the sections certainly offer insight into human characters (Moses, Pharaoh, the Israelites), but their overall focus is on the Lord, the one who sees his people’s suffering, who is committed to care for them and keep his covenant promises, and who can do so because he is the sovereign king.Exodus 1–11

Exodus 1