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Exodus is the second book of the Torah , the Tanakh , and the Old Testament . In designates the second book of the Pentateuch as "Exodus" ( Greek : ''''), meaning "departure" or "out-going". The Latin translation adopted the name, which passed into other languages. The major events of the book concern The Exodus , a departure of Hebrew slaves from Egypt under the leadership of Moses . SUMMARY The account of the growth of the Israelites into a people, their enslavement in Egypt, and their eventual escape (1-12) Toward the end of Genesis a great famine strikes the Promised Land, causing the Hebrews to relocate to Egypt, where their kinsman Joseph has risen to a position of great power. Thanks largely to his administrative skills, food in Egypt remains plentiful. Joseph persuades his entire extended family to come live under his protection so that he can support them for the duration of the famine. Once the famine ends, however, the Hebrews do not return to the Promised Land. Rather, they proceed to settle down in Egypt and remain there. Then a new Pharaoh , who did not know Joseph, becomes concerned about the military implications of the large increase in the Israelite population. He forces them to do manual labor, and orders the Hebrew Midwives to kill all male babies.Exodus 1 About this time, a Levite couple has a son, which they hide until he is three months old. Then, the baby's mother puts him into the Nile in a basket. A daughter of Pharaoh finds him and calls him ''Moses'' (meaning ''drawn out''). Moses is brought up as an Egyptian . One day, while watching his fellow Hebrews working, he feels sympathy for a laborer who is being whipped by a guard. He kills the guard and buries his body in the sand.Exodus 2 To escape from Pharaoh, who wants to kill him, Moses flees the country. Moses' Exile takes him to Midian , where he becomes shepherd to the priest Jethro and marries his daughter, Zipporah . As he feeds the sheep on Mount Horeb , God appears to him from a Burning Bush , which fails to turn to ash. God orders Moses to demand the release of the Israelites from Pharaoh and gives him the power to perform three miraculous signs to show his authority. Aaron , mentioned for the first time and identified as Moses' brother, is appointed to assist him. On his return to Egypt, God tries to kill Moses, but Zipporah, At The Inn , Circumcises Moses' son, fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant and saving Moses' life. (1-4) The Pharaoh refuses Moses' request and oppresses the people still further, ordering them to make Bricks Without Straw . Moses subsequently complains to God, who announces to him that he will display his power to such an extent that the Pharaoh will be keen to send the Israelites away, even with all the jewelery of the Egyptians. The Genealogy of Moses and his family appears at this point, rather than at the beginning of the story. (5-6) God sends a series of Plagues onto Egypt, each time acting through Moses. Since each one has respite, and the Egyptian magicians are capable of duplicating some of them, the Pharaoh becomes increasingly stubborn (7-10). Finally, a great plague, killing all the firstborn, occurs, passing over the houses of the Israelites, since they have completed the Passover ritual, marking their houses. Pharaoh consequently relents and is only too glad to get rid of the Israelites (11-12). The journey through the wilderness to Mount Sinai (13-18) The Exodus begins after the Pharaoh issues the expulsion order following the tenth plague, and the Israelites go to Succoth . The nobles of Egypt object to Pharaoh's consent, and so Pharaoh gathers together a large army to chase after the Israelites, who have by this point reached what is usually translated as the 'Red Sea' Many scholars believe that the Hebrew phrase 'yam suph', commonly translated 'Red Sea', means 'Sea of Reeds' or 'Sea of Seaweed'..Fortunately for the Israelites, they are divinely guarded, and are able to make their passage through the Red Sea when Moses causes the waters to part. The waters collapse once the Israelites have passed, defeating Pharaoh, and the Israelites joyfully sing the Song Of The Sea Exodus 13 and 14. In 13:21, the Lord is described as going ahead in a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night to lead the Israelites. The Israelites continue their journey into the desert, and once in the Wilderness Of Sin , they complain about the lack of food. Listening to their complaint, God sends them a shower of Quail , and subsequently provides a daily shower of Manna from heaven. Once at Rephidim , water is provided miraculously from a rock at Kadesh . The Amalekites ambush the Israelites, and although Joshua manages to lead an army to vanquish them, God orders an eternal war against Amalek Exudus 15-17. Jethro hears of Moses' approach, and visits him, advising Moses to appoint Judges Exodus 18. The Covenant and its Laws (19-24) In the third month the Israelites arrive at Mount Sinai , and God announces, via Moses, that the Israelites are ''God's people''. The Israelites accept this call, and so, with thunder and lightning, clouds of smoke, and the sound of trumpets, God appears to them at the top of Mount SinaiChapter 19. God then announces a summarised moral law, the Ten Commandments (20). A more detailed Covenant Code is subsequently provided, concerning both ritual and civil law, and God promises Canaan to the Israelites if they obey, but warns against the Paganism of its inhabitantsExodus 21-23. God calls Moses up into the mountain to receive a set of Stone Tablet s containing the law, and further instructions (24). This section includes the famous phrase "Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live". The Instructions for a Tabernacle, vestments, and associated ritual objects (25-31) Intricate instructions, forming one of the least readable portions of the Torah, are then given detailing the construction of a Tabernacle , so that God can dwell permanently amongst the Israelites (25-28). These directions provide for a particularly extensive construction:
Instructions are also given for the Garment s of the priests (28):
Following these instructions are details of the ritual to be used to ordain the priests, including Robing , Anointing , and seven days of sacrifices. There are also instructions for daily morning and evening offerings of a lamb (29). The specifications for construction of the tabernacle is then continued with directions for making a golden altar of Incense , Laver , Anointing Oil , and Perfume (30). Bezaleel and Aholiab are identified, by God, as the appointed craftsmen to construct these things (31). The golden calf, and regiving of the law (32-34) While Moses is up the mountain, the people become impatient and urge Aaron to make them "a god who shall go before {Link without Title} ." Aaron instructs them to take off the gold earrings of their wives, sons and daughters and give these to him. From these, Aaron makes a Golden Calf , which the people worship with joy. God informs Moses that they have become Idolatrous , threatening to abandon Israel, but Moses intercedes for them. However, when he comes down, he sees what they have done, and in anger smashes the two tablets of the law. After pronouncing judgment upon Aaron and the people Moses again ascends to God to implore forgiveness, and is successful (32-33). Moses consequently is commanded to make two new tablets on which God will personally write the commandments. God then gives the Ritual Decalogue , writing the ''ten commandments'' onto the tablets. Moses then returns to the people, who listen to him in respectful silence (34). Moses then commands the sons of Levi to slay "every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor" (Exodus 32:27). The Construction of a Tabernacle, vestments, and associated ritual objects (35-40) Moses gathers the congregation, enjoins upon them the keeping of the Sabbath, and requests gifts for the sanctuary. The entire people respond willingly, and under the direction of Bezaleel, and Aholiab, they complete all the instructions, for making the tabernacle, its contents, and the priestly robes, and the Israelites put it together on the first day of the second month (35-40). This section is almost, but not completely, a word for word copy of Chapters 25-31. COMPOSITION The Documentary Hypothesis postulates that there were several post-Mosaic authors, whose stories have been intertwined by A Later Redactor . The three main authors of the work are said, in this hypothesis, to be the Jahwist , Elohist , and Priestly Source . In addition, the poetic Song Of The Sea , and the prose Covenant Code , are thought to have been originally independent works which the associated author, of these three, chose to embed in their works. Of these the Elohist is identified as uniquely responsible for the episode of the golden calf, and the priestly source as uniquely responsible for the chiastic, and monotonous, instructions for creating the tabernacle, vestments, and ritual objects, and the account of their creation. The other parts of the book are believed to have been constructed by intertwining the different, versions of each of the stories. Deconstructions of the stories into these sources, applying the hypothesis, identify heavy variations between stories. HISTORICITY See Also: the Exodus The time-span in this book, from the death of (Gal. 3:17). There have been several attempts to fix the date of the events in the book to a precise point on the Gregorian Calendar . These attempts generally rest on three considerations
Generally, fixing the identification of the Pharaoh is considered the key, and two dynasties are usually suggested:
SEE ALSO
NOTES FURTHER READING
EXTERNAL LINKS Online versions and translations of Exodus Arabic translations
Jewish translations
Christian translations
Translations identifying sources
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