A guide to Exodus

Who wrote Exodus, and when?

Traditionally Moses. Traditionally 1400s BC; the exodus itself is dated to about 1446 BC or about 1270 BC.

Like Genesis, Exodus is traditionally credited to Moses, who is its central human figure and who is said within the book to have written down parts of it (see Exodus 17:14 and 24:4). On that traditional view the book was written in the 1400s BC. Many scholars think it was completed later, using older sources and memories that had been preserved and passed on. The date of the exodus itself is also debated. One common view places it around 1446 BC, based on the timeline given in 1 Kings 6:1. Another places it around 1270 BC, in the reign of Pharaoh Rameses II, based on the city names in Exodus 1:11 and the archaeological record. Neither view changes the book's message: the LORD heard his people and brought them out.

Who was Exodus written to?

The generation of Israel that came out of Egypt and their children, learning what it means to belong to the LORD.

The first audience was the generation that had walked out of Egypt and the children who grew up hearing the story. They had lived through the plagues, the night of the Passover and the crossing of the sea, but living through something is not the same as understanding it. They needed to see that the rescue was the LORD's doing, not Moses' cleverness or their own strength. They also needed to learn what came next: a covenant with rules for living together, and a tent of meeting where God himself would dwell among them. Later generations of Israel read Exodus every year at Passover, and it became the story that told them who they were. Every Israelite was to think of themselves as someone the LORD had brought out of slavery.

What was happening at the time?

Israel had grown into a large people in Egypt and been enslaved there. Exodus recounts the rescue that became the defining event of Israel’s memory, then the giving of the law and the building of the tabernacle. Every later prophet, psalm and festival looks back to this.

Why was Exodus written?

To show that the LORD keeps his promise, defeats every rival power and makes a way to dwell with his people.

Exodus was written to show that the LORD keeps his word. The promise made to Abraham in Genesis seemed to have stalled while his descendants suffered as slaves, and the book opens with God remembering that promise and acting on it. It sets out to show that no power, not Pharaoh, not the gods of Egypt, not the sea, can stand against him. It also shows what rescue is for. God does not free Israel so that they can drift; he frees them to serve him, to live by his law and to have him living in their midst. The book wants readers to trust the God who saves and to respond with obedience and worship. In the wider Bible story, Exodus is the pattern that the prophets, the psalms and the New Testament use to describe salvation, and Jesus' death is set at Passover for that reason.

How to read Exodus today

Start with chapters 1 to 15, which read like an adventure story and carry the heart of the book. Notice how often God says he acts so that Egypt and Israel will know who he is. Chapter 20 gives the Ten Commandments and is worth reading on its own. The long instructions for the tabernacle in chapters 25 to 40 can feel slow; skim them the first time and come back later, but do not miss chapters 32 to 34, where Israel makes the golden calf and God reveals his character to Moses. Do not force every detail of the tabernacle into a hidden meaning. The point is that a holy God chose to live among ordinary people. As you read, pray about the things that still enslave you, and ask the God who brought Israel out to bring you out too.

The key verse in Exodus

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.

Passages worth knowing in Exodus

• Exodus 3

  The burning bush

  God reveals his name, I AM, and sends Moses.

• Exodus 12

  The Passover

  The lamb’s blood spares the firstborn; the pattern behind the Lord’s Supper.

• Exodus 14

  Crossing the sea

  The LORD fights for Israel while they stand still.

• Exodus 20

  The Ten Commandments

  The heart of the covenant, given after rescue, not as its price.

• Exodus 32–34

  The golden calf

  Israel fails at once, and God proclaims his name as merciful and gracious.

• Exodus 40

  The glory fills the tabernacle

  God moves in among his people.

The main themes of Exodus

• Redemption
• God’s name and character
• Covenant
• Law
• God dwelling with his people

An outline of Exodus