Contents Foreword
vii
Preface ix Part 1: Please read this first 1 Reading Exodus in its own right 3
Reading Exodus in its Old Testament context
7
Reading Exodus as Christian Scripture
9
Reading this book
11
Part 2: G od’s rescuer and God’s rescue (Exodus 1–15:21) 15 1. The context: a cosmic conflict (Exodus 1:1–22)
17
2. Rescuers human and divine (Exodus 2:1–25)
31
3. The call and commissioning of the rescuer
(Exodus 3:1—4:17) 4. Return to Egypt (Exodus 4:18–31)
45 61
5. Confronting Pharaoh (Exodus 5:1—7:7)
72
6. The plagues in Egypt (Part 1: Exodus 7:8—9:12)
87
7. The plagues in Egypt (Part 2: Exodus 9:13—10:29)
97
8. Rescue! (Exodus 12:1—13:16)
110
9. Crossing the sea: the story (Exodus 13:17—14:31)
121
10. Crossing the sea: the song (Exodus 15:1–21)
131
11. Biblical theology reflection: the exodus in the Bible 147 Part 3: T he very present God: wilderness 157 12. Present in provision: food and water
(Exodus 15:22—17:7)
159
13. Present in provision: rescue from threats
(Exodus 17:8—18:27)
171 v
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Part 4: T he very present God: covenant 183 14. On eagle’s wings (Exodus 19:1–6)
185
15. The Ten Commandments: setting the context
(Exodus 19:7–25; 20:18–26)
199
16. The Ten Commandments: Commandments 1–3
(Exodus 20:1–11) 17. The Ten Commandments: Commandments 4–6 (Exodus 20:8–14)
212 224
18. The Ten Commandments: Commandments 7–10 (Exodus 20:15–26)
237
19. God’s gracious law (Exodus 20:22—23:33)
249
20. Covenant ratification (Exodus 24:1–18)
259
21. Biblical theology reflection: Christian faith, covenant and Old Testament law
270
Part 5: T he very present God: tabernacle and judgement 283 22. Sanctuary instructions and construction
(Exodus 25:1—31:18; 35:1—39:43)
285
23. Biblical theology reflection: the tabernacle, Jesus and Christian faith
301
24. Covenant violation and innocence lost (1) (Exodus 32:1—33:23)
309
25. Revelation and covenant renewal (Exodus 34:1–35)
323
26. Biblical theology reflection (Exodus 34:6–7)
334
27. God present with his people (Exodus 40:1–38)
341
Appendices 343 1. The date of the exodus
345
2. The route of the exodus
351
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Chapter 1
The context: a cosmic conflict (Exodus 1:1–22)
They are paraded before us each day. Their names, voices and exploits are known and recognised. Some are heroes, others are villains. Counted among them are politicians, money makers, business or sportspeople, entrepreneurs, scientists, criminals, writers, church leaders, preachers and prophets. These are the people of importance and influence, those who shaped our past, dominate our present, and influence our future. Before such people it is hard not to wonder who we are or whether we matter. What place is there for ordinary people? Were we to die this day, would our absence be noticed by people other than our families and a few friends? Are we so insignificant as to be almost unknown? At first glance, Chapter 1 of Exodus does not appear to offer much help to us in our wondering. However, a close reading of it will show God speaking into this world with words that challenge such thinking and bring comfort to those who feel insignificant.
A PROMISING PAST (1:1–7) A known people, under a promise The first seven verses of Exodus are critically important for understanding this passage and the book as a whole. As often occurs in Scripture, the opening (and closing) words of this book are designed to shape our overall understanding of it. 17
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Saved for Service In the Hebrew text, the first word of Exodus has the word ‘and’ attached to it (which could also be translated ‘so’). By doing this, the author is indicating that to really understand this book we need to see it as looking back to all that has preceded it. This book does not stand on its own, but is part of an ongoing story that began in Genesis. As if to reinforce this, the contents of this passage echo a number of key passages from the book of Genesis. For example, verses 1–4 virtually repeat Genesis 35:22–26; verse 5 reiterates Genesis 46:27; verse 6 takes up Genesis 50:26 and verse 7 is full of the language of Genesis 1:28 and 9:1, 7. The references to the latter part of Genesis remind us that these people were a known people. They were the ‘sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob’. The mention of Jacob (also known as ‘Israel’, Genesis 32:28), reminds us that not only were these people known, they were also a people of promise. Being descendants of Jacob, they were the descendants of Abraham, and part of the fulfilment of the promises given to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3, where God told Abraham that he would give him a land, make of him a great nation, bless him, and in him cause all the families of the earth to be blessed (that is, all of humanity, who had been the focus of Genesis 1–11). Most of the story of Genesis 12–50 concentrates on the second of these promises, that is, the matter of children (‘great nation’, Genesis 12:2) and, as the book of Genesis progresses, we are told how God began to make this promise a reality, albeit in the midst of the great problem of barrenness. Abraham and Sarah eventually had a son, Isaac, in their old age (Genesis 21:1–7). Isaac and Rebecca had two sons, Esau and Jacob, with Jacob being the one through whom God’s promises would flow (Genesis 25:19– 23; 27:27–29; 28:10–17). Jacob and his wives had 13 children: 12 sons and one daughter (Dinah). The list of the sons here in Exodus 1 largely follows that of Genesis 35:23–26. It is not strictly in order of birth, but follows the order of the wives (and within that, their birth order). 18
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The context: a cosmic conflict (Exodus 1:1–22) All the sons of Leah, Jacob’s first wife: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s favoured wife (minus Joseph, who will be mentioned separately): Benjamin The sons of Rachel’s servant, Bilhah: Dan, Naphtali The sons of Leah’s servant, Zilpah: Gad, Asher
In the closing chapters of Genesis, the obvious favouritism within the family results in the brothers selling Joseph into slavery (Genesis 37). He ended up in Egypt, where he rose to prominence within the court of Pharaoh and became the agent of blessing in Pharaoh’s household (Genesis 39–47) as well as the agent of the rescue of the family in a time of famine (Genesis 42–46). Seventy persons in all went down to Egypt (1:5; matching Genesis 46:27 and Deuteronomy 10:22)3, where they settled in the land of Goshen (Genesis 47). Just as Joseph had lived the first 17 years of his life with his father (Genesis 37:2), so Jacob lived the last 17 years of his life with Joseph (Genesis 47:9, 28). If the first five verses of Exodus are rich in directing us to the continuity between Genesis and this book, verse 6 serves as a transitional verse for the next series of events as it tells us that ‘Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation’. Elsewhere in the Old Testament, the death of a significant godly leader and his generation is often followed by another generation without the same knowledge and disposition (e.g. Judges 2:10). However, we are not given time to contemplate this as our author immediately moves us forward from a past history plagued by infertility to a present one overwhelmed by the opposite.
Blessed by the Creator The last verse of this introductory section still has links back to Genesis. However, those links are of an entirely 3. The Septuagint (LXX) gives the number 75 both in Exodus and Genesis (including Joseph’s grandsons and great-grandsons mentioned in the LXX version of Genesis 46:26). In the New Testament, Acts 7:14 also says 75.
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Saved for Service different nature and come from an entirely different section of the book. Verses 1–5 echo the patriarchal narratives of Genesis 12–50. Verse 6 provides a transition and verse 7 picks up Genesis 1–11, the period prior to that of the patriarchs. The following table highlights the echoes of these previous Scriptures by putting them side by side. Genesis 1 contains the command by God to Adam and Eve. Genesis 9:1 and 7 contain the command by God to Noah after the flood. Although we are working in English, our translation has (in this case) reflected reasonably well the original Hebrew words that are used and translated them in a way that helps us catch the allusions. Genesis 1:28
Genesis 9:1
Genesis 9:7
Exodus 1:7
And God blessed them. And God said to them,
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them,
‘And you,
But the people of Israel
‘Be fruitful
‘Be fruitful
be fruitful
were fruitful and increased greatly;
and multiply
and multiply
and multiply,
they multiplied
increase greatly and grew exceedingly strong, and fill
and fill
the earth
the earth.’
so that the land on the earth
was filled with them.
and multiply in it.’ and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth’.
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The context: a cosmic conflict (Exodus 1:1–22) However, there are even more things to note that can’t be adequately caught in English: • The word for ‘earth’ in Genesis 1:28 is actually the same Hebrew word that is translated ‘land’ in Exodus 1:7. • Although the form of the Hebrew words differ because of the purpose for which they are being used (e.g. Genesis 1:28 is a command and Exodus 1:7 is a description), the order of the words for ‘fruitful’, ‘multiply’, ‘fill’ and ‘land’ in Genesis 1:28; 9:1 and Exodus 1:7 is the same in the Hebrew. • There are two additions in Exodus: ‘exceedingly strong’ (cf. Genesis 18:18; Psalm 105:24) and ‘increased greatly’ (literally ‘teemed’; cf. Genesis 1:20–21 regarding sea creatures; Exodus 8:3 and Psalm 105:30 regarding the frog plague of the exodus). The link between these two themes of the patriarchs and the creation command to be fruitful and multiply is first hinted at in God’s promise that he would make Abraham ‘exceedingly fruitful’ (Genesis 17:6). It was then made more explicit when God spoke to Jacob and said, ‘I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body’ (Genesis 35:11; see also Genesis 48:4). In joining these two themes together in the persons of Abraham and Jacob and then reiterating them in Exodus 1, God tells us that as the Creator he has a purpose for his world which was first demonstrated in Adam but which flowed through Abraham and his descendants. Hence, the nation here in Exodus 1 was not just the inheritor of the promises to Abraham. They were also the inheritors of the promises by the Creator to all creation. The focus of God’s creative energy was on them and they were the means by which his purposes of fruitfulness and blessing would come about.
A note about location and timing Before moving into the next phase of this drama, it is helpful to observe some things about location and timing. 21
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Saved for Service In relation to location, the tendency when reading is to view these events as having their focus in all of Egypt. In other words, the ‘land’ of verse 7 is seen as all Egypt. However, in all likelihood it is a reference to the land of Goshen, the part of Egypt where the Hebrews had settled (see map below). Mediterranean Sea
50km
In relation to timing, first, the multiplying of the people seems to be something that characterised the whole of the time in Egypt. Second, Genesis and Exodus give us pieces of information that help determine durations and timing: • The people of Israel lived in Egypt for 430 years (12:40). • Jacob arrived in Egypt when Joseph was 39 years old (he entered Pharaoh’s service at 30 and seven years of plenty plus two years of famine passed; Genesis 41:46; 45:6). • Joseph died at 110 (Genesis 50:22), thereby living 71 years into the Egyptian sojourn of his family. • Moses was 80 years old when the plagues began (7:7). • In Genesis 15:13, God tells Abraham that his descendants will be ‘sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will 22
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The context: a cosmic conflict (Exodus 1:1–22) be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years’ (cf. Acts 7:6). Depending on whether we are dealing with rounded off years, it may be possible that the affliction (such as Israel becoming ‘servants’) began in some way while Joseph was still alive, although the heightened forms of persecution referred to in the next part of the chapter may have come significantly later.
A FRIGHTENING PRESENT (1:8–22) An unknown people Even before we reach verse 8, there have been suggestions that trouble was brewing. In verse 5 we are reminded about Joseph, whom we know to have been an important person in Egypt. In verse 6 we are told that he was dead and that therefore there was no advocate for them in the court, no protector or hero. Verse 8 builds on this by telling us that a new king emerged who knew nothing of Joseph. The term ‘new king’ probably means a new dynasty in Egyptian terminology, without ongoing commitments to a large group of non-indigenous people living within the boundaries of its land. Hence, a nation which was once known and protected because of Joseph was now unknown and unprotected. Into this context comes the voice of this new regime in verse 9. Their leader institutes three initiatives which form three stages of oppression. In the first initiative, the king speaks to his people, making the observation that ‘the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us’ (verse 9).4 In other words, the fertility which we, the readers, know came from God and was a sign of blessing, posed a threat to Egypt. A previous regime sought Joseph’s wisdom for the health 4. Although it may depend on the dating of the exodus (see appendix), this edict may reflect a fear of outsiders that arose from Egypt’s experience of an earlier dominance by Asiatic people (the Hyksos). See Sarna, NM 1986, Exploring Exodus: The Heritage of Biblical Israel, Shocken Books, New York, pp. 15–17.
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Saved for Service and wellbeing of Egypt (Genesis 41:37–40) and was blessed as a result. This regime would ‘deal shrewdly’ with Israel in order to restrict their growth. As events progress and we enter the second and third stages of oppression, we will wonder just how ‘shrewd’ the actions of this king were.5 It is important that we don’t underplay what is being said in these verses. As readers, we know that God’s creative power was present to bless through fertility. We also know that Pharaoh opposed God in this. Thus they were set at loggerheads and a battle began between the two that spans 15 chapters. In a twist of delightful irony, Pharaoh pre-empted the result of that battle as he became the first person in the book to use the words that were used to speak of the central event of the book, the ‘going up from the land’ (e.g. 3:8; 13:18), which would be the sign of his defeat.6 In other words, the shrewdness of Pharaoh would not be like the wisdom of God which leads to life. Instead, it would lead to his own destruction and the eventual redemption of Israel from his hands as they went ‘up from the land’. The result of this first phase of oppression is outlined in verses 11–14. Taskmasters were appointed, the people were enslaved, labour was forced, harsh supply cities were built, and the Egyptian people themselves came to live in dread of the Israelites. However, the fertility continued unabated.
Under threat In these initial verses the author has given us much insider information. However, the king could not have known what we know, that he was opposing the God of all the earth, and his chosen people through whom he would bless the earth. All he could know was what he saw 5.
The only other time in the Old Testament that this particular form is used is in Ecclesiastes 7:16, where readers are urged not to make themselves too shrewd, and destroy themselves.
6. The term ‘Exodus’, by which we know the book, comes from the Greek word used in the LXX (e.g. Psalm 105:38) and in Hebrews 11:22. It means a ‘going out/away, departure’.
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The context: a cosmic conflict (Exodus 1:1–22) and feared, and he reacted as he saw fit, generating a new policy. In contrast with God who is portrayed in the first few verses as the God who keeps promises, this king broke undertakings given by a previous regime and turned a protected people into state slaves. God is portrayed as one whose desire for blessing and order continues. The human king is presented as an agent of chaos and disorder set against God and determined to disrupt his plans. However, we who have read Genesis know that God is one who turns chaos into order. What he did in Genesis 1 was repeated with the chaos of the flood when he remembered Noah (Genesis 8:1) and also with the emptiness of Sarah’s womb, when he spoke his word to Abraham and promised a great nation (Genesis 12:1–3). So, we anticipate that he will act, which is exactly what he did in verse 12, even though he is not named as the instigator; for ‘the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad’.7 Succeeding verses show that the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, the more they frightened the Egyptians and the more the Egyptians oppressed them. They were forced into slavery in the field and in huge state building projects. Later references to them as ‘Hebrews’ (e.g. in verses 16 and 19) give the impression of a depersonalised and anonymous mass. Some ancient Egyptian texts give us a picture of what life would have been like for ordinary workers who were not slaves. The presentation is awful as it paints life as overwhelmingly tough, unrelenting, wearying, dirty, miserable and thoroughly wretched. The life of Israelite slaves must have been one of cruel bondage, which was apparently enforced ruthlessly. 7. The word for ‘multiplied’ is that used in verse 7, which alludes to Genesis 1:28; 9:1, 7. The word for ‘spread abroad’ is linked to the Abrahamic promises of blessing in Genesis 28:14.
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Saved for Service
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE (1:15–22) Two known women With verses 15 and 16 we enter into a new stage in the narrative. The king’s escalating anxiety bore fruit in escalating harshness, demonstrated in his three speeches (verses 16, 18, 22). In the first speech he commanded two midwives, Shiphrah (‘Beauty’) and Puah (‘Splendour’) to eliminate all boy babies.8 In one sense, his action makes little sense to us, who would view the elimination of girls as a much more effective mechanism for genocide. However, the recent history in the Balkans would show that it is not an unusual approach even today. In the case of the ancient world, where males were often seen as the bearers of the essence of a people and women could easily be absorbed into another culture, his actions may be understandable. In the second speech, the king questioned the midwives as to why his instructions were not being followed as ordered, while in the third he commanded all his people to join in his pogrom by casting all Hebrew sons into the Nile. As if to pre-empt the events of later chapters, the Nile, which is normally considered a source of life, was turned into an agent of death. It is significant to observe the use of names here and in the surrounding verses.9 Although there are many names mentioned in the first eight verses, names subsequently begin to be used sparingly. For example, the name of God used is the more impersonal one (‘Elohim’), the king is not given a name, and although he is given the title ‘Pharaoh’ he is also often simply ‘a/the king of Egypt’. In verses 1 and 7 the Israelites are called ‘the sons/people of Israel’. However, 8. Since the Hebrew is ambiguous (the NIV ‘Hebrew midwives’ could also be translated ‘midwives of the Hebrews’; cf. LXX), the commentators are divided about their ethnicity. 9.
Brueggemann, W 1994 ‘The Book of Exodus’ in The New Interpreter’s Bible: General and Old Testament Articles, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus (vol. 1, The New Interpreter’s Bible) Abingdon, Nashville, pp. 1696–1697.
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The context: a cosmic conflict (Exodus 1:1–22) from verse 15 they are simply referred to as ‘Hebrews’. In the verses that follow in Chapter 2 until Moses is named, all other references to specific people lack names. Such a lack of names in the immediate proximity of verse 15 makes the naming of these two women striking, causing the focus to fall on them and their actions.10 Who fear and act The reason for their being named is highlighted in verse 17: they feared God (also 1:21). In contrast to the lack of wisdom demonstrated in the ‘shrewdness’ of Pharaoh, their fear issued in practical action which lined up with God’s purposes for his people—life; they ‘did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live’. In other words, they acted to preserve God’s people and God’s creative purpose. As God would later act to rescue his people out of Egypt, so these two women rescued God’s people here. Their alignment with God and his purpose caused them to act as his agents in his purpose of blessing and fruitfulness. Moreover, God responded to their fear with blessing (1:20–21).
HOPE, ASSURANCE AND ACTION A two-sided spiritual perspective The opening chapter of Exodus therefore presents us with a two-sided perspective on the world in which we live. On the one hand, verses 1–7 tell us about the Creator’s world where the power of his blessing was strong and prevalent. He was active in making promises and fulfilling them. This world was one of blessing and fruitfulness. On the other hand, the world we see here has another side to it. It was a fallen world full of harshness and brutality, curses and broken promises. Forces of disharmony and 10. This is emphasised even more when considered from the perspective of the book as a whole, where only six women in total are named.
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Saved for Service chaos opposed God and his purposes while powerful people with potent weapons appeared dominant and influential. This chapter also portrays the focus of the conflict between these opposing forces; the people of God, who were both the objects of God’s promise and the focus of human evil. They were caught in a cosmic struggle which was gruesome, ruthless and real. It is this spiritual reality that we see played out time and time again in Scripture, in the world and even in our own lives. This reality urges us to consider life realistically. While at times it might be like the life of Joseph in Egypt under God’s blessing, at other times it will be full of conflict and serious difficulty, such as here under the cruel slavery of an anonymous king in Egypt. This is the reality of life in a created but fallen world.
Hope and assurance However, when we begin to consider the large picture of the Bible there is great news for us. This great news comes bursting out from the creation story, is demonstrated here, and is guaranteed in the New Testament. The content of this news is that victory is assured. The forces of evil, chaos and disharmony will not succeed and, although God may sometimes appear to be absent (as he will appear to be at various times in this story), he is not. Rather, he is present and working out his purposes, which will surely be accomplished as blessing wins over curse, fruitfulness over genocide, and life over death. God the Creator will show himself to be God the Redeemer. Those of us who are Christians know this truth. After all, in the New Testament the gospel proclaims that God sent his Son into the world and that although he submitted to the world’s cruelty, he triumphed over it. He defeated the forces of evil on the cross and because of his victory the time will come when such forces will finally be judged and done away with. The Creator’s purpose of blessing and fruitfulness and life will triumph in the redemption won in Jesus, and there will be no more pain or tears or death. 28
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The context: a cosmic conflict (Exodus 1:1–22) Action However, we are not yet at the end of God’s purposes, where the fallen world no longer holds sway. Rather, we live in a world like that of Exodus 1, where the opposition against God looks strong and the powers of evil often act with a high hand against God’s purposes. In this world we, the people of God, often find ourselves caught up in the conflict. In such a situation, does this story offer some help from God that will show us how to respond? We can find an answer in the way God has sovereignly acted in the writing of these things to ensure that the names of these two women are recorded. After all, Shiphrah and Puah were not in recognised positions of power. They merely delivered babies in an ancient world dominated by some of history’s greatest civilisations and pharaohs. These civilisations and their pharaohs have monuments that still stand tribute to them in the sands of Egypt this day. However, in this story it is not the great ones whose names are recorded and whose deeds are remembered. Rather, it is these two midwives whom God remembered because they feared him and aligned themselves with his purposes of blessing. God saw them, knew them, and recorded them in his book. They were far from insignificant to him because they found their purpose and identity with the Creator of the world and his great purposes of redemption. This passage comes to us with comfort and force as we recognise that the same God who was at work here is the God we see at work redeeming the world and summing up all things in heaven and on earth under Christ (Ephesians 1:10). We may not be the great ones of this world, people of position and influence (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:26–29); our names may never be heard on a radio, or our faces seen on television, and nor may books be published about us. Nevertheless, if we are God’s and have sided with his purposes in his Son, then God will remember, and in the end, this is what really matters. 29
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Saved for Service So, how might we line up with God’s purposes in ways that match those of Shiphrah and Puah? Well, it might be by teaching children in Sunday school, or English as a Second Language using the Bible. Perhaps it might be by praying for those whose lives are at risk because of their testimony to Christ, or befriending and welcoming people at church, sharing the gospel with a friend, or taking up leadership within your church. It might be by giving generously to missionary activity, or the host of other ordinary but important tasks that support the ministry of the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Such things demonstrate partnership with God in his purposes in his world. They may not result in human praise, and they may often be quiet, costly and unnoticed by human beings. However, such actions seek the glory of the Lord and will be recognised by him for what they are on the day that he returns.
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