Introduction to the Exodus Story

            The Bible views the Exodus from Egypt as a foundational event of the Jewish religion. Israelite ritual, law and ethics are often grounded in the precedent and memory of the Exodus. In the Ten Commandments, Yahweh identifies himself as the one “who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” The deliverance from Egypt is the main historical warrant for the covenanted religious bond between Yahweh and his people Israel.

            Before analyzing some of the events that occurred in the Book of Exodus, it will be helpful to briefly summarize these events. The following summary is based on JPS Torah Commentary – Exodus, Nahum M. Sarna, General Editor, The Jewish Publication Society, New York, 1991.

I. Reversal of Fortune

1. The scene in Egypt begins where the story of Genesis leaves the Hebrew people in the land of Goshen, which was probably the area along the now extinct Pelusiac branch of the Nile, which is the easternmost branch of the Nile and which ended in an estuary located in the Sinai. The scene is set by naming the people who came to Egypt and describing how the Hebrews were being oppressed by Pharaoh[1]. The Pharaoh noticed how the Israelite people are much too numerous[2] and tried to prevent further increase in their numbers[3] by means of forced labor so they might not join the enemies of Egypt in fighting against Egypt[4].

2. The king of Egypt then spoke to the Hebrew midwives and ordered them to kill male infants born to Hebrew women. The women refused (Ex 1: 17). This civil disobedience was continued by Pharaoh’s own daughter[5] who saved Moses knowing it was a Hebrew child (Ex 2:7)[6]. Moses’s own mother was chosen to be his nurse.

II. Birth and Youth of Moses

1. When Moses was grown, he stopped an Egyptian from beating a Hebrew slave and struck down the Egyptian[7]. He also stopped two Hebrews from fighting with each other. One of the slaves stated (at Ex 2:14): “Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses realized that it was known so he fled to the land of Midean.

2. There, he protected daughters of a Midianite priest[8] from bullying by shepherds, and married Zipporah, one of the daughters.

3. In Ex 2: 23-25, “…The Israelites were groaning under the bondage and cried out; and their cry for help from bondage rose up to God. God heard their moaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.

III. The Commissioning of Moses and Moses’s actions

1. While Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, (Ex 3:2-6)[9] : “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed. Moses said, ‘I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: ‘Moses! Moses!’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ And He said, ‘Do not come closer. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I am, ‘He said, ‘the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[10] And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” Note, it is part of a ritual to remove shoes before entering a holy place so no dirt from outside is brought into the holy place[11]. Note also that God (or God’s representative, the angel) calls twice to Moses. This seems to be a pattern of God using the person’s name twice. Also, Moses initially refuses the call[12] in the same manner as Gideon refuses the call. That is the pattern seems to be: a commission; an objection; a reassuring word from God or a rejoinder; and a sign of some sort. This pattern seems to apply to Saul as well. This may reflect the influence of the Priestly author as priests often follow formulas.

2. God instructed Moses that He had heeded the outcry of His people in Egypt and intends to (Ex 3:8) “ rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey[13].”

3. God said to Moses (Ex 3:10): “Come, therefore, I will send you to Pharaoh, and you shall free My people, the Israelites, from Egypt[14].”

4. Moses demurs (Ex 3:11), “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites from Egypt? God denies the demurrer and instructs Moses to free the people and bring them to “worship God at this mountain.” (Ex 3:12). At this point, it might be noted that since Moses had been raised as an Egyptian, it is likely that the slaves would not have trusted him. Merely because he states that God had instructed him to lead them out of Egypt simply would not have been enough to persuade the people to leave their homes and follow him. In fact, there may even have been tension between those slaves who wished to practice some form of monotheism as opposed to the religion of Egypt and those who practiced that Egyptian religion. As such, those monotheistic followers may even have believed that Moses, the Egyptian who had been raised in the Pharoah’s own home, was an agent provocateur intending to lead them to their deaths at the hands of the authorities. Of course, Moses would hesitate to take on this task.

5. In 3:13-15, God and Moses discuss God’s name. Moses asserts that he cannot go to the people without knowing a name in case they ask (which, by the way, they never did). God rebuts (responds? evades? dismisses?) this and provides several answers: “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh[15],” “The Lord God of your fathers,” “the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the god of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. Perhaps the vagueness of the answer is meant to imply that God is not a namable entity, but rather is a theology. Perhaps the vagueness of the answer is meant to imply that God is not a namable entity, but rather is a theology. One can follow a theology easier than an entity. Still futher, establishing a name for God in essence diminishes Him toward our level. Perhaps for this reason, the authors of the Bible chose to identify God by His functions and powers rather than by any specific identifier.

Still further with regard to God’s “name”, it is noted by Rabbi Wayne Doscick in The Real Name of God (Inner Traditions Press, Rochester, 2012), the name of God changes as the people change. This would be consistent with the theocentric overarching theme of the Bible that the Bible tells the story of how people got to a particular time and place in partnership with their god since the views, and hence name, of God would change as the people progressed through time and space.

Still further, in 6:2, God tells Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make myself known to them by My name YHWH”. One wonders what God meant. Surely God revealed himself to the Patriarchs, and they called Him something. Since the story of Exodus is the story of the transformation of Israel from individuals and individual clans into a nation, perhaps this statement has more to do with God revealing Himself to individual clans one way and to a nation in another way.

As will be discussed in the essay “Thoughts on the Exodus Story,” this episode occurs in time to prevent the people from totally forgetting their ancestors and their ancestory and hence becoming assimilated into Egyptian culture and losing the religion and the covenant between God and them via Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Hence, the question posed by Moses as to who are you indicates that perhaps the people, and even Moses, may have forgotten, or at least are in danger of forgetting, who their god is.

6. God instructs Moses to go to the people and state (Ex 3:15): “Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” and that God will take them out of their misery to a land flowing with milk and honey.

In Ex 3:18, God further instructs Moses to go to the Elders of Israel and to the King of Egypt and request that the Israelites be granted permission to go into the wildenrness for three days to sacrifice to their God. As will discussed elsewhere, this sacrifice involved sacrificing an animal that was an abomination to the Egyptians. Such an act is a clear challenge to both the king of Egypt and to the citizens of Egypt and would result in a complete ostrization of the people making such a sacrifice. Such an act would seal the deal for leaving Egypt.

The instruction in 3:18 seems to conflict with the view of God as an entity that gave the commandment “Thou shalt not lie”. That is, this instruction seems to be crafted to deceive, if not actually lie to, the King of Egypt by implying that the people only wanted to leave so they could worship and then after three days they would return, but omitting the fact that the people planned to flee – permanently. This raises the question of whether God is condoning, or actually encouraging, lies. It cannot be rationalized away by saying that the lie was directed to a non-believer, as God seems to pride Himself on being the god of all (see God’s reaction to the drowning of the Egyptians at the Red Sea, His reaction to Jonah regarding the pagans of Nineveh, etc.). Nor can it be rationalized by saying that God can deceive pagans, wicked forces[16] because those forces are viewing their actions as right with their god(s) and hence they are right from a relative viewpoint. Certainly, they should not be viewed as being so wrong as to desrve deception by God. Perhaps it can be accepted if it is viewed in the context of God saving His chosen people from annihilation through assimilation.

7. Moses was instructed to next go to the king of Egypt and say (Ex 3:19): “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, manifested Himself to us. Now therefore, let us go a distance of three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God[17].” God told Moses that the king will allow them to go only because His hand is mightier than the king’s hand. Therefore, God told Moses that He would smite Egypt with various wonders. God also told Moses that the Hebrews would not leave empty handed and the Hebrews would have silver and gold, clothing from the Egyptians (Ex 3:22).

8. Moses stated that he was afraid that the people would not believe him and doubt that the Lord appeared to him. God instructed Moses to perform several magic tricks: casting a rod onto the ground and the rod would turn into a snake; then picking up the snake and having it turn back into a rod; then having Moses’s hand become crusted with snowy scales and then having the scales disappear; then pouring water from the Nile onto the ground and having the water turn into blood.

9. Moses still protested stating that he was slow of speech and slow of tongue (Ex 4:10). Moses then asked God to make someone else His agent. God then told Moses to use Aaron as his spokesman[18].

10. Moses then took his wife and sons back to Egypt.

11. Moses was instructed to perform the magic tricks for Pharaoh and God would stiffen his heart so that he would not let the people go. Moses was instructed to say to Pharaoh (Ex 4:23)[19]: “Thus says the Lord: Israel is My first born son. I say to you, ‘Let My son go, that he may worship Me,” yet you refuse to let him go. Now I will slay your first-born son.”

12. Ex 4:24: “At a night encampment on the way, the Lord encountered him and sought to kill him. So Zipporah circumcised Moses so God let Moses alone.

13. Then God gave further instructions to Aaron to meet Moses at the mountain of God.

14. Moses and Aaron spoke to the people and convinced them that God would take them out of Egypt.

15. Moses and Aaron then tried unsuccessfully to convince the Pharaoh, who was unconvinced (Ex 5:2): “Who is the Lord that I should heed Him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go. In fact, Pharaoh increased the burdens on the Israelites by prohibiting them from using straw for the bricks that they were charged with making (Ex 5:7). It might be worth noting at this point that many people blame the Pharaoh for not recognizing the god of Moses. However, we should ask ourselves why we would be harder on Pharaoh than on even Moses? Remember that Moses, like every other human, including Abram, through Gideon and others, did not, at first know who this entity was that was calling on them to perform some task. They all questioned him and required some sort of sign (including Abram, see the essay “Partners”). We are specifically told that this Pharaoh did not know Joseph, so why would he know the god of Joseph? Pharaoh’s question “Who is this lord and why should I heed him?” is quite reasonable and would have been accepted if it had come from one of our Patriarchs and is only denigrated because the text has conditioned us to do so.

16. Of course, the people blamed Moses.

17. The tete té tete between Moses, Aaron and Pharaoh continued and God visited ten plagues[20] on Egypt, culminating in the killing of the Egyptian first born.

            (a) Ex 12:3- 13:”on the tenth of this month[21] each of them shall take a lamb[22] to a family, a lamb to a household…You shall keep watch over it until the fourteenth day of this month; and all the assembled congregation of the Israelites shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts of the lintel of the houses in which they are to eat it. You shall eat the flesh that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. ….For that night I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down every first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and I will mete out punishment to all the gods of Egypt, I the Lord. And the blood on the houses where you are staying shall be a sign for you: when I see the blood I will pass over you, son that no plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

            (b) The act took place in the middle of the night, and Pharaoh arose and summoned Moses and Aaron and told them to depart. He told them to take their flocks and herds with them.

            (c) The Israelites took their dough before it was leavened and left.

            (d) The Egyptians also gave them objects of silver and gold.

IV. The Exodus

1. The Israelites left from Ramses to Succoth, about 600,000 men on foot. (Ex 12:37).

2. Ex 12:40: “The length of time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.” (Note: Compare this time to the time when the Temple was constructed – not to the time the Israelites actually spent in Egypt[23]).

3. The people went a roundabout way[24] with at least one sudden change in direction at Etham to Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea before Baal-zephon (Ex 13:20) (see page 108 of Sarna), by way of the wilderness at the Sea of Reeds. The people were armed (Ex 13:18).

4. The Lord went with the Israelites in a pillar of cloud by day, to guide them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light that they might travel day and night[25]. Ex 12:21-22.

5. The people doubled back (Ex 14:2). This was meant to give the impression that the people had lost their way (Ex 14:3) so Pharaoh would pursue them and God could once more prove His power to the Egyptians.

6. Pharaoh ordered his chariots to pursue, 600 picked chariots (Ex 14:6), including himself.

7. When the Israelites saw the pursuers, they panicked and considered surrendering to the Egyptians (Ex 14:12)[26].

8. God told Moses to lift up his rod and hold out his arm over the sea and split it so the Israelites may march into the sea on dry ground (Ex 14:15-31). God made the Egyptians follow. Ex 14:19: “The angel of God, who had been going ahead of the Israelite army, now moved and followed behind them; and the pillar of cloud shifted from in front of them and took up a place behind them, and it came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel. Thus there was the cloud with the darkness, and it cast a spell upon the night so that one could not come near the other all through the night. Then Moses held out his arm over the sea and the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind all that night, and turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split, and the Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the wares forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians came in pursuit after them into the sea, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen. At the morning watch, the Lord looked upon the Egyptian army from a pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He locked the wheels of their chariots so that they moved forward with difficulty. And the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.’ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Hold out your arm over the sea,that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians and upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. Moses held out his arm over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state, and the Egyptians fled at its approach. But the lord hurled the Egyptians into the sea. The waters turned back and covered the chariots and the horsemen – Pharaoh’s entire army that followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites had marched through the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left[27]. Thus the Lord delivered Israel that day from the Egyptians. Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea. And when Israel saw the wondrous power which the Lord had wielded against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord; they had faith in the Lord and His servant Moses[28].”

V. The Song at the Sea

            1. After the events at the Sea of Reeds, the Israelis broke out into a spontaneous, lyrical outpouring of emotion glorifying God to celebrate the mighty acts of God as He intervenes in human affairs. The song presented in chapter 15 is a retelling of the previous events. Chapter 15 is poetry and is meant as celebration and the previous chapters are prose and are meant as narrative. The first song is sung by the men, and this song is answered by the women in 15:19-21.

            2. There is a shift in focus such as to God saving the people and hurling the enemy to his destined fate. It is the “right hand of God” that is extended over the sea, not the hand of Moses. There is no mention of the angel, the cloud and the darkness that had been previously mentioned.

            3. Since there is no intermediary (Moses, cloud, angel) there is a shift in this Song to a God that is direct, unmediated, personal and manifest to mankind.

            4. As noted in the JPS commentary associated with this section of Exodus: “The song at the Sea assumed a special place in the Jewish liturgy quite early. In the days of the Second Temple it was customary for a Levitical choir to accompany priestly tamid offering on Sabbath afternoons with a singing of the shirah in two parts….This daily recitation assumed ever greater meaning as an affirmation of God’s moral governance of the world, itself an assurance of the ultimate and inevitable downfall of tyrants. Such unassailable convictions took on increasing significance for Jews during the long dark nights of exile and persecution.”

VI. Crises in the Wilderness[29]

            1. Now the people begin a long trek through the wilderness toward the Promised Land.

            2. The first crisis is a shortage of water

                        1. the people grumbled at Moses complaining that the water was bitter.

                        2. Moses cried out to the Lord and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water and it became sweet (Ex 15:26).

            3. The next crisis was a crisis of food

                        1. “And the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread for you from the sky, and the people shall go out and gather each day that day’s portion – that I may thus test them, to see whether they will follow My instructions or not. But on the sixth day, when they apportion what they have brought in, it shall prove to be double the amount they gather each day.” (Ex 16:4-5)[30].

                        2. Further, the Lord sent quail to the people (Ex 16:13).

                        3. Some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather (Ex 16:27), and the Lord was angry: “How long will you people refuse to obey My commandments and My teachings?” The food was named Manna, it was coriander seed, and it tasted like wafers in honey.

                        4. The people encountered yet another water crisis at Rephidim and they again quarreled with Moses and question God’s providence “Why did you bring us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” (Ex 17:3). And “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Ex 17: 7).

                        5. Moses asked God for help, and God replied: “Pass before the people; take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take along the rod with which you struck the Nile, and set out. I will be standing there before you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock and water will issue from it, and the people will drink.”

            4. The next crisis is a battle with Amalek[31]

                        1. Moses recruits Joshua (is this the first time Joshua is mentioned?) to fight the battle and instructs Joshua that he (Moses) will be on top of a hill with the rod of God in his hand. When Moses raised his hand, the Israelites prevailed, when Moses let his hand down, the Amalekites prevailed. So Moses Aaron and Hur (who is Hur? See page 122 of Sarna) supported his arm[32].

VII. Jethro’s Visit and the Organization of the Judiciary

                        1. At this point, Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law and a Midinite priest takes Moses’s wife and his two sons to visit Moses.

                        2. Jethro acknowledges God as the deliverer of the Israelites from Egypt[33].

                        3. Jethro instructs Moses[34] on organizing the judiciary[35].

VIII. The Covenant at Sinai (Ex 20:1-17)

            1. Approximately three months after they left Egypt, the Israelites enter Sinai and encamped in front of “the” mountain[36] (Ex 19:2).

            2. The Lord spoke to Moses (Ex 19:3- 6): “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob and declare to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Me. Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine, but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’”

            3. The people agree (Ex 19:7): “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do!”

            4. The Lord tells Moses (Ex 19:9): “I will come to you in a thick cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.”

            5. The people were warned to stay pure and to wash their clothes.

            6. Amid much smoke, noise and earth trembling, the Lord and Moses spoke, and God told Moses to “go down and come back together with Aaron.”

            7. God then in Ex 20:1-14 presented Moses with the words[37] associated with the covenant between God and the people Israel[38]. The words spoken by God in 20:1-14 are generally referred to as the Ten Commandments and are not a legal system and only express general principles of right and wrong. They do not contain provisions for enforcement, as such they are apodictic in nature (that is, they are absolute and do not contain any sanctions for their violation; whereas, a casustic statement is in the form of “if” “then” which means that “if” you do “this” “then” “this” will be the consequence). Since these words are apodictic, it appears that these words were not intended to be a criminal code, but merely guidelines. However, a “then” consequence might be implied in these words. That is, “if” the word (such as “you shall have no other gods beside me[39]”) is violated by the people, “then” God can dissolved the partnership and the people will not be delivered to the land that was promised to their ancestors and first human members to the partnership. For this reason, many have read into the apodictic words a “then” clause making them casustic and hence amenable to being “laws”.

            8. After these commandments are given, God, through Moses, instructs the Israelites not to fear God, but to use that “fear” to refrain from sinning.

IX. The Covenant Code (Ex 20:22-23:19)[40]

            1. Exodus 21:1-23:19, describes the ceremonies and rituals attendant upon the ratification of the covenant between God and Israel. This is called the Covenant Code or the Book of the Covenant[41]. These are not laws, but are about holiness and holy living whereby a community that labels itself holy is provided guidance on how to live and behave.

            2. The Covenant Code deals slavery, the death penalty, the infliction of physical injury by one person on another or on animals, property and the seduction of an unmarried virgin.

            3. The Code is formulated in terms of specific concrete situations in life that are presented hypothetically and from which the legal consequences are drawn[42].

            4. There are many questions associated with the Covenant Code, and some of these questions will be considered in the Discussion Questions (Questions 87 +) following the essay “Thoughts on the Exodus Story”.

X. The Tabernacle, the Priesthood and the Golden Calf

            1. The Lord now gives explicit instructions for building a Tabernacle and the alter (Ex 25:6+): “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. Exactly as I show you – the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings – so shall you make it.” (Ex 25: 9). If the story had ended before the Tabernacle story, it would have been that God delivered Israel out of Egypt, entered into a covenant with them at Sinai and given the people instructions on how to obey Him. However, adding the story of the Tabernacle (which forms nearly 1/3 of the entire book), shows how God remained with the people and shows how the people reach each time and place with the continued partnership with God so the teaching of the Bible remains relevant. The Tabernacle can be viewed as intensifying the experience at Mt. Sinai and relocates the Sinai experience from far away on a cloud-shrouded mountaintop to an incarnate embodiment that they, themselves, have built. The amount of coverage given to the details of the Tabernacle shows how important worship is to the people.

            2. The Lord then gives instructions regarding priests (Ex 28:1): “You shall bring forward your brother Aaron, with his sons, from among the Israelites, to serve Me as priests.” And specific instructions for how those priests shall be adorned and what they shall wear and how they are to be consecrated and ordained.

            The Tabernacle will be covered in more detail in the Discussion Question Section associated with this essay (see Questions 7 et seq).

            3. Next, the crisis of the Golden Calf occurs[43].

                        1. This crisis is inserted into the account of the Tabernacle and Priests and separates the disclosure of the instructions from the report of their implementation.

                        2. Because the people had learned to depend on Moses as the mediator between them and God and because they had depended on Moses to lead them, his extended absence on the mountain created great anxiety.

                        3. The people asked Aaron to make a god who would go before them.

                        4. Aaron gave them instructions and then built the golden calf (Ex 31: 3-4). Aaron gives the people instructions on how to build the Golden Calf (Ex 31:2-5): “Aaron said to them, ‘Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’ And all the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. This he took from them and cast in a mold, and made it into a molten calf. And they exclaimed, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ When Aaron saw this, he built an alter before it; and Aaron announced: ‘Tomorrow shall be a festival of the Lord!’”

                        5. The people did so[44].

                        6. Meanwhile, up on the mountain, God warned Moses about the people’s actions and informed him of His anger.

                        7. Moses tried to intervene on behalf of the people, arguing that if God destroyed the people, the Egyptians would interpret this as being evil (Ex 32:11-12): “Let not Your anger, O Lord, blaze forth against Your people, whom You delivered from the land of Egypt, with great power and with a might hand. Let not the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that He delivered them, only to kill them off in the mountains and annihilate them from the face of the earth.’” Moses also reminded God of His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob regarding their offspring being numerous as the stars of the heaven and His promise of a land. God was persuaded and renounced the punishment He had planned.

                        8. Moses then took the tablets with the commandments on them down the mountain.

                        9. When he saw the festival, Moses hurled the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. He burned the golden calf, ground it to powder, mixed the powder with water and made the people drink it.

                        10. Moses then confronts Aaron (Ex 32:21-24) and Aaron basically uses the excuse of “I do not know what happened, it just happened” (Ex 32:24): “I hurled it into the fire and out came this calf!” Aaron basically throws the people under the bus.

                        11. Moses saw that the people were out of control and blamed Aaron for letting them get out of control. So Moses stood up and said: “Whoever is for the Lord, come here!” And the Levites rallied to him and followed his instructions to kill. Moses told the Levites (Ex 32:29: “Dedicate yourselves to the Lord this day – for each of you has been against son and brother – that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”

                        12. Moses then went back to God and tried to intercede for the people by offering himself up (Ex 32:32): “Now, if You will forgive their sin; but if not erase me from the record which you have written”. God relented but warned that there would be an accounting (Ex 32:34) and sent a plague upon the people (Ex 32:35).

            4. The people now continue on with their journey.

            5. However, God withdraws his direct contact from the people: (Ex 33:3): “But I will not go in your midst, since you are a stiffnecked people, lest I destroy you on the way.”

            6. The story of the tent then continues with the pillar of cloud descending on the tent and God speaking directly to Moses “face to face, as one man speaks to another” (Ex 33:11), but would not leave the tent.

            7. Moses asked God to allow him to behold God’s presence, and God answered (Ex 33:19-23): “And He answered, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim before you the name Lord, and the grace that I grant and the compassion that I show. But, you cannot see my face, for man may not see Me and live. And the Lord said, see there is a place near Me. Station yourself on the rock and, as My Presence passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and shield you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”

            8. God then instructed Moses to carve new tablets to replace the ones he destroyed at the festival of the Golden Calf.

            9. God then gave Moses instructions in the law and in the duties of the people. Again, Moses was with God for forty days and forty nights. Moses had a glow to his face which frightened the people so he kept a veil on his face. Moses spoke with God several times after this (each time removing the veil from his face).

            10. At the end of Exodus, Moses is prevented from entering the tent whenever the cloud was covering the tent and the Israelites were sent out on their journeys (Ex 40:35-38): “Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it and the Presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. When the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the Israelites would set out, on their various journeys; but if the cloud did not lift, they would not set out until such time as it did lift. For over the Tabernacle a cloud of the Lord rested by day, and fire would appear in it by night, in the view of all the house of Israel throughout their journeys.” In fact, there is some basis for concluding that offerings at the entrance of the Tabernacle were made by Aaron and his sons, and not Moses, thereby implying that Moses was already out by this time.

XI. Closing of the play

            The climax of the Book of Exodus is the moving of the cloud that symbolizes Divine presence from Mt. Sinai’s peak to over the tabernacle. It should be observed that Moses was not permitted to enter the Tent of Meeting because “the cloud had settled upon it and the Presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.” (Ex 40:31).

XII. Summary of observations

            The following presents a short summary of the observations made by Nahum Sarna in the cited book “Exploring Exodus”.

1. No record of a large body of people leaving Egypt in that era[45]

2. No record of a large body of people wondering through the desert in Sinai in that era

3. Both of the above can be somewhat attributed to large land areas and lost and changing records[46]

4. There are two conflicting accounts of the conquest of the Promised Land in the Bible: The Book of Joshua (a swift military conquest of the entire land) and The Book of Judges (a long, uneven conquest of the land – although this could have occurred after the initial conquest and the people had settled down and had begun to be assimilated, so the Book of Judges was about the evils of assimilation, not conquest. But the Book of Judges opens with a variation of the account of the conquest, which suggests a more complicated initial conquest.).

5. The overriding aim of the biblical writers was to present a theological or theocentric, didactic description of events that told the people listening to the story where they came from, how they got to where they are now, how their beliefs (in one god and that that god is superior to all other gods) are supported, and to teach these people moral lessons. The establishment of the most desirable behavior of human beings toward one another and the ordering of the proper relationships between humankind and God are the dominant concern of the Scriptures. Consciousness of the covenant suffuses all aspects of the Bible, and most especially after Sinai. After Sinai, all events are measured according to the extent of the people’s fidelity to or infraction of the covenant. The people are required to live ethical, principled and justice-driven lives both personally and politically[47]. Violations of the commandments thus are not only a violation of law, they are a sin. Murder is a violation of law and a sin, etc.

6. The people writing this history were convinced that Devine sovereignty purposefully operates and controls human events to the advantage of those who follow this god’s rules and to the disadvantage of anyone else who does not worship and follow this god[48]. The writers were intent on showing this to be true based on history. Thus, not only was the Torah a historical document, it was also a document of faith and instruction.

7. Sarna provides several points regarding Exodus:

            1. It continues and further emphasizes the story of a God who is manifest and involved in the affairs of His creation and cares about it. This story is begun in Genesis.

            2. It continues and further emphasizes the story of a God who is outside history and place and controls history and is not tied to any one place or time.

            3. It continues and emphasizes the story of a God who demands morality and allegiance and punishes those that do not meet those requirements.

            4. It continues and emphasizes the story of a God who is dominant over all others and over all other gods.

            5. It continues and emphasizes the story of a God who is dominant over nature.

            6. It continues and emphasizes the story of a God who deplores and punishes oppressors and those who follow injustice.

            7. It explains what the definition of morality and justice are, and then shows a god who punishes those who follow immorality and injustice and rewards those who follow morality and justice.

            8. It is the transition from a story of individuals and their individual god to a nation and its god, a transition from monolatry to monotheism[49].

            9. The overriding aim of the biblical writers was to present a theological or theocentric, didactic description of events. It might be added that the redactor, Ezra, was intent on teaching the people how to act and how to get back with their god. Thus, the events were selected, arranged and edited to fulfill this purpose. Ezra used the work of the J, E, P and D authors, who may have been, or possibly included, prophets and priests as well as sages and who also selected, arranged and edited stories, be they oral or written, to make their points. With the prophets, the point was that the upper classes were oppressing and exploiting the lower classes so the prophets advocated for social justice; the priests advocated for their positions as intermediaries between the people and God. The final product of the redactor, possibly Ezra, reflects the manuscripts that he had to work with as well as his own philosophy and objective[50]. The redactor also worked in the history that he knew of. For example, he knew of the stories of the people when the first settled the land, and such knowledge was reflected in the way he redacted the stories of the Judges, and so forth.

            10. One of the main themes of the Bible is the struggle against assimilation. Paganism is one step, an important step at that, toward assimilation. This struggle is begun in Exodus as the patriarchs did not seem to have a problem co-existing with people who worshiped idols. This could mean that the stories of the patriarchs were more concerned with the beginnings, or it could mean that the priestly source was more involved in Exodus[51].

            11. Exodus begins the concept of a national covenant between God and a nation (as opposed to a covenant between God and individuals); the insistence on the exclusive worship of one God; banning the representation of God in a corporeal form; the emergence of a messenger-prophet; the power of the one God over all others. This seems to be the first application of monotheism[52].

INTRODUCTION TO THE EXODUS STORY

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

            1. In Ex 20:13, God states: “You shall not murder.” What is the difference between “murder” and “kill”? If there is a difference, does this commandment allow one to kill another. If so, does this mean that what Simeon and Levi did at Shechem was permitted? What about an accident? What about involuntary acts where someone dies? What about war?

            2. In Ex 20:13, God commands: “You shall not commit adultery.” Does this cover sexual relations between a man and a married prostitute? Rape of a married woman? Homosexuality? Does this cover a situation where a man is not aware that the woman is married? Is adultery a sin against God or a sin against the person’s spouse? Could idolatry be considered a form of adultery?

            3. In 20:13, it is commanded “Thous shalt not steal.” What theft is being prohibited? What constitutes “stealing” for the purposes of this commandment? Is force required (if it is, then Rachel did not “steal” Laban’s gods)? Is embezzlement “stealing” within this prohibition? Can you envision a situation where stealing is acceptable?

            4. In 20:13, it is commanded “Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Does this include gossip? What if the gossip proves to be true? What about spreading rumors? Do you think bearing false witness harms the individual neighbor or the entire community, or both? How could such activity harm an entire community?

            5. In 20:14, it is commanded: ‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house…or anything else that is your neighbor’s.” Pirke Avot 4.1says “Who is rich, one who rejoices in his portion.” If one follows the Pirke Avot, do you think he will fall afoul of this commandment?

            6. Do you think there could be a Jewish religion without the story of Exodus?

            The Tabernacle

1. Are there any Near Eastern parallels for the details of the Tabernacvle (see, for example, Summarian tets from near the end of the third millennium BC, Akkadian text by Samsuiluna, King of Babylon from 1749-1712 BC, Ugarit)?
2. The instructions for building the Tabernacle are extremely detailed and intricate. Do you think Moses wrote them down? If he needed to write these down, how did he remember the entire Torah?
3. It is noted in 25:3 that the people are to make contributions to the fund for building the Tabernacle (could this be the first “building fund” so many modern congregants are familiar with?), of gold, silver, bronze, expensive mateials, and the likie. Apparently, these people had these treasures with them (see 3:21-22, 11:2, 12:35-36). Do you think having such treasure made the Israelites targets of desert thieves and maruarders? Could this be why they were attacked while they were in the desert?
4. What do you think the Israelite religion in the desert would look like without the Ark of the Covenant? Is there any analogy between the Ark of the Covenant and the cross for Christianity?
5. In 25:29-30, God provides instructions regarding bowls, libations, bread to be placed on a table “before Me always.”(See, also 30:9). Doesn’t this anthropomorphize God?
6. What are Urim and Thummin referred to in 28:30? What is their function? Are they even plural or singular?
7. What is the purpose of the bells in 28:34?
8. Why is it so important for the priests to wear undergarments (linen breeches) that 28:43 makes a priest’s failure to wear such underwear punishable by death? This is similar to the penalty stated in 30:20-21 which prescribes death to a priest who does not wash his hands when entering the Tent of the Meeting. It seems that being a priest is a very dangerous profession. Is this to enhance the standing of priests?
9. There are instructions for clothing to cover the priest’s entire body – except his feet. Presumably, the priest is barefoor. Does this echo the admonition that Moses remove his sandals before he approaches the Burning Bush? Is there some parallel?
10. What is “alien incense” noted in 30:9?
11. What is the “expiation tax” mentioned in 30:15-16? Is it similar to the “indulgences” so abhorrant to Martin Luther?
12. Ex 31:2 identifies a workman “Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur,” Is this the same Hur who is identified in Ex 17:10? If not, who is he that he receives special note by God? In v 3, Bezalel is filled with the spririt of God. Is this similar to the Holy Spirit of the Christian Bible? It might be noted that such Holy Spirt is not mentioned with regard to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Aaron (the supreme priest), or even Moses. Why is this person singled out for such a gift when the Patriarchs are not?
13. In 31:12-17, God instructs the people to rest on the Sabbath. There is no instructions to worship on the Sabbath, only that the people refrain from work (note also the fourth commandment, Ex 20:8-11, requires only rest, not worship). Why is this? Could it be that the rest is to commemorate God’s day of rest?

---

^[1] According to Sarna, the term “Pharaoh” was used like our term “White House” or “City Hall” to refer to a seat of power rather than a particular person. Furthermore, according to Sarna, the Israelites were slaves to Pharaoh and were not slaves as we think of the term as being applied to a person who is in servitude to another individual. The Israelites were state slaves like many others in Egypt at the time. Still further, if this is the case, according to Sarna, the Israelites had Joseph to thank for their station because it was Joseph who invented the idea of the state nationalizing all farms and labor for its use. Thus, it was Joseph who invented the idea that everyone must work for the state rather than for themselves or for immediate employers. Doees this mean that it was Joseph who invented communism?

[2] This fruitfulness seems to raise an inconsistency. All through Genesis, God was telling His people to be fruitful and multiply. Yet when they do become fruitful and multiply thus fulfilling God’s wishes, God allows Pharaoh to punish them for being fruitful and multiplying.

[3] One would think that this Pharaoh would have known that a member of this tribe, Joseph, saved all of Egypt from starvation and would have paid proper homage to these people. At least he would not have feared them. Could this be the first recorded instance of anti-Semitism?

^[4] According to Sarna, page 15-17, prior to the time the Israelites lived in Egypt, Egypt had just expelled the Hyksos who had seized power and had ruled Egypt for approximately 100 years. The Exodus episode may have been as much as two hundred years after the Hyksos domination, but the Egyptians may have long memories and did not want to take a chance of being dominated again; therefore, they were extremely harsh on foreigners. Or it might simply have been that the Hebrews were among that class of people covered by corvée, or statute labor, and thus simply been laborers who built the pyramids and the like.

[5] It is noted that women in ancient Egypt could, on their own initiative, adopet and often did so.

[6] See the painting “The Finding of Moses” by Paolo Veronese.

^[7] This episode, combined with the episode at the well where Moses met Zipporah, shows that Moses had a high regard for human dignity, high enough so that he would willingly sacrifice his self-interest to his outrage at the degradation of a human being or the oppression of the weak by the strong. Note that this instinct follows the teaching of the prophets at the time of the fall of the Norther Kingdom when J and E were writing the Bible.

^[8] This man is given several names in the Bible, including Hobab, but the one most used is “Jethro”. However, Sarna observes (at page 36) “Jethro” may have been a priestly title which, in fact, may even mean “His Excellency”. This priest is shown to be a friend of Moses and a source of legal procedure in later portions of Exodus. Perhaps the P source, being a priest, revised the J and E text to cast the priest in a good light and to show him as a source of the legal procedure, which would be expected of a priest.

[9] See the painting “Moses at the Burning Bush” by Jacopo Vignali.

[10] Note that God did not provide His name because knowing one’s name allows you to have some control over that person or at least elevates you toward that entity’s level. Instead, God said He was to be called a name that really has no human meaning. The Bible refers to Him as YHWH, which is a combination of the first letters of the words for Eternally existing, past, present and future” and is based on the verb”to be” or the one who is eternal.

^[11] Could this be an attempt by the Priestly Author (P) to further the prestige of the priesthood by having God instruct Moses to carry out a priestly ritual? Also note that anytime Moses is to carry out a task, it must first be identified by God and then Moses is given specific instructions from which he cannot stray (see, for example, Numbers 20:1-13 where Moses comes to grief for not exactly following God’s specific instructions, as well as Aaron’s sons). Again, it appears that only the priests are capable of doing this task and others should not attempt it on their own.

            Also note that the site of the burning bush, like the site of Mt. Sinai, are not now sites of pilgrimages. In fact, these sites are unknown. This shows that the God of Israel is outside of geography, and a site becomes holy because God made it so, not because it was holy and God visited there because it was holy. The geographic location of Mt. Sinai is much debated. Some (e.g., Emmanuel Anati) identify Har Karkom, a mountain ridge in the Negev desert, others have nominated the mountain called Jebel Musa near St. Catherine’s Monastery in the southern Sinai.

                Still further, by identifying Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and showing Himself in the burning bush, God made Himself manifest to mankind. As discussed elsewhere, how can one (monotheistic) god be both manifest and transcendent?

                It must also be noted that God’s name is changed here. It was El Shaddai to the Patriarchs, and it now becomes YHVH. In Exodus 6:2-3, it is reported that God said to Moses: “I am the Lord (could this be YHVH?). I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself known to them by My name YHVH.” Could this be another attempt by the Priestly author to change God from one who speaks directly to a person, as He did in Genesis, to one who communicates to a nation, and then only through chosen people (presumably, the priests)? Also, it might be observed that God is given several names in the Bible. Could the different names have been influenced by an influx of other religions, such as the Cannanite supreme God, El, who is the head of the Canaanite pantheon Elohim (the divine assembly of the seventy Canaanite gods)?

[12] Moses may refuse the call for several reasons: first, he probably remembers the incident that caused him to flee Egypt and does not trust the Hebrew slaves to follow him; second, he may be afraid to go back to Egypt since he might be arrested for killing the Egyptian overseer (Ex 2:11-15); and third, he may not believe this entity is “God,” and may not be willing to go back to Egypt and face what he will have to face based on this entity actually being God, if it is not God, then Moses may be taking a life-threatening risk.

^[13] Note that this statement appears to change the concept of the God/Man relationship from one where the god is perpetually antagonistic toward man and breaks his promises at his own whim and man must conduct his rituals so as to appease this god, to one where God is loving and merciful and keeps His promises and never deserts man, man only deserts God, and man’s rituals are conducted only to bring man closer to God. God has thus become a partner to man rather than an antagonist to man.

^[14] God is controlling events, and Moses is His agent.

[15] There are many possible translations of this term: “I am who I am,” I am who I was,” I am who I shall be,” I was who I am,” I was who I was,” I was who I shall be,” I shall be who I am,” “I was who I was,” “I was who I shall be,” “I shall be who I am,” “I shall be who I was,” “I shall be who I shall be.” Yet another interpretation is “He causes to be what is.” There are many names for God, see Section II of this essay for further names of God.

[16] See 2 Samuel 22:22-26 “With the loyal you deal loyally; with the blameless hero, blamelessly. With the pure You act in purity, And with the perverse You are wily.”

^[17] Note, God appears to be instructing Moses to lie to Pharaoh as the Israelites appear to be asking for a three day leave of absence to worship, which was not unusual, but imply that after the worship they will return as was the case with other such leaves of absence when, in fact, the God had no intention of having the Israelites return to Egypt after the leave of absence.

                Still further, this religious worship was to include the sacrifice of a lamb, which was an abomination to the Egyptian people. Pharaoh had to have some inkling that this request was not what it appeared on its surface to be, that of a simple respite to conduct a simple religious ceremony. Seen from Pharaoh’s perspective, Pharaoh was not all bad and evil as might otherwise appear.

^[18] It is interesting to observe that Aaron does not ask Moses for clear proof that God spoke to him, but accepts the tasks on Moses’s word. One would think that before agreeing to take on such a dangerous and difficult task, Aaron would ask a few questions and demand some sort of proof. This lack of inquiry seems to say that Aaron had greater insight and trust than Moses. Could the Priestly source have inserted Aaron in this manner to dilute the influence and credibility of Moses and give the Priests greater prestige?

[19] See the painting “Moses Being Tested by the Pharaoh” by Giorgione.

[20] See the painting “The Fifth Plague of Egypt” by J.W. Turner.

^[21] The Israelites were instructed that the month of the Exodus will be the start of the year. Thus, not only does the Exodus mark a break with the past, it marks the beginning of the future because a new calendar is also ordered. The calendar exerts a powerful influence on society. The calendar was based on a historical event rather than some physical event of nature or on some mythological event. However, it might also be observed that the calendar may have already been developed by the time the Priestly writer (P) was at work and this writer was merely editing the story to reflect events that already were in place so the story matched the facts as they were at the time of the writing. The calendar may have been a combination of the solar calendar and the lunar calendar as the people after they left Egypt and became farmers as well as nomads in the new land. A farmer will use a solar calendar for planting etc and a nomad will use a lunar calendar. Therefore, the people may have mixed the calendars prior to the time the Priestly source was at work and that source merely took that fact and worked backwards.

^[22] It is noted that sacrifice of a lamb would be an abomination to the Egyptians (also note that the animal sacrifice was a significant portion of the duties of the priests in the time of the Temple, thus the Priestly (P) source may have included this, along with the specific and detailed instructions, which would be followed by a priest, in the story as they were re-writing and editing it, as a way of enhancing and securing their positions). It is also noted that the instructions to the Israelites on how to prepare the lamb is such that the cooking smells will be very strong and thus all the Egyptians will know what is taking place. Thus, the people are instructed to literally “rub the Egyptians’ noses” in the ritual. The ritual is to take place in the homes of the Israelites. The Israelites are instructed to mark their doorposts. Thus, every measure is taken to clearly identify the homes and the people who are taking this action. Once this is done, there clearly will be no turning back. Any Israelite, any, will be subject to repercussions. Thus, no Israelite will be able to remain in Egypt after this event. Any Israelite who is on the fence or who does not want to go, will have to go (this could be the “strong hand” portion of the “outstretched arm and strong hand” statement as it took a strong hand to push some Israelites to leave).

                This also represents a tremendous act of faith on the part of a people. If God had not taken them out, they surely would have been slaughtered by Egyptians angry at the sacrilege. In fact, this represents a larger act of faith than Abraham’s act of faith with Isaac as that act was one man and did not put anyone in danger, not even Abraham, much less people who may not have agreed with the act. On the other hand, this act implicated every single Israelite.

                For that reason, it may be that the ten plagues were necessary for God to prove to the people that He was capable of protecting them and would protect them. It took such great acts to persuade the people to do such a tremendous act of faith.

^[23] The time of the Exodus is fixed at the thirteenth century B.C.E. and the time of the First Temple is ninth century B.C.E. – approximately four hundred years (it is noted that 1 Kings 6:1 dates the time of the erection of the First Temple in Jerusalem from the departure of the people from Egypt – the only event in the Bible that is dated based on the date of the departure from Egypt, it is also noted that the Haggadah dayyenu prayer staes “built the temple for us” clearly implying that the Temple was extant and had not been destroyed). The population of both kingdoms at that time may have been approximately 600,000 men. Thus, the numbers given in Exodus should be measured according to the time of the first temple. The Exodus was begun when some people (an unknown number, but surely a number that is small enough to not cause notice in Egyptian records and to be consistent with the number of people that would be included in the group after an 80 year stay in Egypt that began with 80 or so individuals) left Egypt and continues to the time of the First Temple. The Exodus era encompasses the period from Moses to the building of the First Temple. This could be the reason the Haggadah instructs the people celebrating Passover to act as though they are part of the people who left Egypt….because the story intends them to be: Exodus begins with leaving Egypt and continues until the Temple is built. It is also observed that by including the time of the building of the First Temple in the Exodus era, the Priestly writer could legitimately trace the priestly line directly back to Aaron, thereby enhancing and securing the position of the priests of the First Temple.

^[24] The exact route taken by the people is a mystery with no real archeological records that definitively mark that route. It is possible that the writers: (1) were not sure of the route; or (2) deliberately left it vague. As for option (1), one would think that such a momentous event would be recorded by God somewhere since it marks the birth path of His people and one would think God would want it remembered (on the other hand, however, God may not want it remembered so it is not enshrined and worshiped for its own attributes). As to option (2), the writers may have deliberately left the route vague to account for the wide dispersion of the people once they entered and occupied the land as it might be difficult to account for some of the people living so far away from their entrance location, also identifying the exact route might make some people more “holy” than others if they lived near the entrance location as they might be able to trace their lineage back to the original entrants in a manner that is more direct and stronger than those who lived farther away from that location. Also, not having any exact route may enhance the mystical nature of the journey.

^[25] It is noted that the pillar of smoke, like the burning bush, makes God manifest to man. This raises the question of how can a God be transcendent and manifest at the same time? Either God is manifest or He is transcendent. If God is manifest, then we might be able to attribute human traits to Him, including mercy; but if God is transcendent, then He is totally beyond us and there can only be consequences, justice, and not mercy for our faults. Since smoke is ephemeral and constantly changes, appears and disappears, a cloud of smoke would seem to be a compromise between keeping God unknown (hence transcendent) and known (hence manifest) so these people (who probably were still somewhat skeptical) could see something that showed God was with them. Also, the covenant entered into at Mt. Sinai presents a problem. One that is transcendent does not care about the people, hence, how can the people enter into a covenant with one who does not even know of their existence and does not care about them? Only a manifest God could enter into a covenant with the people at Sinai. See essay on God.

[26] In this action, Israel nearly parallels Jonah. Both are outside the geographic boundaries of the Promied Land so they wonder if God has power there; Jonah is paniced by a storm at sea, Israel is paniced by the pursuing Egyptians; Jonah feels that it is better to live than die, Israel feels that it is better to live in Egyt than to die in the desert, Moses calms the Israelites, God counterquestions Jonah; both become prophets spreading God’s wisdom to pagans.

[27] See the painting “Pharaoh and His Host Lost in the Red Sea” by Benjamin West.

[28] Also note that in Ex 14;4, God says that by the actions at the Red Sea, “the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” Since the pursuers have all been drowned including Pharaoh, this can only mean that other Egyptians not in the pursuing army will get word of the disaster and put that knowledge with the knowledge of the plagues and conclude that the god of the Israelites is more powerful than any Egyptian god. Obviously, this action clearly demonstrates God’s power to the Israelites and demonstrates that God will protect them – even outside the geographic boundaries of the Promised Land.

[29] As discussed elsewhere, see specifically the essay “Partners,” because He does not know the future, God tests the human entity that He is seeking to partner with. God tested Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. Now, God is testing the entire nation of Israel. Will they retain their faith? Will they continue to act in the way God expects of His partner who is being selected to be His representative to the rest of humanity – even before they have received any guidance (such as in the form of commandments or statutes or ordinances, but see, 16:4-5 where God specifically stated a rule; “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread for you from the sky, and the people shall go out and gather each day that day’s portion – that I may thus test them, to see whether they will follow My instructions or not. Not on the sixth day, where they apportion what they have brought in, it shall prove to be double the amount they gather each day.”)? This episode might also be a test of the people’s faith in God. God does not specify what will happen on the seventh day. If they gather only one day’s provisions they will be trusting God to provide for them on the seventh day. Likewise, the humans test God for food, water and protection in the desert.

[30] See the painting “The Gathering of Manna” by Bacchiacca and “Manna from Heaven” by Nicolas Poussin.

^[31] This is the first of many conflicts between the Israelites and the Amalekites (see Judges, for example). Amalek may have been related to Esau, and hence was an enemy of Jacob and his descendants. In fact, Amalek is not descended from Esau and a wife of Esau, but from Esau and a concubine, thus giving the Amalekites still lower status. This may have been a way of softening the accusation. But it may also have given them reason to try to prove themselves, or they may have felt threatened by the sudden appearance of a large group of people in the territory of the Amalekites (like the appearance of settlers in Indian territory in the United States), or they may simply have been rogues. See page 124 of Sarna. These people are described as not fearing God. God fearing is generally applied to people who will do the right ethical thing (the midwives who refused to kill the Hebrew children did not do so because they feared God).

[32] This episode is strikingly similar to the battled described in Book 15 of The Iliad (lines 310-320 in the translation by Stanley Lombardo and published by Hackett Publishing Company (Indianapolis, 1997)) where Apollo led the Trojans in battle against the Greeks. Apollo has in his hand an aegis which has a shaggy, electric glow and had been crafted by Hephaestus and given to Zeus for the routing of armies. It is reported that “As long as Apollo held the aegis still, soldiers on both sides were hit and went down. But when he looked the Greeks full in the face and shook the aegis, and yelled as only a god can, he shriveled their hearts and they lost their nerve.”

[33] Does this mean that Jethro, a Midianite priest, has converted to Yahwism? Is this a case of Henotheism? Or of Monolarty?

[34] Moses, the one that is designated by God to lead, is listening and following advice provided by a Midianite. Proverbs: “Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still;” A wise man listens to advice;” Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise”. Moses may be God’s designated representative, but he is humble and wise as demonstrated here.

^[35] This story is presented as taking place between the battle with the Amalekites and the revelation events at Mt. Sinai. There are some scholars and who believe the visit by Jethro occurred after the revelation at Sinai. Some postulate that the story is inserted to ease the literary tension associated with the war with the Amalekites and the revelation at Mt. Sinai. Others have postulated that there is a lost story of a treaty between the Israelites and the Kinites (Jethro is both a Midianite and a Kenite) (see page 128 of Sarna) and the story is inserted immediately after the story of the attack of the Amalekites to emphasize the treachery of the Amalekites and the friendship of the Kenites. The question must be raised as to why such a story would be lost and not retrieved by the authors. The case can be made that this story could go anywhere, as evidenced by the Deuteronomy reference, so why put it here or why put it where Deuteronomy put it? The reason could be that there was authority that the source of judicial procedures was the Midianites/Kenites and the authors of the Bible had to put some story in somewhere to show that source. If the story really had occurred, there would be no way for the authors to move it around, it would have occurred when it occurred and that would be that, the authors would have had no choice as to where to put the story. One author put the organization of the judiciary in at Deuteronomy Chapter 1 (DT 1:12-17) as occurring after the people left Mt. Horeb, and another author put it in during the story of  Exodus, and the insertion into Exodus is easiest at the time before the revelation at Mt. Sinai. Thus, it is a made-up story to explain how the Israelites obtained the rules of judicial procedure from another people and is placed where it fits easiest in an overall story. That, therefore, raises the possibility that the entire story of Exodus was made up to explain things. If one story can be made up, or put in where it may not have occurred, then that lends doubt to the entire tale.   

^[36] Until now, God has given to the nation Israel. Now, God will demand something in return: fidelity.

[37] The “words” are often referred to as “commandments” but are referred to as words: “God spoke all these words, saying:….” Ex 20:1.

[38] See the painting “Moses Receiving the Tablets of the Law” by Marc Chagall.

[39] This statement in 20:1 seems to imply that Yahweh recognizes that other humans recognize other gods and that such situation might entice the people standing at Sinai to accept those gods. This, indeed was the case in the book of Judges.

[40] Some scholars include Ex 23:20-33 with the Covenant Code, but those verses are a Divine sermonette which serves as an epilogue to the Code and is really not law, either apodictic (as 20:22-26) or casuistic (as 21:1-16).

[41] It appears that this code, or at least parts of it, is similar to, if not identical with, many Near Eastern Law Codes, such as Hammurabi’s Code, Eshnunna, the Hittite Law Code and the Middle Assyrian Law Code.

^[42] While these laws have a strong affinity to the legal culture of the times, there are striking differences: they place heavy emphasis on the concern for the unfortunates of society (the stranger must not be wronged, the widow and orphan not abused, the needs of the poor are protected, ethics in interpersonal dealings); the code also discusses prohibitions designed to maintain the integrity of the judicial system and to preserve the impartiality of justice; the institution and continuation of the Sabbath which is to be enjoyed by all, rich, poor, stranger, beasts of burden, slaves – all alike, the dignity and basic human needs of the borrower is upheld over the property rights of the lender, human life is sacred, slaves are recognized as human beings (Pg 181 of Sarna) and one is permitted to harbor a runaway slave without penalty or payment to the owner, and an admonition not to give recognition to any other gods by mentioning their names – this has the fingerprints of the Prophets all over it. The laws are directed to private matters of conscience and may run counter to self-interest or expediency. These matters are phrased as duties to God and are applied to all equally without regard to the social status of either the wrong-doer or the victim and the sacredness of human life is paramount – again reflecting the preachings of the Prophets; these laws are religious in nature whereas the laws of other people were secular in emphasis (the Torah commingles secular, religious, ethical and cultic to treat life holistically as a single whole which cannot be compartmentalized. The law is an ingredient in the Man-God relationship. Yet another difference between the law of Israel is that the law must be read orally to the people and accepted before it can be written down (Ezra read the Torah to the people). This reverses the process generally followed at the time of the king writing the law and then making the people aware of it.

                An eye-for-an eye. This rule is directed to those who could pay for an injury to someone inferior to them. Thus, for example, if a rich person knocked out the eye of a poor person, that rich person could not escape the rule of law by simply buying off the poor man – this clearly represents the prophets’ bias toward the weak and disadvantaged. Also, this law is read that one could obtain no more than an eye for an eye – this discourages the cycle of ever-increasing violence.

[43] See the painting “The Worship of the Golden Calf” by Lucas Van Leyden.

^[44] It is noted that the instructions for the Tabernacle are in Ex 25:1-31:18 (the instructions for the building of the Tabernacle) and 35:1-40:38 (the instructions for the implementation of the instructions). The episode of the Golden Calf is inserted between these two sections (Ex 32:1 -34:34). Furthermore, the fact that the Tabernacle even existed undermines the concept of a transcendent God and may even elevate the Tabernacle itself to a position of holiness in and of itself so the Tabernacle could be considered as actually housing God whereby people would worship the Tabernacle and even treat it like the temples of the pagan people rejected by the Israelite religion of monotheism and an omnipresent God who exists outside of time and place. The text tries to meet this problem by stating that the Tabernacle is only an indication of His presence among the Israelites. This still ties God down to be less than transcendent and unapproachable.

                The Golden Calf was made so the people would feel that God had not deserted them. Moses was the only recognized connection between the people and the God who had taken them out of Egypt. However, Moses had been gone a long time and the people were afraid. They did not want God to desert them. The Golden Calf was to replace Moses, not God. The Tabernacle was exactly the same thing: an assurance of the continued existence of an avenue of communication with God, a visible, tangible symbol that God remained always present in the midst of the Israelites. Therefore, the apostasy was not the building of an idol or even the replacement of Moses, it was the building of a symbol in place of what God had ordered, it was defying God’s instructions. Furthermore, the Golden Calf was meant to represent an image; whereas, the Tabernacle contained the word of God. An image is man made and can be changed and represents man’s attempt to capture something and make it manifest; whereas a word that represents a covenant is none of that and cannot be captured. Plus, the Tabernacle was built on instructions from God, and the calf was built on the volition of the people and not God.

                A calf was selected by the authors because it is so close to the pagan religions that were being rejected.

Moses made the people destroy the idol, burn it and throw the ashes into a brook out of which all of the people drank (see Deuteronomy 9:21). Thus, the people were made to drink the ashes. Drinking ashes and dirt is a common way of punishing adulterous women (see Exploring Exodus, by Nahum M. Sarna  (New York, NY, Schocken Books, 1996, paperback, page 220).

^[45] The Bible says that 600,000 men left. This occurred in one night. If there were 600,000 men,that means that there were probably two million people. That represents as much as one-third of the total population of Egypt at that time (1/3 of the total population of Egypt left in one single night!?). This also represents a huge portion of the workforce. There surely would be some record of one-third of the total population leaving in one night (surely, somebody would have placed an entry into their personal journal: “nice day today, weather pleasant, oh, by the way, 1/3 of the total population disappeared last night.”). Furthermore, the story of Exodus has plagues which certainly would have been recorded. Still further, the story of Exodus has the destruction of Pharaoh and most of the Egyptian army. Surely, this would have been recorded somewhere, especially by people such as the Egyptians who recorded much of their history.Therefore, the absence of a record is quite significant.

            Furthermore, even assuming that the Israelites lived in Egypt for 400 years, to grow from 70-80 individuals to two million in even 400 years, especially under the conditions to which the Israelis were subject, is a 3000 fold increase, which is nearly impossible to believe. This is even more improbable if the true time line of about 80-100 years is used based on four generations between Jacob and Moses (the Bible traces Moses back four generations to Jacob).

                Therefore, there is clearly something else going on.

                According to Sarna, (page 101), “The point of all this is that the building of the Temple (Solomon’s Temple, dated about 900 B.C.E.) Is conceived as being the culmination of God’s great acts of redemption that began with the Exodus. …From the perspective of the biblical narrator, the time span involved in the Exodus events is therefore not restricted to the forty years of wilderness wonderings, but encompasses the period from Moses to Solomon. This is the Exodus era.” Thus, Sarna concludes, the figure of 600,000 men represents the population of united Judah and Israel at the time of Solomon’s Temple.

                Also, according to Sarna, (page 14), “To sum up: several diverse and variegated lines of evidence converge to make a very good case for placing the events of the Exodus within the thirteenth century B.C.E.” The elapsed time between 1300 B.C.E. and 900 B.C.E.: 400 years, the very figure used in the Bible for the time the Israelites spent in Egypt..

[46] However, it should be noted that two million people, plus the animals they had surely would have left some imprint that archeologist, especially ones equipped with satellite imaging and Google Earth and all of the other sensitive instruments now employed by modern acheologists, could have detected. These archeologists have found evidence and remains and graves of single members of prehistoric communities and even of prehistoric individuals and animals. Surely, today’s scientists could have detected something even in such a wide expanse as the desert identified in the story of Exodus. Yet none has been found.

^[47] At page 139, Sana notes that the Egyptians, in their Book of the Dead, outline several things that it must be alleged that the dead man abided by. There are prohibitions against theft, murder, adultery, false witness, lies, covetousness, blasphemy. The uniqueness of the Israeli covenant is that the people could, and did, enter into a covenant with God.

^[48] The people under the Patriarchs were monolitors, that is, they worshiped one god, and ignored other people who worshiped other, or many, gods. Monaltry could also reflect the views of the indigenous people of the Hill country of the Souther Levant into which the people leaving Egypt during the Exodus immigrated. Hence, the Bible would reflect this by having the patriarchs (symbols of the first immigrents into this country) as monalters. That is why, for example, Rachel could take gods from Laban’s house and not really worry about it. In fact, that is why Laban himself could have other gods in his house. That is why the Egyptians could worship one god, Aten, and not have that god infiltrate the Jewish belief in one god. As discussed in the essay “Monotheism,” it is possible that the people leaving Egypt during the Exodus were followers of the religion of Aten, and these people may have been priests or others who had sufficient gravitas to influence the indigenous population to make a full change to monotheism. It is possible that these immigrents were, themselves, further influenced by the beliefs of the indigenous people – a syndergistic effect. As stated by Sarna (at page 80): “The text unequivocally speaks of judgments upon the gods of Egypt. The Book of Genesis ignores the theme of the struggle against paganism. The Patriarchal narratives exhibit no tension between the religion of the founding fathers and that of the nations with whom they come in contact….The notion of a war on polytheism, however, is first found here in our Exodus narrative, and it becomes henceforth one of the Bible’s major themes….the nature of the plagues…the inability of the magicians to reproduce the plagues after a while, the transcendent ability of God to manipulate nature in order to realize His purposes, and the protection from the effects of the plagues that He bestows upon Israel – all are calculated to undermine faith in what the Egyptians accepted as divinities. Without a doubt, the Israelite war on polytheism begins with the advent of Moses as liberator from Egyptian bondage. Its ultimate formulation will appear in the Ten Commandments: ‘You shall have no other gods besides Me.’”This fits well with the discussion in the essay “Monotheism” which, as above mentioned, seems to have monotheism begin to reach its full form after the immigration of the immigrants from Egypt into the hill country of the southern Levant where monotheism could flourish and grow from a feeding and a cross-feeding from both the immigrants and the indigenous people.

                However, the belief that their god was superior to all other gods had to be manipulated and rationalized to be acceptable and reasonable when Israel, both the Northern Kingdom and Judah, were threatened from outside the country by powers that were clearly superior but which worshiped other, and often many, gods that were not the single god of the Jews. Some rationale had to be developed to account for the fact that these other gods may defeat the country of the one god. Did not that show that these other gods were superior to the one god? The rationale developed was that the one god was, indeed, superior to the many gods, but the one god was actually using the countries of the many gods to punish the transgressions of the people of the country of the one god. And that He would eventually punish the countries of the many gods as well, but at a time of the one god’s choosing. (Page 232 of the Friedman book says that Isaiah lived in the time of King Hezekiah, Jeremiah lived in the time of King Josiah).

                The story of Exodus is the perfect vehicle to relate this point. The one god lifted up the small weak band of slaves and punished the gods of the great country Egypt and proved his power over them. The one god took his time and did it at his own pace. He did it in ways that were manifest and humbling – the Ten Plagues. He then took these people out of the country and punished the people of the country in a manifest manner – he drowned them.

                Thus, the story of Exodus is a perfect vehicle to demonstrate (1) how the people of the time physically got to where they were and how they became unified into a united country from many separate disparate tribes and kingdoms; (2) their god was all-powerful; (3) their god would protect them against all other gods if they remained loyal to Him; (4) how their god demanded loyalty (the Book of Judges shows what happens if they abandon their god).

                It is believed that many of the stories in the Bible were really stories that were known in the oral tradition (such as the flood story, for example) but were retold in a manner which made a point of teaching morality and fidelity to God. It is also believed that the initial Bible Stories were written around the time of the fall of the Northern Kingdom by the J and E sources. At this time, the prophets noted the inequities rained down on the poor by the ruling class and railed against this (see Amos, Isaiah, etc). Thus, the prophets felt the people needed moral teaching. The stores that the people were familiar with were thus recast to make these moral points. Exodus is an example: the Egyptians oppressed the Hebrew slaves, God punished the Egyptians, and elevated the Hebrew slaves, and you are descendants of those slaves, so remember that you were once oppressed and do not oppress others. The other stories of the Bible are similar in intent.

                This is why the Exodus story includes so many sub-stories of civil disobedience regarding immoral orders and oppressive acts. Do not simply follow orders in carrying out an immoral act, do not oppress others because they are less than yourself in station, honor the beliefs of others, and so forth. 

                Thus, the story of Exodus is a perfect vehicle to teach the message of the prophets while also showing the people where they came from and how they got to where they are now.

                As is demonstrated in the Sarna book, the story of Exodus ends at the erection of the Solomon’s Temple. Thus, the story of Exodus is intended for those people of the First Temple period. This is the perfect audience for these stories.

                Actually, many of the stories were redacted by Ezra around the time of the destruction of the First Temple. Thus, the stories were perfect to remind the people of why they suffered such a calamity and how they can recover. The stories were thus redone again to further emphasize the teaching points of the stories in the tradition of the J, E, P and D authors.

                Thus, the act of Exodus may never have happened. There may have been some flight from Egypt by some small number of people with stories and myths surrounding that flight built up over time (which is why archeology has demonstrated that at the end of the Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age, some sort of event or events occurred which created many new villages in previously unoccupied areas and some of the events in Egypt at that time seem to support some sort of Exodus – see Sarna book). However, in their tradition, the authors of the Bible took this story and rewrote it in a manner to prove their points.

                That may be why there are no records of the Exodus: the story told in the Bible never happened the way it is told, but it is being told to make a point so it is altered, edited, emphasized telescoped time, included real places as well as imaginary places and events and deleted where necessary to make that point and to fulfill the needs of literary elegance. The stories had just enough historical truth for the people at that time (who did not possess computers, vast libraries, etc) to believe enough about them to make the stories meaningful. The people did not have to accept the stories in toto for the stories to make their points. After all, we do not believe, or have to believe, the story of Richard II, or Richard III to understand the point being made by Shakespeare in the plays of the same names. Historical accuracy is not the main objective of these stories and the listeners probably knew it, just like the modern playgoer understands and accepts the presentation of the Shakespeare History plays.

^[49] As used herein, the term “monolatry” means the worship of one god, but with an understanding that other people can have other gods, such as the case in Egypt with the worship of Aten; whereas, “monotheism” means worship in the case of one god, and one god only with all other gods being false and subject to the power of the one god. For this reason, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob could worship their one god and simply ignore the other religions whereas the religion of Moses had their one god supreme over all others and other gods were false and the people who worshiped those gods were subject to the power of the one Monotheistic god. Even though Sarna states the shift to monotheism cannot be documented, as discussed below, the shift from monolatry to monotheism came when the prophets in Israel and Judah had to justify how the nations of Babylon and Assyria could conquer the Nations of Israel and Judah even though these latter nations worshiped a god who was believed to be supreme and Babylonia and Assyria were polytheists. The prophets justified the conquest by stating that the supreme god was merely using these other nations to punish the Israelites for their transgressions and would get around to the other nations after they had served His purpose. Thus, the worship of one god changed into a worship of one god who is supreme over all.

^[50] It is even possible that the entire story of Exodus was manufactured by Ezra to justify the chosen nature of the people as well as to provide a historical connection between the tribes of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the people of the Second Temple period to who were Ezra’s intended audience. The Hero’s journey ends with the hero imparting the knowledge and wisdom he gained during his journey to the rest of the world. The “hero” of Exodus is the Israelite nation. See essay titled “The Hero Has 600,000 Faces.”

^[51] The only image associated with God that is permitted is the image provided by God Himself – a cloud of smoke, a pillar of smoke, a burning bush – and not one created by man. This somewhat solves the problem of man defining God by making an image; but it does not begin to solve the problem of a transcendent god versus a manifest god. In fact, it makes it worse because by making Himself manifest, even by means of a transient object such as smoke, God removes the concept of transcendency and one who is removed from mankind.

[52] Was this the invention of the J and E authors? Or was it an account of what actually happened?