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I. |
TITLE: |
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A. |
In Hebrew the name of
the book is taken from the first two words in the book twmv
hlaw ("these are the names). Sometimes it is shortened to
simply "names" (twmv). |
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B. |
In the Greek LXX the book is named EXODOS
("Exodus") emphasizing the departure of Israel from Egypt
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II. |
DATE OF THE EXODUS
1446 BC |
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A. |
This date emphasizes
the literal interpretation of the biblical numbers in Exodus
12:40 ("Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt
was four hundred and thirty years"), Judges 11:26 ("While
Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and
its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of
the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them
within that time?") and 1 Kings 6:1 ("Now it came about in
the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel
came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of
Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is
the second month, that he began to build the house of the
Lord"). |
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B. |
Hill and Walton
offer the following arguments for an early date:1 |
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1. |
"1 Kings 6:1 indicates the Exodus
occurred 480 years prior to the 4th year of Solomon's reign.
His 4th year is variously dated at 966/960/957 B.C., placing
the Exodus at 1446/1440/1437. |
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2. |
According to Judg. 11:26, Israel had
occupied Canaan for 300 years before the judgeship of
Jephthah, which is dated between 1100 and 1050. This dates
Joshua's conquest between 1400 and 1350. Adding Israel's 40
years in the desert puts the Exodus between 1440 and 1390. |
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3. |
Moses lived in exile in Midian 40 years
(Acts 7:3; cf. Exod. 2:23) while the pharaoh of the
oppression was still alive. The only pharaohs who ruled 40
years or more were Thutmose III (1504- 1450) and Rameses II
(1290-1224). |
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4. |
The Merneptah Stela (ca. 1220) indicates
Israel was already an established nation at the time. |
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5. |
The Amarna tablets (ca. 1400) speak of a
period of chaos caused by the "Habiru," very likely the
Hebrews. |
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6. |
The early date allows for the length of
time assigned to the period of the judges (at least 250
years). The late date allows only 180 years. |
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7. |
The Dream Stela of
Thutmose IV indicates he was not the legal heir to the
throne (i.e., the legal heir would have died in the tenth
plague). |
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8. |
Archaeological
evidence from Jericho, Hazor, etc., supports a 15th-century
date for the Exodus |
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9. |
Exod. 12:40 dates
the entrance of Jacob into Egypt during the reign of
Sesostris/Senusert III (1878- 43) rather than during the
Hyksos period (1674- 1567)." |
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10. |
Therefore a
plausible (and approximate) reconstruction would be as
follows:2 |
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a. |
966 = 4th full
year (actually into the fifth) of Solomon's reign (971-931)
when the Temple was begun |
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b. |
+44 yrs = start of
David's reign (1010) |
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c. |
+40 yrs = start of
Saul's reign (1050) |
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d. |
+40 yrs = the time
from Saul to Jephthah's statement (1050-1090) |
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e. |
+300 yrs = the
time in the land (Jephthah's statement) (1390) |
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f. |
+16 yrs = Joshua's
leadership (1406) |
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g. |
+40 yrs = wilderness wondering (1446)
This matches 1 Kings 6:1 where 966 + 480 = 1446! |
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+430 yrs = the time that Israel lived in
Egypt before the Exodus (Ex. 12:40) and therefore Jacob
moved to Egypt in 1876. |
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III. |
PHARAOH OF THE
EXODUS: |
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A. |
Rameses II: |
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1. |
Scholars who hold
to a late date of the Exodus (c. 1290-1225 BC) identify
Rameses II (c. 1304-1237) as the Pharaoh of the Exodus |
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2. |
In addition the
name of the city in Exodus 1:11 is Rameses |
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a. |
It is possible
that Rameses II merely took credit for the city and the
biblical reference was modernized3 |
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b. |
It is possible
that the Ramasides was to be identified with the Hyksos who
oppressed Israel and that the city was called Rameses in
their time4 |
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B. |
Amenhotep II (c.
1436-1410) |
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1. |
It is possible
that Hatshepsut (1490-1469) may have been the princess who
reared Moses |
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2. |
Thutmose III (c.
1490-1436?) ruled as co-regent with his stepmother until her
death for 56 years. This allows for the time when Moses was
in exile in Midian (cf. Acts 7:3; Exodus 2:23) |
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3. |
Amenhotep II (c.
1436-1410) may have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Note
that the Bible does not say that he drowned but that he led
a battle to the water's edge. |
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4. |
The dream
inscription of Tutmose IV (c. 1410- 1402?) may indicate that
he was not originally intended to be Pharaoh. Therefore, his
brother would have died in the plagues5 |
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IV. |
ROUTE OF THE
EXODUS |
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A. |
Two Basic Views: |
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1. |
The Northern View:
The Exodus took place at a lagoon bordering the
Mediterranean Sea |
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2. |
The Southern
(Central) View: The Exodus took place south of Succoth near
Lake Balah or Lake Timsah |
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B. |
Textual Clues
(Exodus 13:17-22; 14:1-2; Num 33:1-49) |
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1. |
The Lord did not
lead Israel by the way of the land of the Philistines
(probably the Way of the Sea which was the direct route
along the Mediterranean coast to Palestine)6
13:17 |
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2. |
The Lord led the
people by the way of the wilderness to the Red7
Sea 13:18 |
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3. |
The Lord led
Israel from Rameses to Succoth Ex 12:37; Num 33:5 |
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4. |
Israel set out
from Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the
wilderness 13:20 |
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5. |
Israel turned back
and camped before Pihahiroth, between Midgol and the sea, in
front of Baal- zephron opposite it by the sea 14:2 |
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6. |
Israel went by the
Way of the Wilderness (Ex 13:18) after crossing the Sea of
Reeds and entered the Wilderness of Shur (Ex 15:22; Num
33:8) in the Northwest Sinai peninsula |
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C. |
Although a
definitive conclusion is not possible because of the
uncertainty of many of the locations in the biblical text,
it seems that the Southern (Central) view matches what is
known more than the northern view8 |
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D. |
The Location of
Mount Sinai Seems to Be Southern: |
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1. |
Some have located
Mount Sinai in northwest Arabia partly on the grounds that
it was considered that a volcano was required to explain the
events in Exodus 19:16-25, but this is better understood as
a typical Theophany. Also, Moses was not only related to the
Midianites (Ex 3:1; 18:1) whose homeland was considered to
be in the region of Arabia, but he was related to the
Kenites who were a nomadic Midianite clan whose presence in
the Sinai region is well documented (cf. Judges 1:16; 4:11) |
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2. |
The biblical text
indicates that Mount Sinai was an eleven-day journey from
Kadesh-barnea (Dt 1:2) |
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3. |
Elijah took 40
days and 40 nights (a long journey?) to reach Sinai from
Beersheba (1 Kgs 19:8) |
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4. |
Jebel Musa (Arabic
for "Mountain of Moses), or Mount Horeb, in the southern
Sinai peninsula has been identified as the Mount Sinai of
Moses' revelation by Christian tradition dating to the
fourth century AD9 |
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V. |
DATE OF THE BOOK
OF EXODUS: Probably 1446 B.C. |
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A. |
The
journey between Egypt and the Wilderness of Sinai and Mount
Sinai took three months to the day (Ex 19:1- 2) |
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B. |
It is
possible that Moses composed the book during or shortly
after the encampment of the people at Sinai (1446) |
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C. |
The
book occurred sometime before Moses' birth in 1526 (Ex 2) |
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D. |
Therefore, the book of Exodus covers events around the birth
of Moses to events at Mount Sinai (c. 1526-1446 BC) |
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VI. |
PURPOSES FOR THE
BOOK OF EXODUS |
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A. |
"To
introduce Israel to her national beginnings by narrating the
events which form the people and the nation and by
instructing the people in the covenant relation and his
ritual dwelling"10 |
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B. |
To
narrate the battle between YHWH and Egypt on behalf of his
people to bring about their deliverance from slavery |
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C. |
To
explain the readiness of the people to accept YHWH's
revelations of the Law |
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D. |
To
describe the impatience of the people awaiting YHWH's
enthronement among the people according to his design |
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E. |
To
present the new constitution under which Israel will relate
to YHWH (the Mosaic Covenant) |
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F. |
To
connect the people under the God's promise to Abraham to the
beginning of the theocratic kingdom under Moses |
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G. |
To
reveal God as YHWH--the one who will keep his promises |
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H. |
To
express the importance of maintaining covenant relationship
with YHWH |
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