Lesson 20 – Escape from
Slavery
1. The command to remember the Exodus –
(as is done at Passover)
10 You shall keep this ordinance at its proper time from year to year. 11 "When the LORD has brought you into
the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and has
given it to you, 12 you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the
womb. All the firstborn of your livestock that are males shall be the Lord's. 13 But every firstborn donkey you shall
redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. Every
firstborn male among your children you shall redeem. 14 When in the future your child asks you,
'What does this mean?' you shall answer, 'By strength of hand the LORD brought
us out of
But Moses said to the people,
“Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the HOLY ONE will
accomplish for your today.”
Bible
Background (taken from Journey through the Bible, Christian
Board of Publications, 1995, p. 66)
The Passover meal
was eaten, the Israelites were packed and ready, and the march to freedom
began. But which way were they to go? The shortest route was along the
seacoast, but there were hazards there: Egyptian outposts guarding the frontier
and the territory along the edge of the
0ur traditions
show that the early storytellers had available to them much information about
the route actually taken. These differing traditions have been woven together
in our present narrative, making the account appear somewhat confused. It is
possible, however, to reconstruct a reasonable picture. The Israelites probably
headed eastward, toward the wilderness, intending to take the southern route.
They were persuaded, however, that there was a chance to go north along the
much-used route close to the
No doubt, the
story has been magnified over time. But its kernel rings true. The people
turned against Moses, asking him why he had brought them out into the
wilderness to die. Slavery in
Safe on the other
shore, the Israelites rejoice and sing praises to the God of Israel, with
Moses' sister Miriam leading the refrain: "Sing to the Lord, for [God] has
triumphed gloriously; horse and rider [God] has thrown into the sea"
(Exodus 15:21).
What about the
number of Israelites who escaped? The biblical report seems to indicate that
there were over six hundred thousand males, plus women and children, a number
that would indicate a total perhaps as large as two million individuals!
However, the Hebrew word for "thou-sand" can also be used for a clan
unit, with a varying numerical total. If we estimated that there were six
hundred such clan units, each with an average of, say, sixty persons, then the
numbers involved in the Exodus would be more credible. But, of course, we
cannot be certain about the historical accuracy of such affirmations of
religious faith. This story, rehearsed throughout the
centuries at the celebrations of Passover and told around the hearth and the
campfire repeatedly, would very naturally have grown and become more marvelous.
And it is a
marvelous and, on the whole, believable story. Moses and Aaron led a band of
Israelites, sick of their bestial treatment in
In very recent
world history, for example, the Exodus story has become the story of faith for
struggling Christians in several Latin American lands, for African Christians
in
Human oppression
simply has to be challenged and
brought to an end.
17 When Pharaoh let
the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines,
although that was nearer; for God thought, "If the people face war, they
may change their minds and return to
18 So God led the people by the
roundabout way of the wilderness toward the
19 And Moses took with him the bones of
Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, "God will
surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from
here."
20 They set out from Succoth, and
camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.
21 The LORD went in front of them in a
pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by
night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.
22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day
nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
CHAPTER 14
1 Then the LORD said to Moses:
2 Tell the Israelites to turn back and
camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon;
you shall camp opposite it, by the sea.
3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites,
'They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has closed in on
them.'
4 I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he
will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his
army; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
5 When the king of
6 So he had his chariot made ready, and
took his army with him;
7 he took six hundred picked chariots
and all the other chariots of
8 The LORD hardened the heart of
Pharaoh king of
9 The Egyptians pursued them, all
Pharaoh's horses and chariots, his chariot drivers and his army; they overtook
them camped by the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of
Baal-zephon.
10 As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites
looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the
Israelites cried out to the LORD.
11 They said to Moses, "Was it
because there were no graves in
12 Is this not the very thing we told
you in
13 But Moses said to the people,
"Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish
for you today; for
the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again.
14 The LORD will fight for you, and you
have only to keep still."
15 Then the LORD said to Moses,
"Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.
16 But you
lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that
the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground.
17 Then I will harden the hearts of the
Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for
myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot
drivers.
18 And the Egyptians shall know that I
am the LORD, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots,
and his chariot drivers."
19 The angel of God who was going
before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud
moved from in front of them and took its place behind them.
20 It came between the army of
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand
over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and
turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided.
22 The Israelites went into the sea on
dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their
left.
23 The Egyptians pursued, and went into
the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot
drivers.
24 At the morning watch the LORD in the
pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the
Egyptian army into panic.
25 He clogged their chariot wheels so
that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from
the Israelites, for the LORD is fighting for them against
26 Then the LORD said to Moses,
"Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon
the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers."
27 So Moses stretched out his hand over
the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians
fled before it, the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea.
28 The waters returned and covered the
chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed
them into the sea; not one of them remained.
29 But the
Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for
them on their right and on their left.
30 Thus the LORD saved
31
CHAPTER 15
1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang
this song to the LORD: "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed
gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my might,
and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my
father's God, and I will exalt him.
3 The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is
his name.
4 "Pharaoh's chariots and his army
he cast into the sea; his picked officers were sunk in the
5 The floods covered them; they went
down into the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in
power-- your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy.
7 In the
greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries; you sent out your
fury, it consumed them like stubble.
8 At the blast
of your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps
congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I
will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'
10 You blew with your wind, the sea
covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 "Who is like you, O LORD,
among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in splendor, doing wonders?
12 You stretched out your right hand,
the earth swallowed them.
13 "In your steadfast love you led
the people whom you redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy
abode.
14 The peoples heard,
they trembled; pangs seized the inhabitants of
15 Then the chiefs of
16 Terror and dread fell upon them; by
the might of your arm, they became still as a stone until your people, O LORD,
passed by, until the people whom you acquired passed by.
17 You brought them in and planted them
on the mountain of your own possession, the place, O LORD, that
you made your abode, the sanctuary, O LORD, that your hands have
established.
18 The LORD will reign forever and
ever."
19 When the horses of Pharaoh with his
chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the LORD brought back the
waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry
ground.
20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's
sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her
with tambourines and with dancing.
21 And Miriam sang to them: "Sing
to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown
into the sea."
22 Then Moses ordered
23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah.
24 And the people complained against
Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"
25 He cried out to the LORD; and the
LORD showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water
became sweet. There the LORD made for them a statute and an ordinance and there
he put them to the test.
26 He said, "If you will listen
carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in his sight,
and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring
upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the
LORD who heals you."
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy
palm trees; and they camped there by the water.
Exodus tells the story
of the liberation of the people of Israel from slavery in
Chapters 1-18 narrate
the history of the Egyptian bondage, the Exodus from
Since Exodus
continues the sacred story of the divine promise to
Scholars have
identified three literary traditions in Exodus, designated by the
letters J, E, and P. The J strand, so called because it uses the name Yahweh (Jahweh in
German) for God, is a Judaean rendition of the sacred
story, perhaps written as early as 950 BC. The E strand, which designates God
as Elohim, is a version of the sacred story from the
northern kingdom of
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Old Testament
history
History is a central
element of the Old Testament. It is the subject of narration in the
specifically historical books and of celebration, commemoration, and
remonstration in all of the books. History in the Old Testament is not history
in the modern sense; it is the story of events seen as revealing the divine
presence and power. Nevertheless, it is the account of an actual people in an
actual geographical area at certain specified historical times and in contact
with other particular peoples and empires known from other sources. Hence, far
more than with other great religious scriptures, a knowledge
of the historical background is conducive, if not essential, to an adequate
understanding of a major portion of the Old Testament. Recent archaeological
discoveries as well as comparative historical research and philological
studies, collated with an analysis and interpretation of the Old Testament text
(still the major source of information), have made possible a fuller and more
reliable picture of biblical history than in previous eras. For another presentation
of Old Testament history, see Judaism.
Few
historical figures have engendered such disparate interpretations as has Moses.
Early Jewish and Christian traditions considered him the author of the Torah
("Law," or "Teaching"), also called the Pentateuch
("Five Books"), comprising the first five books of the Bible, and
some conservative groups still believe in Mosaic authorship.
Opposing this
is the theory of the German scholar Martin Noth, who,
while granting that Moses may have had something to do with the preparations
for the conquest of
This article,
following the lead of the biblical archaeologist and historian W.F. Albright,
presents a point of view that falls somewhere between these two extremes. While
the essence of the biblical story (narrated between Exodus 1:8 and
Deuteronomy 34:12) is accepted, it is recognized that, during the centuries of
oral and written transmission, the account acquired layers of accretions. The
reconstruction of the documentary sources of the Pentateuch by literary critics
is considered valid, but the sources are viewed as varying versions of one
series of events (see biblical literature: The Torah [Law, Pentateuch, or Five
Books of Moses]). Other critical methods (studying the biblical text
from the standpoint of literary form, oral tradition, style, redaction, and archaeology)
are equally valid. The most accurate answer to a critical problem is therefore
likely to come from the convergence of various lines of evidence. The aid of
critical scholarship notwithstanding, the sources are so sketchy that the man
Moses can be portrayed only in broad outline.
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Britannica, Inc.
The purpose
of a miracle may be in the direct and immediate result of the event--e.g.,
deliverance from imminent danger (thus, the passage of the children of
Copyright © 1994-2001 Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc.