This series examines the biblical exodus in several parts, weighing the arguments and evidence against its historical occurrence as well as those in support. Its theological significance is also considered. I’ll conclude the series with my opinion on these questions. In this first entry, we familiarize ourselves with the basics of the narrative and some of the theological meaning it has for many Christians.

See: A Response to Christian Apologetic Uses of the Ipuwer Papyrus (Part 2)
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What is the Biblical Exodus?

The biblical exodus is described in four of the five books of the Torah: the titular Exodus and the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The story focuses on how “the Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12:51) with “a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders” (Deu. 26:8-11). Evangelical theologian D. A. Carson summarizes the narrative as follows,

“The exodus is simultaneously the escape of the people of God, the Israelites from Egypt, the land of slavery — they exit out of slavery into the Promised Land: it is the exodus — and, at the same time, it is a one-word way of referring to the events surrounding the exodus that includes, therefore, the judgment of God on the Egyptians, the plagues. It also eventually includes the giving of the Law, the years of wilderness wanderings, and eventually entrance into the Promised Land” (quoted in Piper 2016).

Because the Hebrews were flourishing and had multiplied significantly, the Pharaoh became concerned that they would challenge his authority and chose to enslave them. The Egyptian masters “worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly” (Ex. 1:13-14).

With the exception of females, the Hebrew midwives were told to kill all male infants. However, the midwives disobeyed Pharaoh’s harsh order because they feared their God more than they feared him (Ex. 1:16–17). Pleased, God blessed the midwives, giving them families of their own, no doubt compounding Pharaoh’s concerns. It is during these events that the Pharaoh’s own daughter finds an abandoned infant in a floating basket in the Nile River and rescues him. She would call this baby Moses.

After many years, when Moses was an adult (Ex. 2:11), he encountered the god Yahweh in a burning bush on Mount Horeb. “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt,” declared Yahweh. “I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering” (Ex. 3:7).

Moses was given instructions by Yahweh to lead the enslaved Hebrews out of this bondage and toward Canaan, a Promised Land referred to as “a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:8). Along with his brother, Aaron, Moses approached Pharaoh to request the freedom of the Hebrews. In addition to rejecting this request, Pharaoh also made the Hebrew slaves’ workload heavier.

A contest followed in which Moses and Aaron confronted the Pharaoh’s own magicians. With his magicians bested by the duo, Pharaoh still refused to release the Hebrews, kindling Yahweh’s anger. Yahweh then sent plagues upon Egypt, resulting in great disruption, devastation, and loss of animal and human lives (Ex. 8:16-11:9). The plagues culminate in the death of all firstborn sons and firstborn animals through an angel commissioned by Yahweh for this purpose. Only the houses of the Hebrews with doors bearing the blood of a slaughtered lamb are spared. The Pharaoh’s firstborn was killed, leading him to cast the Hebrews out of his land. The migrating Hebrews numbered “about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children” (Ex. 12:37).

But Pharaoh and his officials would have a change of heart and mind, again wanting to capture the Hebrews who had just fled. He wished to enslave them again, despite the calamitous events that had just transpired. An army of horsemen and chariots was sent in pursuit (Ex. 14:5-9). Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, and, with Yahweh’s miraculous intervention, through its parted waters: “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land” (Ex. 14:21). They advanced through “the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left” (Ex. 14:22).

The Pharaoh’s pursuing horsemen and chariots caught up but made the mistake of entering this tunnel of parted sea, as Moses would stretch “out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place… The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived” (Ex. 14:26-28). This is a miracle that was commemorated in the biblical Song of the Sea (Ex. 15:1–18).

In terms of our discussion pertaining to the historicity of the exodus out of Egypt, these events are of primary interest. Nonetheless, the following section of the book of Exodus narrates the wilderness journey when the Hebrews continued to be led by Moses and were sustained by the miraculous provisions of food, water, and protection by Yahweh. At Mount Sinai, Moses received the Law after Yahweh called him up the mountain (Ex. 19:20). At this moment, the Hebrews committed idolatry by worshipping a golden calf while Moses was on the mountain (Ex. 32:1-35), leading to Moses in anger smashing the first set of stone tablets.

Subsequent events included the construction of the Ark of the Covenant and plan for the Tabernacle. The mobile Tabernacle was Yahweh’s dwelling place among the Hebrews and the locus of worship, sacrifices, altars, and ceremonies.

The Theological Meaning of the Exodus

We shall discuss the significance of the exodus in a later post in greater detail, but it is worth mentioning here in Part 1 of this series.

The exodus is a pivotal step toward Yahweh fulfilling His promises to Abraham, the patriarch. Much earlier, Yahweh promised Abraham that his “seed” (Gen. 15:3, 5, 13, 18) would inherit the Promised Land in Canaan. Furthermore, according to Genesis 11:27–12:8, this seed would grow into a nation and become a blessing to “all the families of the earth.”

Christians find inspiration for their own spiritual lives in Yahweh’s protection and guidance of the Hebrews who escaped slavery in Egypt. Yahweh showed that He has meaningful plans for humans, even for those with imperfections. Despite Moses struggling with a lack of confidence (Ex. 3:12) and a speech impediment (Ex. 4:10), Yahweh still commissioned him for the daunting task of confronting Egypt’s most powerful figure, Pharaoh, and then leading the Hebrews out of their enslavement.

Yahweh’s protection and care for His people are important themes. Yahweh not only heard the cries of the enslaved Hebrews in Egypt but also sent Moses to deliverer them from their captivity. Yahweh also protected the Hebrews during their wandering period by supplying what they needed for the journey to the Promised Land, such as when He rained down bread from heaven in response to the peoples grumblings (Ex. 16:4-5). These narratives inspire faith in Christians who believe that God can deliver them from their own trials and sufferings.

Yahweh’s manifestation in the physical elements of nature underscores His presence. The migrating Hebrews had various collective numinous experiences of Yahweh, such as in thunder and lightning (Ex. 19:16) and fire descending upon and enveloping the mountain on which Moses would receive the Ten Commandments (Ex. 19:18). Yahweh’s presence takes on greater permanence later in the Tabernacle, His mobile dwelling place among the traveling Hebrews. Similarly, Christians today feel reassured that God’s presence is with them too, during times when He feels absent. God’s presence does not require a Tabernacle and it does not need to take the form of a pillar of fire and cloud (Ex. 13:21–22).

Finally, perseverance in faith is important in modern Christian interpretations. Before ever making it to the Promised Land, a generation of Hebrews aged twenty and over died in the desert because of its unbelief and disobedience. This generation lacked faith in the promises and power of Yahweh by doubting they could remove the current inhabitants of the Promised Land. Yahweh punished them with forty years of wandering in the wilderness until the unbelieving generation died off, never stepping foot in the Promised Land. It was the next generation that entered it.

Many texts in the New Testament emphasize the importance of the believer having faith in God (Rom. 15.13) and standing firm in this faith (1 Cor. 15:1-2; 16:13; 2 Cor. 1:21, 24; 13:15) in Jesus Christ (Eph. 4.21). For Christians today, a major lesson from exodus is therefore the imperative of preserving in their belief in the redemptive act of God in history through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for sin. It is to “[m]ake sure that you persevere to the end. Don’t fall away for lack of perseverance” (Carson quoted by Piper 2016).

Part 2: A Response to Christian Apologetic Uses of the Ipuwer Papyrus.

References

Piper, John. 2016. “Exodus: Understanding One of the Bible’s Major Themes.” Desiring God. Available.