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About this book: Exodus

Exodus tells how God rescued the descendants of Abraham from slavery in Egypt and made them his covenant people. It begins with Israel oppressed and a baby, Moses, saved from Pharaoh's decree. God calls Moses at a burning bush, reveals his name and sends him to confront Pharaoh. Ten plagues follow, the first Passover marks the night of release, and the sea opens for the people to escape. In the wilderness God feeds and guides them, then meets them at Mount Sinai, where he gives the Ten Commandments and a body of laws that shape a whole way of life. The people quickly break the covenant with a golden calf, yet Moses pleads for them and God renews his promise, revealing himself as merciful and gracious. The book closes with the tabernacle built and God's glory filling it. Exodus is the great Old Testament picture of redemption, and later writers, including the New Testament authors, keep returning to it.

Author
Tradition names Moses; many scholars think the book reached its final form later from older material.
Date
The events are usually placed in the 15th or 13th century BC; scholars debate both the exodus and the writing.
Audience
Israel, gathered as God's people and remembering who rescued them.

Themes

Redemption from slaveryGod's name and presenceThe covenant at SinaiWorship and the tabernacleGod's mercy after failure

Outline

  1. 1:1–2:25Oppression and the birth of Moses
  2. 3:1–6:30The call of Moses
  3. 7:1–15:21Plagues, Passover and the sea
  4. 15:22–18:27Provision in the wilderness
  5. 19:1–24:18The covenant at Sinai
  6. 25:1–31:18Plans for the tabernacle
  7. 32:1–34:35The golden calf and renewal
  8. 35:1–40:38Building and filling the tabernacle

Key verses

Exodus 3:13-14 →Exodus 14:13-14 →Exodus 20:1-3 →Exodus 34:6-7 →
About this chapterJacob's descendants in Egypt multiply until the land is filled with them, and a new king who did not know Joseph fears their numbers. He enslaves the Israelites with harsh labor building store cities, yet the more they are oppressed the more they grow. Pharaoh then orders the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah to kill baby boys at birth, but they fear God and let the boys live, giving Pharaoh an excuse about the vigor of Hebrew women. God blesses the midwives, and the people continue to increase. In frustration Pharaoh commands that every newborn Hebrew boy be thrown into the Nile, setting the stage for the birth of a deliverer.

Jacob's descendants in Egypt multiply until the land is filled with them, and a new king who did not know Joseph fears their numbers. He enslaves the Israelites with harsh labor building store cities, yet the more they are oppressed the more they grow. Pharaoh then orders the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah to kill baby boys at birth, but they fear God and let the boys live, giving Pharaoh an excuse about the vigor of Hebrew women. God blesses the midwives, and the people continue to increase. In frustration Pharaoh commands that every newborn Hebrew boy be thrown into the Nile, setting the stage for the birth of a deliverer.

Themes

  • Oppression in Egypt
  • Courage of the midwives
  • God's people multiply

Key verses

Audio Bible · Exodus 1

Listen while you go about your day.

Exodus 1

Berean Standard Bible22 verses · 2 min read

1These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt. 6Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. 8Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9“Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us. 10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country. ” 11So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13They worked the Israelites ruthlessly 14and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh. 15Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16“When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.” 17The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live. 18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” 19The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.” 20So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous. 21And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own. 22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”
Verses in Exodus 1
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Chapters of Exodus

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