UNROLL
A vast camp of dark goat-hair tents at night on a desert plain at the foot of a high, bare mountain, small cooking fires and lamplight glowing in the tent doors under a deep, starry sky.

The Book of

Exodus Intro

God hears His people, sets them free, and comes to live among them.

Before chapter 1≈ 2 min40 chapters

Images are artistic interpretations.

In 30 seconds

Slaves in Egypt cry out, and God hears.

He calls Moses from a burning bush.

Plagues, a lamb’s blood, a path through the sea.

At Sinai He gives His law to a rescued people.

Then He comes to live among them.

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

Who wrote it

Moses

Drawn out of the water, sent to lead God’s people

  • Moses “wrote down all the words of the LORD.”Exodus 24:4
  • Jesus quoted the burning bush from “the Book of Moses.”Mark 12:26
  • Jews and Christians have long held that Moses wrote it, for Israel in the wilderness.Jewish and Christian tradition
  • The exodus is dated about 1446 BC or about 1260 BC; Bible-believing scholars hold both.Scholars differ

How it’s built

From Egypt to the glory

Slaves inEgypt1–6 · oppression anda delivererThe plagues7–13 · the LORDagainst PharaohThrough thesea14–18 · rescued andledAt Sinai19–24 · the covenantand the lawA place todwell25–31 · thetabernacle plannedBroken andrenewed32–40 · the calf,mercy, the glory

Whiteboard

Egypt, the sea, the mountain, the tent: from slavery to God’s presence.

Rescued, then given the law

God rescued His people first.

Then He gave them His law, to live as His own.

Its moral core still shows God’s will.

Its sacrifices and its tent point ahead to Christ.

Where it happens

Mount SinaiEgyptGoshenRed SeaMidianCanaanRameses

Stylised map · locations approximate

On the map

From Goshen to Sinai

From Goshen in the Nile delta, through the sea and into the wilderness to Mount Sinai, also called Horeb. The route and many of the sites are uncertain; the dashed line is one proposal.

Big themes

Four threads to follow

Meet the cast

Five people to know

Watch for

Then you will know that I am the LORD your God

Exodus 6:7

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Question

Quick question

At the burning bush Moses asks what he should say when the Israelites ask God’s name.

What did God tell Moses to say?

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