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eXL - An Introduction to Exodus

November 30, 2012 by Reid S. Monaghan Biblical Book Introductions

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Introduction

Too many Christians in our time have a small Jesus, a small gospel and a small view of history. Though there are many things that we do not need to super-size in our world, we do need an extra-large view of the good news. Moving beyond personal self-interest, we need to understand the massive move of God in redemption and its implications for our everyday lives. The purposes of God in the gospel are eternal, have unfolded over the course of thousands of years, culminate in the person of Jesus, flow into our now and extend into eternity.

This year from Advent to Easter we hope to expand our view of the gospel by looking at the theological themes from the Old Testament books of Exodus and Leviticus. The following is an introduction to the literary genre of Old Testament narrative, some background on the first five books of the Bible and a specific focus on introducing the book of Exodus. After the first of the year, I will do a short introduction to the literature of Leviticus, the “L” in the “EXL.” For our purposes now we will begin by looking at the wonderful gift of these stories.

He Gave us Stories

I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story there is a story-teller. GK Chesterton

When we come to biblical revelation we find something profoundly interesting. God has chosen to reveal himself to us in history and in story. When reading the Bible we find that history itself is a grand story of the creator God and his relationship to the world he has made. God’s purposes in history display to us the nature and character of God as well as the purpose and place of our lives in the universe. Logically, God could have communicated to us in many ways, but God chose to relate to us. God could have dropped syllogisms of truth to us but instead he chose to act in history, to speak to us and then bring us his truth in the form of stories. As Old Testament scholar Richard Pratt has rightfully observed, when God chose to speak to us he quite literally “Gave us Stories.[1]”

The narrative genre is by far the most prevalent in the Bible. Yes there is poetry, wisdom, laws, prophetic and apocalyptic visions, letters, etc in the Bible. Yet the predominant form of literature in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, is that of narrative. If one takes a further step back all the other genres of biblical literature come to us within a broad narrative of God’s gracious relationship to people. The narrative genre sets the stage for everything in the story of God.

The identity of God is revealed to us in narratives throughout the Old Testament.The broken condition of the created world and our own lives comes to us in the narrative of Genesis.The faithful, redemptive covenants of God come to us in Old Testament narratives and are fulfilled in the person of Jesus. Jesus is fully on display in the theological narratives of the gospels.The major theme of Scripture, redemption, the salvation of God through judgment[2] is revealed to us in narrative.

As God has given us such a rich deposit of story, it is paramount that we grasp how to understand them well. Before we get to interpreting Old Testament narratives, I want us to look briefly at how kind and gracious God has been in giving us stories.

The Power of Narrative

The only two things that can satisfy the soul are a person and a story; and even a story must be about a person. GK Chesterton

Stories are a unique form of communication. The can convey deep truths, communicate meaning to various circumstances, they capture the emotions, they form the imagination and they enliven our loves. In short, narratives as a genre, engage us holistically as human beings. Logic might engage the mind, poetry the heart and wisdom our ethical senses but narrative has the unique ability to engage all that we are. Narrative has the unique ability to help us see differently. We understand our past, present and future through the stories that guide our lives.

Furthermore, a story can be experienced by a person as he or she enters into narrative worlds. A story can take us somewhere and can take us to someone. It is a gracious act of God to share with us his grand story of redemption through the narratives of the Bible. Leland Ryken sums this up well with his first rule for reading biblical stories: Look upon biblical stories as an invitation to share an experience, as vividly and concretely as possible, with the characters in the story.[3]

In these stories we connect with God existentially, we experience truth personally and have our lives shaped and transformed. We understand who we are, who God is and what is happening around us through the lens of biblical narratives. In the gospel we encounter the ultimate story (the redemption and renewal of all things by God) about the ultimate person (the person of the Christ, the Son of God – fully God, fully man). The narratives of Scripture are inspired by God to challenge us and bring us to a point of repentance, faith and worship.

Finally, narrative can serve as indirect communication that does something to our hearts. They, quite literally, move us. The stories of the Old Testament bring us knowledge, that move our emotions and they call out for action and response. Narratives are not given to us in order to leave us alone. They are a source of divine meddling with our own stories calling us to repent and believe.

The Old Testament narratives must therefore be read with care as they come down to us through a unique cultural history. The Old Testament narratives are unique in that they have God has their primary actor and interpreter so we must come to them by faith. The Old Testament narratives lead to worship as they are ultimately pointing the way to the looming protagonist of history; the person of Jesus himself. As these narratives are central to our faith, we want to give care to how we read them so that in doing so they might properly “read us.”

Interpreting Old Testament Narratives

Many times we learn a certain way of studying the Bible that is not suited for all types of biblical literature. As a young campus minister I was given the tools to do inductive Bible study on one of the New Testament epistles. We made observations, we looked up key words and we diagrammed the flow of logical argument in the grammar. It was awesome. The method was to break down the text into its parts, see its truth and then make application of these things to our lives. It works very well for logical, didactic literature found in the New Testament epistles. Though some of the methods I learned there are helpful for studying all parts of the Bible (making good observations comes to mind), some of it seems woefully out of place with the study of narratives.

Narratives must be read as whole units rather than tearing them down for study. The point of the story is the whole story not simply a few prepositions and truths found in them. Yes, we can learn systematic truths in narratives but these truths, to be seen rightly, must be seen in the narrative soils not uprooted from them. What follows will be a discussion of the process of interpreting biblical texts with a further focusing on the genre of historical narrative which makes up well over half of our Bibles.

The Triad of History, Literature and Theology

The Bible is not a normal book. It is a story that takes place in real space-time, human history so it is not fiction. It is literature in that we have texts of varying genre that convey meaning to us in human languages, yet it’s not merely a product of human minds. Furthermore the Bible is a book primarily about God. It is a theological book but its theology is taught through stories of interactions and promises of God to a community of people. With all of this in view, understanding and interpreting the Bible must take all of these aspects into account. We must know its history, understand its literary forms and construction and ultimately read the book theologically, yes redemptively with the eyes of faith, in order to fully understand its message. Köstenberger and Patterson sum this up well:

The method for interpretation is built around the hermeneutical triad, which consists of history, literature and theology. In essence, our core proposal is this: for any passage of Scripture, you will want to study the historical setting, the literary context, and the theological message.[4]

This triad is applicable to all Scripture and here we will allocate it to the interpretation of historical Old Testament narratives.

History

With any historical narrative the issue of history is a given. When looking at the Old Testament stories we should ask ourselves various questions as to the time in which these take place.

Redemptive Historical – Where is the particular narrative taking place in the course of the history of redemption? Is it pre-fall, during the exile period, during the time of the divided Kingdom? Knowing where the story is taking place within the big story of the Bible helps us to understand what it means. The following demarcations, though by no means exhaustive, are helpful in this process.

Prehistory – this is an era before time that only God knows, try to stay out of this, though theologically there are times when the text leads us to “times eternal” or “before the foundation of the world.”Prefall – the period of time at the beginning of creation where God creates all things and humans in his image and likeness. (Genesis 1-2)From Fall to Noah – from the sin of Adam and Eve until God’s judgment of the world by water. (Genesis 3-11)Patriarchs – The world of Genesis 12-50 recording God’s covenant with Abram and his descendants Isaac and Jacob. It ends with the prospering of the people under Joseph in Egypt.The Exodus and Establishment of Monarchy – from the redemption of God’s people from bondage in Israel, to their wilderness wanderings, the Sinai covenant, the giving of the law, conquest of the land, time of Judges and establishment of Monarch through Saul, David and Solomon.The Divided Kingdom – after Solomon the kingdom splits into North and South, Israel and Judah. God’s prophets are sent to warn God’s people of his judgment for their breaking of his covenants.The Babylonian Exile and Return to the Land – God’s judgment upon his people with the remaining promise of redemption and return to God’s promise and provision.The intertestimental period – includes the rise and fall of various empires and the setting of the stage for the coming of Messiah.The Arrival and Mission of JesusThe Missional Movement and the beginning of the New Testament Scriptures.The establishment of the churches to final deposit of the Canon.The last days: the time from Jesus’ first coming until he comes again.

Knowing the people, culture and practices of an era is also helpful in the interpretation of the narrative. What are the places involved in the story and what do we know of them? Who is in power politically and economically at the time of the story? What were the beliefs and religious practices engaged in by the people surrounding the narrative? All these questions must be asked as they help us understand the story well. The primary consideration for these matters should be the biblical text itself though there is some value in archaeological study and comparative literary analysis from the ancient near eastern world.[5] Finally, other sources which have come down to us from antiquity, the Dead Sea Scrolls in particular, have also done much to shed light on the biblical world and its writings.[6] Good commentaries or introductions to the Old Testament provide rich resources in looking into these matters.[7]

Literature

Köstenberger and Patterson highlight three aspects of a literary analysis in the interpretative process: Canon, Genre and Text. We will look at each briefly in turn.

Canon – We receive the 39 books of the Old Testament as authoritative so we consider them as a whole. This means we must practice what many have called the analogy of faith – we must interpret scripture in the context of scripture. Seeing the canon as a unified whole helps us to see the small details of stories in the shape of the larger canonical story. Köstenberger and Patterson highlight three themes in the shape of the canon: Law (Righteousness), Exodus (Redemption) and Covenant (Relationship with God).[8] Whereas the story line of the bible helps us know the place a narrative is happening in redemptive history, these major themes help us interpret the bible within its actual canonical shape.

Genre – Genre analysis deals with interpreting a type of literature according to the conventions of that type. Poetry, proverb, epistles/letters, apocalyptic literature and historical narratives all have various conventions associated with understanding them properly. We will cover some particular insights for the narrative genre below.

Text – Last, but certainly in no way least, we come to the text of the Scripture and the languages in which they come to us. Here we look at the grammar of sentences, the meaning of various words, the flow of argument/thought in a passage and any idiom and figures of speech present in actual text. We do this in order to carefully read the Bible as we seek its meaning.[9] Carefully read the inspired text! This has been the beacon call of evangelical hermeneutics for centuries; we must engage in responsible exegetical work in the canonical texts. We read them as they come to us in their various genres and we read them carefully studying the words, grammar and linguistic meaning. To not do this with care leaves us open to reading our own historical or theological biases and errors into the Bible. This is never a good idea and must be resisted with all our might. Stay in the text!

Theology

The questions here deal with what a narrative says about God and Jesus Christ the central figure of the Bible. To understand the Scriptures rightly we must never forget that they are revealing to us the triune God. Looking for theological insight in the text will help us in our understanding.

Interpreting the Narrative Genre

Various aspects of narrative analysis can be used to gain understanding of historical narratives in the Old Testament. I will highlight six here for your consideration as you read narrative and enter the sacred story.

Author – Who wrote the story and what is their relationship to the story. With a high view of Scripture we hold to God as the ultimate author of the narrative but the inspired human author is relevant as well. Who were they? What place do they play in the story?

Audience – With every story we want to consider who originally received this writing and how did it speak to their community and situation. This will help us to understand the force and message of the narrative and bridge to modern application.

Narrator – Most biblical narratives use what is called third person omniscient narration which is well suited for a book inspired by God. Longman and Dillard rightly see this as a fitting literary device for the Bible which gives an authoritative message. In third-person omniscient the narrator authoritatively gives direction and definitive point of view for the story.[10]

Setting and Scenes – Stories take place somewhere and are framed by their authors in scenes and settings. There is a physical setting: where this story is happening. There are time settings: when is this occurring, what came prior, what comes next. There are cultural and architectural settings of which we should make note. Think about the difference it makes to know if a story is taking place in the wilderness, on a mountain, alone, with a massive crowd, after some days of exhausting activity, in a palace, in the temple etc. Ryken calls us well:

Pay close attention to every detail of setting that a storyteller puts into a story, and if setting has an important role, analyze how it contributes to the story.[11]

Plotlines and Narrative Flow – Every story contains action and the flow of that action is called the stories plot. Plotlines are sometimes very simple and at other times complex. The plot shows itself clearly as the characters move into some conflict which needs resolution.

Characters – Without people and other beings[12] there simply is no story. At the very least a story requires a narrator but most stories have various characters involved in the stories plotline. Some characters are central to the story; we call them protagonists or in some forms of stories they are the hero. Another character might oppose the main characters and serve as antagonists. In the Exodus we will see Moses as a central character and a great ruler serving as a strong antagonist. There are also foils and sidekicks present in stories which highlight the main characters or help them along their way. Aaron comes to mind in the Exodus narrative helping Moses in his divine calling and mission. In every story of the Bible there is a great protagonist and hero – his name is Jesus. All other characters in Scripture are part of telling the redemptive story of the Triune God’s work to bring Jesus to the scene and accomplish his glorious mission.

Before we move into looking in detail at one of the historical narratives of the Old Testament, I want to cover a few important aspects in Old Testament narratives specifically related to Jesus Christ.

Types, Shadows and Symbolism

There are specific aspects of Old Testament narratives that I want to draw special emphasis to in light of an emphasis in biblical theology. In the Old Testament we have what we call types and shadows that point forward towards their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah. Though this is only a brief treatment of these subjects, those who desire more can consult the notes.[13]

Types and Shadows

Typology refers to events and persons in one era of time that are ultimately and fully fulfilled in another. The “type” points to and is fulfilled in the “antitype.” There are many stories in the Old Testament which serve as types that are fulfilled in the narrative of Jesus the messiah. The first occurrence is important in its own right, but the full meaning of the story finds itself in its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The following table will illustrate:

 Type  Antitype

First Adam

  Second Adam Christ
 The Rock of Moses  The Rock was Christ
 The Temple Jesus is the Temple where we worship
 The Exodus True Exodus as salvation through Jesus
 Abrahams Beloved Son Isaac  God’s beloved Son Jesus

Pests and Kings

 Jesus the Anointed one of God fulfilling these offices

One temptation is to allegorize everything in the Old Testament to make it point to Jesus. This is a temptation we must resist. Yet there are clear types explicitly and implicitly indicated in the New Testament and we should not hesitate to “see these” as we read Old Testament narratives. A good warning is provided in the Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies:

Christian typological interpretation has its fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ; it is not simply the correspondences that occupy our interpretation but the fulfillment of those correspondences in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Rather than an artificial correspondence between every OT person and institution and Jesus Christ—and the virtual reduction of these persons and institutions into mere shades—a truly theological typology sees the events and persons transfigured and completed in Jesus.[14]

The Bible also speaks about shadows/substances in a similar fashion. There are things in the Old Testament that are shadows of the true and greater realities coming in Christ. The Old Testament sacrificial and ritual worship are shadows of the ministry of Christ. Once we have the substance, the author of Hebrews argues, we should not go back to the shadows.[15]

Watch Out!

To close this section on interpreting biblical narratives I wanted to provide you a few things to watch out for as we seek to understand God’s word today.

Underestimating Cultural Distance

The Old Testament is old. Really old. It was written in Hebrew and a small portion of Aramaic. The linguistic and thought world has a vast cultural distance from our world today. We must not underestimate this and do our best to study well to understand the historical, literary and theological contexts involved with these sacred narratives. The good news is that God inspired these texts, real human beings lived the stories and the church has been teaching them for centuries. We have much help if we come to God for assistance, look to the work of others for understanding and trust the Holy Spirit to illuminate his word for us.

Chronological Snobbery

On the flip side of underestimating the cultural distances between our world and the world of the Old Testament is looking down upon the ancients with what CS Lewis called chronological snobbery.[16] In other words, we think we have arrived and know better than those of the ancient world. It is shocking how quickly people today are sucked into the “newer is truer” nonsense. We once thought the ancients wise and wanted to turn to them for wisdom. Today in our arrogance we can think we have it all figured out and tune out stories from the Old Testament as “from an outdated time.” We need not be snobbish fools.

Modern Sensibilities

Another related warning is allowing modern sensibilities to stand in judgment over the acts of God in history. The classic one that arises is God’s command of his people to conquer the Promised Land and root out and kill all those who opposed them. Modern skeptics, just decades from the bloodiest and most secular century in history, love to look down upon the ancient world as morally deficient and inferior to them. For example, a modern pacifistic vegetarian may sit in judgment upon the animal sacrifice and war of the Old Testament narratives. Dismissing things that do not sit well with us initially is a grand mistake. If we are patient and humble we will see that the “Lord is a warrior” is not necessarily a bad thing. If we read the Old Testament narratives in light of Jesus Christ we see the full picture emerge. Jesus is a warrior in that he fights for justice, thwarts evil and brings an end to sin. He does this as the suffering servant, the lamb sacrificed, by propitiation through blood and as a triumphant conquering king. You will not be commanded by the Bible to drive tanks or eat lamb but we must see why the Lord will fight for us and why he is the lamb slain.

Modern and Postmodern Historiography

Finally, it is far too easy to judge ancient texts by our standards of doing history. The modern historical guild expects a sort of robotic precision not expected from an ancient recorder of events. The postmodern historical guild tells us history is lost as only the biased and victorious explain the past for us. Both of these are overreaches and a mapping of things upon Old Testament historical narratives that are unwarranted.

Now that we have looked at interpreting Old Testament narratives in general, we will turn our focus towards understanding a narrative book in particular. What follows is a background study on the book of Exodus.

Coming to Exodus

The history which is recounted in the Pentateuch is a history of God’s redemption of his people and through them the redemption of the world.[17] John Sailhamer

The importance of the book of Exodus to canonical Scripture and the story of God for the world cannot be overstated. It is a hinge in the Old Testament in that it grounds so many biblical themes and sets the trajectory for the rest of the Bible and all of history. It shapes the story of God’s people and is the Old Testament narrative backdrop by which we understand the person and work of Jesus the Messiah. In looking at both Exodus and Leviticus we are dealing with two of the first five books of the Bible known as the Pentateuch or Torah (law). In this essay we will focus only on Exodus. As I mentioned previously, we’ll have a little Leviticus later. Yet as they are both part of the Torah or Pentateuch, I want to give you some robust background on this great body of literature.

Some Reflection on the Pentateuch

The word Pentateuch is derived from a Greek term pentateuchos which simply means “five-volume work” while Torah means law or instruction.[18] The Pentateuch is comprised of the following five canonical books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and has been considered by Jewish and Christian communities to be the “Books of Moses” or simply “the Book of Moses.”[19] Treating the Pentateuch as separate books is possible and many times beneficial to our study but it should be noted that it is really one work as a whole.[20] Much historical study has been done on these works and how they fit with one another. Before we look at the story and contents of the Pentateuch in general and Exodus in particular, we have to take a short journey into the world of critical Old Testament biblical studies.

Much has been said by critical Old Testament scholars over the years as to the authorship and composition of the Pentateuch with one theory receiving the most traction. Most often it flows under the name “The Documentary Hypothesis” or at times “JEDP” for short. It is not our purpose here to take us far afield into the area of critical studies or even give all the varied flavors of the documentary hypothesis. What I do desire is to expose you to a historical theory that colors much of what you may encounter from non-evangelical scholars. In doing so, I will comment on a major theory of the source/authorship of the Pentateuch. This will help move us along when we arrive to discussing the authorship of Exodus.

The Documentary Hypothesis (JEDP)

Basic History

It is well agreed upon that both Jewish and Christian communities considered the Pentateuch to be either directly from or compiled from the works of Moses. Mosaic authorship was assumed in both communities well into the second half of the second millennium after the time of Christ. In the 17th century the literary unity of these works began to be questioned. The first notable person to do so was the Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza and was followed by the 1753 publication of a work[21] by the Frenchmen Jean Astruc (1684-1766).[22] Astruc published a work that argued that Moses put together the book of Genesis from earlier works. The main thrust of his argument centered around the two different names used for God in this first book of the Torah. At times God would be referred to as Yahweh[23] and other times Elohim. He also noted that many events were recorded more than once in slightly different fashion.[24] These two observations, along with some questions he raised about chronology of certain events, led Astruc to begin breaking Genesis down into what he imagined were its original “sources.” This began a historical area of study in source criticism for scholars of the Pentateuch in continental Europe.

The discussion and seeking of sources was promoted from Genesis alone to examine “sources” of the entire Pentateuch as a whole. The work was moved forward by various German scholars but found its most fruitful form in the work of Karl Heinrich Graf (1815-1869), Wilhelm Vatke (1806-1882) and Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918). Their work became known as the Graf, Vatke, Wellhausen hypothesis and the final work of Wellhausen produced the sequence of letters J, E, D, P. This theory, or some variation of it, has been the working hypothesis of critical studies for over two hundred years. Though there has been a critical consensus among certain scholars it has been crumbling over the past few decades with the rise of studies of the Pentateuch as a literary whole. Before getting to this, we will provide here a very brief sketch of the theory. We refer you to the history and introduction in T.D. Alexander’s From Paradise to Promised Land, An Introduction the Pentateuch for those who desire a more thorough treatment. The following sketch is helped greatly by his work.

Basic Idea

The Documentary Hypothesis proposes the Pentateuch was compiled from various “sources” labeled J, E, D, and P. It should be noted that these sources are assumed from the theory and do not exist as actual extant manuscripts. They are hypothesized to be woven “into the Pentateuch” and observable there by scholars. These sources were compiled into the current form some time by a late redactor usually placed late in history in the post exilic period. The redactor wove together the earliest sources (JE) with the D source (JED) and finally the P source into JED. The Wellhausen School dated the sources as follows:[25]

 Source  Estimated Date
 J – Yahwist  840 BC
 E - Elohimist  700

D – Deuteronomist

  623
 P – Priestly  500-450

The reasons given for the creation of the hypothesis, in one form or another, are as follows:

Differences in vocabulary, particularly the names used for God.The existence of “doublets” where similar stories are repeated. For example: Creation accounts in Gen 1, 2, the sister/wife stories in Gen 12 and 20, The Flood narrative being a weaving of two accounts.[26]Supposed “development” in the theology within the Pentateuch. The hypothesis supposed the J presents God one way, the D another with God being retributive and P having formalized worship/priestly concerns.[27]

Presumed Sources[28]
  • J – Yahwist – This source is identified by its use of the term YHWH for God and its supposed anthropomorphic view of God. It is seen as the “earliest” source as it is supposed to have the simplest theology.
  • E – Elohimist –This source is assumed to be after J due to its emphasis on the Joseph narrative in Genesis and is supposed to be written during the period of the divided Kingdom. Its theology is seen to be concerned with religious and moral concern.
  • D – Deuteronomist – Primarily associated with the contents of the book of Deuteronomy this source is often identified as the book that was discovered in the Temple during the reign of King Josiah (2 Kings 22-23) and led to reform for God’s people.
  • P – Priestly – This source is associated with the concerns of maintaining the priesthood and the worship practices of the people. The material in the Pentateuch dealing with genealogies, rituals, worship and various religious and ceremonial laws are usually considered part of “P.”

These are the basic ideas associated with the Documentary Hypothesis(s). We want you to be familiar with them as they have held such sway in the halls of academic biblical criticism in western culture. Some of you may wish to understand these matters more if you work with people of a more academic nature. For many of you, the history lesson is now complete! Can I get an amen!? :-)

As with most speculative theories about sources that we do not possess, the scholarship becomes a bit of a food fight between various people and schools with consensus becoming more and more elusive. Fights break out about what each source actually contained, the nature of each source (collections or from one author), whether or not there were many more than just four sources and a spaghetti mess of theories can result.[29] In fact, the broad consensus once found in the documentary hypothesis has begun to disintegrate as the reasons for making it up in the first place are questioned more broadly. It must be said that conservative Jewish and Christian scholars have all along objected to aspects of source speculation, but today even the consensus among skeptical scholars is fracturing.[30]

Literary studies in the Ancient Near East have shown that multiple names for God or god(s) in the same text, by the same author is not uncommon in the ancient world.[31] So called doublets can be used as “type scenes” in literature to great effect and were many times consciously employed.[32] The documentary hypothesis works to break up the narrative while ignoring the literary and aesthetic quality of the whole. The separate sources then have no such beauty and literary quality.[33] Finally, the Graf, Vatke, Wellhausen view of the historical development in the religion of the Pentateuch has been found dubious. This idea, used to thwart the idea of a single author of the Pentateuch has been rightly seen as the work of overzealous disciples of Hegel seeking to map a philosophical theory of history upon the Israelite’s religion.[34] More will be said below about our view as to the authorship of this portion of the canon as we look at Exodus.

The Pentateuch as Narrative

Recent studies of the Pentateuch have sought to treat the work as a unified literary whole and read it synchronically[35] and we prefer this more unified approach. Furthermore, though there was likely some final editing of the work, we hold to its divine inspiration and therefore are assured of its unified authorship and theology. Rather than getting bogged down in speculative source criticism the wise student of the Bible should give great attention to the message and narrative of the five books and see their contribution to Biblical Theology.

One Narrative

If we rightly see the book of Exodus in its own narrative context of the Pentateuch we will be greatly helped. The Pentateuch has its own plot and Genesis moves along the Exodus narrative so it cannot be ignored. One example will suffice. The entire plot of the Pentateuch is centered upon the covenant God makes with his people and its climax on Mt. Sinai. Yet to see the Exodus narrative in isolation would miss the promise made to Abraham and God’s sure promise that will be fulfilled. The people’s disobedience to the covenant on Sinai must be seen in light of the promise of God for those who have faith. The rest of the Old Testament and God’s people breaking his covenant must be understood in light of the seed of Abraham who will trust God fully, obey the Mosaic covenant fully and then radically transform God’s people giving them a new heart and mind to love and obey. John Sailhamer describes this well:

The author wants to link God’s original plan of blessing for humanity with his establishment of the covenant with Israel at Sinai. Put simply, the author sees the covenant at Sinai as God’s plan to restore his blessing to humanity through the descendants of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 2:24). The author wants to show that the covenant at Sinai failed to restore God’s blessing to humanity because Israel failed to trust God and obey his will. The author wants to show that God’s promise to restore the blessing would ultimately succeed because God himself would one day give to Israel a heart to trust and obey him (Deuteronomy 30:1-10). The outlook of the Pentateuch then, might be described as eschatological, in that it looks to the future as the time with God’s faithful promise (blessing) would be fulfilled. The past, Mount Sinai, had ended in failure from the author’s perspective. The message of the Pentateuch, however, is hope: God’s people should trust and obey him and, like Abraham, have faith in his promises.[36]

The story of the Pentateuch sets the context for the narrative of redemption in Exodus. Though Exodus and its climax at Mt. Sinai serves as the center of the Pentateuch’s plot the whole is important. Remember that as we jump into looking at Exodus.

The Hermeneutical Triad

What I am going to give you here is a high level preparatory study of the book of Exodus using the Hermeneutical Triad which we observed together above on interpreting narrative. It will serve as a structure for our background study of the book. So we now turn our attention to History, Literature (canon, genre, text) and Theology of Exodus and Leviticus. As Exodus is primarily narrative we will give some time to the specific concerns (Plot, Characters, etc.) of this genre as well.

Historical issues and Exodus

Author of Exodus

One thing should be noted right at the outset. The book of Exodus is technically an anonymous book in that no author is named in its text.[37] It should be noted as well that the book of Exodus has long been considered one of the five books attributed to Moses. Conservative Jewish and Christian communities hold to this basic premise until this day. There is good reason for this: The teaching of the Bible. In the book of Joshua, Moses is said to have given the people a book of the law (Joshua 1:7,8). In later Old Testament writings a Book of Moses is clearly being referenced (2 Chronicles 25:4, Ezra 6:18, Nehemiah 13:1). Furthermore, Jesus the Messiah clearly associated the first five books of the Canon to Moses in the gospels (See Mark 7:10 which combines materials from Exodus and Deuteronomy, Mark 12:26-27 which refers to Exodus in this way and John 7:23 referring to teaching/events in Genesis and Exodus).

The main problem people raise with Mosaic authorship is an unnecessary claim that every word in the Torah was written by him. There are good reasons to think that at some point, a redaction, a pulling together of accounts and materials, was made. For instance, Moses’ death is recorded at the end of Deuteronomy and Moses would have had called himself the most humble man ever in Numbers 12:3. Not even the most interesting man in the world would do this. I’m not always the most humble man who ever lives, but when I am, I write this about myself in the book of Numbers.[38] So some content appears to be about Moses and likely not by Moses. Furthermore, there are sources mentioned in the Pentateuch like the “Book of the Wars of the Lord” (Numbers 21:14) and “the Book of the Covenant” (Exodus 24:7) that contribute to the final form of our text.[39]

In light of this most evangelicals hold that the Pentateuch/Torah is indeed the “Book of Moses” in that it contains his thought and essential authorship but do not claim every word to be from his hand. Tremper Longman gives good perspective on this matter in an appendix of his work How to Read Exodus so I’ll give him the last word on authorship here:

The prophet [Moses] may have used sources and the evidence is clear that he did not bring the book to its final form. However, the focus of our interpretation should not be on the impossible task of differentiating Moses from later writing. Indeed, there is no need to do so because the faith of the church affirms that it is the final form of the book and not the specific words of Moses that are canonical.[40]

Dating of Exodus

The dating of the book of Exodus takes two primary routes when we study the history of the Exodus event. The first is biblical/historical and the second archaeological/historical. These two discussions have come to bit of a stalemate in the decision from dating Exodus to the fifteenth or thirteenth century. Biblically speaking a 15th century date is warranted due to an important passage of Scripture which speaks to the matter. We read in 1 Kings 6:1:

In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people 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, he began to build the house of the LORD.

1 Kings 6:1 ESV

From what we know about the time of Solomon’s fourth regnal year (967BC) this would date the Exodus to roughly 1447BC. The difficulty with this date has been correlating it to facts known about Egypt and this time from archaeological studies. These studies lead to a later date for the Exodus and conquest of Canaan; usually in the reign of Ramses II in 1279-1213BC. Perhaps the archaeological data is being wrongly interpreted[41] or is incomplete on the matter? Perhaps the 1 Kings passage should be interpreted to mean twelve Generations and each generation being 25 years?[42] Though a 15th century date is preferred due to the most natural reading of 1 Kings 6, we cannot say with pinpoint certainty the date of the Exodus.[43] Other issues relating to the exact Pharaoh opposing Moses and the GPS coordinates of the Red Sea crossing remain an issue of debate.[44] Though interesting historically, none of these issues affect our reading of the book.

Redemptive Historical Time Period

Exodus takes place early in the story of God but still after some significantly important narratives. When we arrive at the Exodus God has created the world and human beings, male and female, in his image and likeness (Genesis 1 and 2). Our first parents were deceived and disobey God thereby receiving God’s just judgment and curse upon this world. At the moment of judgment God also graciously promises to bring his redeemer to the world through the offspring of a woman in what theologians have called the protoevangelion, the “first gospel.” (Genesis 3) Humans have grown exceedingly evil in their dealings on the earth and God brings judgment through flood but promises to sustain creation and save a remnant of those who trust him and follow him. God promises to sustain and be with his people until his purposes for history have been fulfilled. This is followed by his calling and promises to Abram who become Abraham the man of faith (Genesis 12, 15). Abraham’s offspring Isaac and Jacob have wrestled with believing God’s promise and God is faithful to them to the uttermost. One of Jacob’s sons, Joseph, is sold into slavery by his brothers and ends up in Egypt. God is faithful again to be with Joseph and use all his adverse circumstances to bring about his sovereign plan to sustain Egypt and bring his people there (Genesis 37, 39-50). God’s people were fruitful in Egypt but Joseph’s leadership and kindness to the nation were not remembered by subsequent rulers and God’s people have become enslaved by the powerful Egyptian Empire.

Literature of Exodus

Canon

When looking at the teaching of Exodus within the focus of the Old Testament canon we arrive at a bit of an Everest in terms of its teaching. The Exodus contains massive canonical importance as it contains major focus on the central canonical themes of righteousness (law), redemption (the exodus itself) and promise (covenant). The major focus of Exodus in the Old Testament is that it shows the giving of laws and the making of the important Mosaic covenant within the narrative of God’s saving power for his people. All of these will help us understand the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness.

Genre

As we come to the book of Exodus we find that it is a book of mixed genre. The Pentateuch as a whole and Exodus in general contains three genres woven together. The writing includes significant narratives, legal corpora and some fantastic poetic sections.[45] However, as the law codes and poetry take place within the narrative, we will focus our attention on this significant genre for Exodus. Obviously, when looking specifically at the laws and poems of the book one should approach them according to the relevant genre.

Literary Observations for Narratives: Setting, Characters, Plot and Narrative Flow

Settings – The settings and scenes contained in the Exodus narrative are variegated and quite breath-taking. It is no accident that film makers and animators have been drawn to this narrative to provide resources for their own artistic story telling.[46]

  • Egypt: The beginning of the book is set in Egypt with varying scenes. There is the enslaved workers, domestic settings, the court of the Egyptian Pharaoh.
  • Midian – Moses flees from Egypt to Midian where he befriends the local priest and marries his daughter. It is during this time in Midian that Moses meets with God in and receives his calling.
  • The Red Sea: God’s mighty hand and outstretched arm brings his people safely across the red seas defeating the pursuing Egyptian army. It is a scene of great deliverance and great rejoicing.
  • The Wilderness: The wilderness is an important setting throughout Scripture and it is often times the place of God’s meeting with his people and his people’s disobedience and wanderings.
  • Dessert Camps: The people in their traveling towards the land live a nomadic experience being led by Moses and the presence of God.
  • Mount Sinai: God gives Moses the law and makes covenant with his people in a mountain setting. This is a setting that is revisited in later biblical narratives as well.
  • The Tabernacle – There is an implied construction scene in the book as the instructions for and the construction of the Tabernacle takes place. Furthermore, the tabernacle itself becomes a narrative scene as it is erected and God’s glory takes up residence there

Characters – The characters in the Exodus are of extreme importance for our attention as they are some of the central figures of the Bible and need to be grasped as redemptive history moves forward in Scripture. We will not cover everyone named in the book here but only the major players in the story.

  • God, The Great I AM: The main character of Exodus and the main character of Scripture is God himself. In Exodus God gives his covenant name to Moses, he speaks to Moses out of the bush that burns yet was not consumed, he leads the people in Pillar of Cloud and Fire, he makes covenant with his people and gives them the law, he judges them for their idolatry and wickedness, he reestablishes covenant with them and reassures us of his glory and wonderful character. God is all over the Exodus. God is one of the protagonists of the story.
  • Moses: Another main character in the narrative is the prophet Moses. He is a central figure in Exodus from beginning to end. His birth and rescue, his upbringing in the courts of Pharaoh, his actions on behalf of his people, his calling in the wilderness, his leadership as God’s prophet in delivering his people, his struggles with God and disobedience, his wrestling with leadership of God’s people, his wisdom and rashness, his compassion and his full humanity are all displayed in the Exodus narrative. There are other important characters in the life of the young Moses including the courageous Hebrew midwives, Moses mother and Pharaoh’s daughter. Other central characters in Moses wilderness periods include Jethro/Reuel and his daughter Zipporah who becomes Moses’ wife.
  • Aaron: Aaron is a sidekick to Moses in the Exodus narrative whom God calls to be with him and assist him in his calling. He will speak for Moses when needed and becomes the first in the line of priests to mediate worship of the living God.
  • Miriam: Aaron’s sister Miriam, who is called a prophetess, has an important role in leading God’s people in singing after his deliverance of them from the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. Next time you want to shut down the lady with a tambourine in worship, remember Miriam.
  • Joshua: Joshua, who will take over for Moses in leading the people in the conquest of Canaan is also on the scene in Exodus. He is Moses’ chief general and begins his battle winning ways against Amalek in Exodus 17.
  • Pharaoh: The king of Egypt serves as the antagonist in the plotline of Exodus. He is a complex character in that he is torn between letting Israel go to the wilderness to worship God and loosing face and backing down before God. God’s dealing with Pharaoh give the narrative plot tension as it moves along. He is stubborn, hard hearted and proud and is dealt with most severely. Auxiliary characters to Pharaoh are his counselors and magicians of his court as well as his army pursuing God’s people to the Red Sea.
  • The People of Israel: Though not one person, Israel itself is a major character in the Exodus story. Their oppression and cries are heard by their God who had not forgotten them. Their rejoicing in God’s deliverance, their stiff-necked unfaithfulness, their shocking idolatry and disobedience are all central to the narrative. The interplay between God and his covenant people is key to understanding the Pentateuch. God is faithful to his promises and his people are a wayward, idolatrous nation.
  • Passover Lamb: In the Exodus narrative a lamb is slain and its blood is placed over the doorposts of God’s people so his judgment would “pass over” them and spare them of his wrath against the Egyptians. The lamb will appear again in the Bible most notably when the lamb of God eats the Passover with his friends before his blood will cover the sins of the people once and for all.
  • Oholiab and Bezalel: The final two characters I will mention are the men charged with leading the artisans in their work on the Tabernacle. They are a constant reminder of God’s gracious gifts to people and how the gifts of skill and creativity can be used in worship and to glorify our King.

Plot and Narrative Flow

Every interesting narrative plot goes from points of stability, to dramatic crisis, to redemption/resolution. Exodus contains many cycles of this dramatic tension in its various stories and settings. The following outline the plot that is cycled through in the three major settings of the book.

In Egypt
  1. Prospering of the people in Egypt
  2. People enslaved, deliverer sent, this brings crisis and battle
  3. Redemption brought by God in the PassoverSaved to Worship - Remember this with celebrations
To the Wilderness
  1. Released from Egypt
  2. Crisis at the Red Sea
  3. God’s Presence with the People
  4. Saved to worship – God defeats the enemy, the people celebrate in poetry and song
At Sinai with God
  1. Covenant Faithfulness of God
  2. Covenant Adultery by Israel
  3. Grace and Renewal by a faithful GodSaved to Worship – Tabernacle Erected, Worship Possible

What one notices in the Exodus is the narrative of the entire biblical storyline: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration. This is the good news my friend! God himself will save a wrecked and ruined world by saving his people and restoring all things under the rule and reign of his King. His name is Jesus/Jeshua/Joshua and aren’t you glad we have someone who fights the battles on our behalf. Indeed, God saves.

Text

As has been mentioned Exodus is a part of the Pentateuch and should be read as such. However, the following will serve as simple outlines to the book itself.

Deliverance out of Egypt – Exodus 1-15The Law Given at Sinai – Exodus 16-24Worship established at Sinai – Exodus 25-40

This can be further broken down as follows:

I. Deliverance out of Egypt – Exodus 1-15

  • Oppression of the People – Ch 1
  • The Birth and Calling of Moses’– Ch 2-4:17
  • Moses Returns to Egypt as God’s Deliverer – Ch 4:18-7:7
  • Confrontation, Plagues and Beat downs – Ch 7:8-10
  • Passover and Deliverance – Ch 11-13:16
  • The Red Sea – Ch 13:17-15

II. The Law Given at Sinai – Exodus 16-24

  • Journey and Rebellion – Ch 16
  • War! – Ch 17
  • Wise Counsel – Ch 18
  • Arrival and Meeting on the Mountain – Ch 19
  • The 10 Commandments – 20:1-21
  • The Covenant 20:22-23
  • Signed, Sealed, Now Deliver – Ch 24

III. Worship established at Sinai – Exodus 25-40

  • The Tabernacle Ch 25-31 and 35-40:33
  • Rebellion, Mercy and Forgiveness Ch 32-34
  • Glory Ch 40:34-38

Theology of Exodus

The theology of Exodus is so rich and broad that a short summary hardly suffices to treat all the major themes. The following are some of the major theological concepts that come through to us gloriously in the Exodus narrative but are by no means exhaustive.

Redemption

We simply cannot understand the story of the world without understanding the redemptive purposes of God. God intends to take a broken and rebellious world and redeem it. People and creation itself (Romans 8:18-30) will be delivered from bondage to sin, death and God’s right judgment. The redemption of God of all things for his own glory is displayed in God’s relationship to his people. The Exodus shows redemption of God’s people by his mighty hand for his own namesake and glory. This theme flows right into the central act of God in redemption through his Son and Messiah. The Exodus is the model of what God will ultimately do in Jesus Christ.

Judgment

God’s redemption is always paralleled by God’s judgment and strong hand to bring it about. God’s judgment of the oppressive Egyptian regime and his judgment of his people for gross idolatry display to us the white hot and holy jealously God has for his people. Rather than an irrational human jealousy God’s jealousy and judgment reveals to us the honor of his name and the fact that he is what is best for us. We see this clearly in his judgment of sin and sinners.

The Name and Character of God

In the Exodus God communicates his unique name YHWH to Israel as their covenant Lord. Furthermore, many of God’s attributes are on display in the narrative: His sovereign power over the nations, his holiness in his covenant, his providential leading of history are observed. Additionally, God’s character is beautifully communicated directly to us by God in Exodus 34. In this we learn of his steadfast love and character and his covenant keeping grace.

The Passover

The Passover is essential in understanding the ministry and identity of Jesus Christ. God’s saving of his people from his judgment by covering them with the blood of a lamb is a type that Jesus fulfills completely as the lamb of God. Furthermore, when eating the Passover, Jesus institutes and extends the memorial feast from remember the Exodus to remembering the new Exodus accomplished by Jesus. Rather than simply saving us and redeeming us from Egypt, God’s lamb covers us so that we are saved from judgment for sin, death due to sin and eternal hell.

Covenant

The covenant God makes with his people at Sinai is paradigmatic of our failure and disobedience. This covenant of law sets the stage for the rest of the Scripture in that we anticipate salvation that will come not from our own obedience but from someone else. The Sinai covenant and Moses’ failure are central to the Pentateuch[47] and set the tone for one that would come in full obedience and covenant faithfulness. Related to the covenant at Sinai is God’s giving of the law and requirement of righteousness from the people. The law makes us conscious of sin, makes us aware of a need for grace and a Savior that can do what the law could not.

Idolatry, Sin and Renewal

A most vivid story in the latter passages of the Exodus narrative is the partying idolatry surrounding a golden calf. In it we see God’s burning anger against his people, Moses’ intercession and the renewal of the covenant by God’s grace. Exodus 32-34 is a great microcosm of redemption where we see our hearts, the character of God and need for his covenant initiative. The fact that Jesus would come make a new covenant in his own blood shows the steadfast love and mercy of God as well as his wrath against sin. It gives the backdrop to passages like 2 Corinthians 5:21, For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

True Worship

God’s establishing of the outward religious devotion and worship of God with the constructing of the tabernacle gives us great insight into the nature of true worship. First, it shows the people God’s holiness and set apart nature. Furthermore, it shows our need to be clean, need to have light and our need to be forgiven in order to approach God in worship. The tabernacle of Exodus, then later the more permanent temples, forms a massive, multilayered type that is fulfilled by Jesus. In the New Testament the tabernacle and the Exodus narrative will be the ground by which we actually understand Jesus being called “the light of the world” (John 8) “the bread of heaven” (John 6) “the lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world” (John 1, Revelation 5, 7) and “our great high priest”. In fact, the book of Hebrews will unpack for us the nature of true worship in Jesus Christ with breathtaking detail. This rich theology flows out from the bedrock of the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness.

Conclusion

As we travel in the themes of the Books of the Pentateuch, my prayer is that God would reveal himself and his purposes in a very large way. Too often we allow our lives to get caught up in the small, the boring and the mundane. Yet the Story of God is massive, EXL, in scope and invades every nook and cranny of our lives. When we see the expansive implications of the work of God throughout history and follow Jesus in our own stories today, what happens is far from small. Jesus said it this way: I came that they may have LIFE and have it abundantly. (John 10:10 ESV)

Let’s live it big in Him,

Pastor Reid S. Monaghan

 

Bibliography

Alexander, T. D. From Paradise to the Promised Land : An Introduction to the Pentateuch. 2nd ed. Carlise, Cumbria, U.K. Grand Rapids, MI.: Paternoster Press ; Baker Academic, 2002.

Clowney, Edmund P. The Unfolding Mystery - Discovering Christ in the Old Testament. Philipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1988.

Enns, Peter. Exodus The Niv Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, Mich.: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 2000.

Hamilton, James M. God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment : A Biblical Theology. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2010.

Köstenberger, Andreas J., and Richard Duane Patterson. Invitation to Biblical Interpretation : Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2011.

Lewis, C. S. Surprised by Joy; the Shape of My Early Life. London,: G. Bles, 1955.

Longman, Tremper. How to Read Exodus. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2009.

Longman, Tremper, and Raymond B. Dillard. An Introduction to the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2006.

Patzia, Arthur G., and Anthony J. Petrotta. Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2002.

Pratt, Richard L. He Gave Us Stories : The Bible Student's Guide to Interpreting Old Testament Narratives. Phillipsburg, N.J.: P. & R. Pub., 1993.

Robertson, O. Palmer. Christ of the Covenants. Philipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980.

Ryken, Leland. How to Read the Bible as Literature. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Academie Books, 1984.

Sailhamer, John. The Pentateuch as Narrative : A Biblical-Theological Commentary Library of Biblical Interpretation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1992.

Wegner, Paul D. The Journey from Texts to Translations : The Origin and Development of the Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1999.

 

Endnotes

[1] Richard L. Pratt, He Gave Us Stories : The Bible Student's Guide to Interpreting Old Testament Narratives (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P. & R. Pub., 1993).

[2] The recent work of James Hamilton declares this the central them of biblical theology. See James M. Hamilton, God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment : A Biblical Theology (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2010).

[3] Leland Ryken, How to Read the Bible as Literature (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Academie Books, 1984), 34-35.

[4] Andreas J. Köstenberger and Richard Duane Patterson, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation : Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2011), 23.

[5] Some caution must be given here as there are some scholars who have given primacy to ancient near eastern literature to explain the biblical text. Yes, these sources are useful, but not to the extent that we subjugate the biblical text to them.

[6] For a good look at the texts and the world they emerged in see Paul D. Wegner, The Journey from Texts to Translations : The Origin and Development of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1999). Of interest to the Old Testament see pages 75-130.

[7] See recommendations in Köstenberger and Patterson, 126-127.

[8] Ibid., 162.

[9] Ibid. See chapters 12-14.

[10] Tremper Longman and Raymond B. Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2006), 32.

[11] Ryken, 37.

[12] Richard Pratt discusses God, Supernatural Creatures and Human Beings as the characters in Old Testament narratives. I know Balaam’s Ass also got a small role but for the most part I agree with Pratt. See Pratt, 130-132.

[13] For two works on seeing Christ in the Old Testament I highly recommend O. Palmer Robertson, Christ of the Covenants (Philipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980). and Edmund P. Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery - Discovering Christ in the Old Testament (Philipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1988).

[14]Arthur G. Patzia and Anthony J. Petrotta, Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 120.

[15] See in particular Hebrews chapters 8-10.

[16] This was articulated by Lewis in his autobiographical work C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy; the Shape of My Early Life (London,: G. Bles, 1955), 207-208.

[17] John Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative : A Biblical-Theological Commentary, Library of Bibl