After The Sanctuary Was Established
Exod 15:17 You will bring them in and plant them In the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O LORD, which You have made For Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have established.
Exod 25:8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
The children of Israel had just crossed the red sea and they may have no clue about the sanctuary or Gods dwelling place, yet Moses and the children of Israel seems to be singing it as a song. This clearly suggests that the Song of Moses was sung much later after God had established His sanctuary. The clue comes from the Psalm 78, An Instruction of Asaph.
Ps 78:68-69 But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved and He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever.
The above verse is sung after David was chosen to be king over all Israel and Gods sanctuary was established. This means, the book of Exodus must have been compiled after king Solomon built the Temple, which is after 1028 BC.
Why Was God Pleased With Enoch
In the Old Testament theres a man named Enoch whose walk with God was so pure, so vibrant, and so honest the Lord said, This is what its all about. Enoch pleased God because of his relationship with God, and the Lord said, Enoch, this is what pleases Me most. Lets walk into eternity together.
What Is The Main Point Of Exodus
The Book of Exodus tells how the Israelite people were freed from slavery in Egypt by their god, Yahweh, and under the leadership of Moses. Moses is considered an important prophet in three major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Book of Exodus is a sacred story to these three religions.
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The Parting Of The ‘red Sea’
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
Exodus 14:21
Could this most famous of all stories have any basis in fact?
If you read the bible in the original Hebrew, the word ‘red’ is mistranslated. In the Hebrew bible Moses and his people cross the ‘yam suph’ – the Sea of Reeds.
Now this is a strange story. You can imagine trying to cross the Red Sea would be horrendously difficult but a Reed Sea is something quite different. This is marshland areas and this is probably what they crossed. Ancient Egyptian texts mention an area called Patchoufy: The Reeds. This is probably what they crossed.
David Rohl, Egyptologist
So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.
Exodus 14:27
How then do we account for the sea coming back and inundating the soldiers?
If you’re talking about a shallow reed swamp of maybe two or three metres maximum of water, this sort of thing is physically possible. In fact it’s been witnessed within the last 100 years… The Egyptian army might not have been completely decimated. Many of the horses would have been killed, chariots would have been stuck in the mud.
David Rohl, Egyptologist
What about the famous image of a great canyon of water? Could this have any basis in reality?
What Is The Main Message Of The Book Of Exodus
The goal of the divine plan in Exodus is a return to humanitys state in Eden, so that God can dwell with the Israelites as he had with Adam and Eve through the Ark and Tabernacle, which together form a model of the universe in later Abrahamic religions Israel becomes the guardian of Gods plan for humanity, to bring
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Were The Hebrews In Egypt
The story goes that Moses led two million Hebrews out of Egypt and they lived for 40 years in the Sinai desert – but a century of archaeology in the Sinai has turned up no evidence of it. If the Hebrews were never in Egypt then perhaps the whole issue was fiction, made up to give their people an exotic history and destiny.
Some archeologists decided to search instead in the Nile Delta: the part of Egypt where the Bible says the Hebrews settled.
They combed the area for evidence of a remarkably precise claim – that the Hebrews were press-ganged into making mud-bricks to build two great cities – Pithom and Ramses. Ramses II was the greatest Pharaoh in all of ancient Egypt – his statues are everywhere. Surely his city could be traced? But no sign could be found. There were suggestions it all been made up by a scribe.
Until a local farmer found a clue: the remains of the feet of a giant statue. An inscription on a nearby pedestal confirmed that the statue belonged to Ramses II. Eventually, archeologists unearthed traces of houses, temples, even palaces. Using new technology, the archaeologists were able to detect the foundations and they mapped out the whole city in a few months. The city they had discovered was one of the biggest cities in ancient Egypt, built around 1250BCE. 20,000 Egyptians had lived there.
How Did Christianity Spread Around The World
The Epistles, or letters, written by Paul the Apostle to churches dotted across the Mediterranean world which are our best source for the initial spread of Christianity confirm that Christianity started in Jerusalem, but spread rapidly to Syria and then to the rest of the Mediterranean world, and was mostly accepted by non-Jews, says John Barton, former professor of the interpretation of holy scriptures at the University of Oxford.
The epistles are our earliest evidence for Christianity, says Barton. The first date from the AD 50s, just two decades after the death of Jesus.
As Pauls letters to churches such as the one in the Greek city of Thessalonica reveal, the first Christian communities were often persecuted for their beliefs.
And its such persecution, particularly at the hands of the Romans, that may have inspired the last book of the New Testament, Revelations. With its dark descriptions of a seven-headed beast and allusions to an imminent apocalypse, Revelations is now widely believed to be a foretelling of the grisly fate that the author believed awaited the Roman oppressors of Christianity.
Versions of the Bible
Different editions of the Bible have appeared over the centuries, aiming to further popularise the stories and teachings within. Here are three of the most notable versions
King James Bible
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The Plagues And The Passover
God calls and sends him to meet in the wilderness. Aaron gives God’s message to the and performs . The people believe.
Moses meets with the Egyptian ruler and, in ‘s name, demands permission to go on a three-day into the to hold a sacred feast. The king not only refuses, but oppresses the people still further, accusing them of laziness and ordering them to gather their own straw to make bricks without diminishing the quota. Moses complains to God that his ministry is only resulting in increased suffering for the Israelites. God identifies himself again to Moses, this time explaining that Moses is the first of the Israelites to know his true name, which was unrevealed even to , , and . God promises that he will redeem Israel “with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.”
The Egyptian courtiers lobby to let the Israelites have their festival, and the king begins to negotiate with Moses. Suspecting a trick, Pharaoh agrees to let the men make their pilgrimage but not the Israelite women and children. God and Moses respond with a plague of locusts that devour the crops not already destroyed by the hail. Once again Pharaoh begs for forgiveness, Moses removes the plague and Pharaoh hardens his heart. God then plagues Egypt with three days of darkness. His will now almost broken, Pharaoh agrees that the women and children can join the pilgrimage, but not the cattle. Moses refuses to negotiate, and God hardens the king’s heart one last time.
Hidden Pyramids Of The Bible
The biblical authors commonly structure their material according to a literary form known as chiasmus.
This involves a sequence of elements that can be divided into two halves, with the second half being a mirror image of the first, like steps leading up one side of a pyramid and down the other.
A simple example is Jesus statement that the first will be last, and the last first , which has an A-B-B-A structure.
This chiasmus occurs in a single sentence, but there are much more involved ones in the Bible, ones that span large blocks of text and that serve as a major organizational principle for an entire book.
This is the case with Genesis. Much of the book is organized into large chiastic structures.
It is this type of organizationnot a slapdash mixing of sourcesthat is responsible for the two accounts of Sarah being passed off as Abrahams sister .
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Act : God Makes A Covenant With Israel
The Israelites leave Egypt and make their way to Mount Sinai, where God gives His laws to Moses. God makes a covenant with the nation of Israel and the generations to come: because He rescued them from Egypt, Israel is to observe His rules. God speaks the Ten Commandments directly to the whole nation of Israel, and He relays specific ordinances to Moses on the mountain. And the people agree to it!
After this, God makes plans for a place of worship. Hes going to come down from the mountaintop and dwell in the midst of the people of Israelbut in order for this to happen, the people need to prepare a portable tabernacle for him. God gives Moses the plans for the tabernacle, the sacred furniture, and the garments for the priests.
But already things arent going as planned. While God is giving Moses laws for the people, the people start worshiping a golden calf not cool. Moses pleads with God on Israels behalf, and the nation is given another go at keeping Gods commands.
And so Israel builds the tabernacle: a holy tent. The book of Exodus ends with the glory of the LORD filling the tabernacle. God is now dwelling among His chosen people, Israel. However, now theres another problem: how will the people live in the presence of such a holy and powerful being?
Thats what the next book, Leviticus is all about.
Who Wrote The Second Set Of The Ten Commandments
The Lord speaks to Moses, but he doesnt repeat the same words as in Exodus 20. This time the ten commandments are different. At the end, it says Ex. 34:28 And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
So who wrote down the ten commandments? The first time it was God, but the second time it was Moses.
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Who Was King David
The first wave of scribes may, its been suggested, have started work during the reign of King David . Whether thats true or not, David is a monumental figure in the biblical story the slayer of Goliath, the conqueror of Jerusalem. David is also a hugely important figure in the quest to establish links between the Bible and historical fact, for he appears to be the earliest biblical figure to be confirmed by archaeology.
I killed king of the house of David. So boasts the Tel Dan Stele, an inscribed stone dating from 870750 BC and discovered in northern Israel in the 1990s. Like the Merneptah Stele before it, it documents a warlords victory over the Israelites . But it at least indicates that David was a historical figure.
The Tel Dan Stele also suggests that,no matter how capable their rulers, the people of Israel continued to be menaced by powerful, belligerent neighbours. And, in 586 BC, one of those neighbours, the Babylonians, would inflict on the Jews one of the most devastating defeats in their history: ransacking the sacred city of Jerusalem, butchering its residents, and dragging many more back to Babylonia.
Ii Date Of The Exodus 1446 Bc
A. This date emphasizes the literal interpretation of the biblical numbers in Exodus 12:40 , Judges 11:26 and 1 Kings 6:1 .
B. Hill and Walton offer the following arguments for an early date:1
1. 1 Kings 6:1 indicates the Exodus occurred 480 years prior to the 4th year of Solomon’s reign. His 4th year is variously dated at 966/960/957 B.C., placing the Exodus at 1446/1440/1437.
2. According to Judg. 11:26, Israel had occupied Canaan for 300 years before the judgeship of Jephthah, which is dated between 1100 and 1050. This dates Joshua’s conquest between 1400 and 1350. Adding Israel’s 40 years in the desert puts the Exodus between 1440 and 1390.
3. Moses lived in exile in Midian 40 years while the pharaoh of the oppression was still alive. The only pharaohs who ruled 40 years or more were Thutmose III and Rameses II .
4. The Merneptah Stela indicates Israel was already an established nation at the time.
5. The Amarna tablets speak of a period of chaos caused by the Habiru, very likely the Hebrews.
6. The early date allows for the length of time assigned to the period of the judges . The late date allows only 180 years.
7. The Dream Stela of Thutmose IV indicates he was not the legal heir to the throne .
8. Archaeological evidence from Jericho, Hazor, etc., supports a 15th-century date for the Exodus
9. Exod. 12:40 dates the entrance of Jacob into Egypt during the reign of Sesostris/Senusert III rather than during the Hyksos period .
b. +44 yrs = start of David’s reign
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The Department Of Redundancy Department
If the divine names are not a sure guide to what source is being used, what about the apparent duplications of events, such as Abraham passing Sarah off as his sister to foreign rulers or Isaac doing the same thing with Rebecca ?
Does this indicate different sources containing the same basic story that got stitched together, creating the duplications?
Not necessarily. It can also that the author means us to understand this as a family tactica kind of scamthat the Patriarchs used to get out of tough situations.
There is evidence for this in the Hebrew text of Genesis 20:2, which is normally translated And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister.
Contemporary Jewish scholar Gary Rendsburg points out, however, that what it says in Hebrew is not that he said this of Sarah his wife but to Sarah his wife .
Abraham and Sarah have already done this once before, and now the text asks us to envision Abraham turning to Sarah and saying to her, She is my sistercueing her to what his plan is. We can see her thinking, Oh, were going to do that one again.
Since the ruse worked twice for Abraham, its not surprising to find his son, Isaac, using it in a similar situation.
And there is another reason why the duplications do not indicate multiple sources.
Whats The Verdict On Authorship
Many modern scholars like to attack the authorship of Genesis. They may point out the faultiness of oral tradition or try to assert that multiple authors compiled the manuscript over centuries, borrowing from mythology of other religions.
But because we have extra-biblical support for the authorship of Genesis and because various authors throughout the Bible do attribute the Pentateuch to Moses, we can assume Moses wrote Genesis.
Genesis has sparked a great deal of debate among scientists and scholars, ranging from the literal vs. figurative days of creation to the genealogical lines.
Nevertheless, we can know that the book is God-breathed, and like many concepts in Scripture, although we may not fully understand all of it, we know enough about the book to see how it fits into Gods greater plan for humanity and salvation.
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Themes In The Book Of Exodus
There are several significant themes in the book of Exodus. Israel’s slavery is a picture of man’s slavery to sin. Ultimately only through God’s divine guidance and leadership can we escape our slavery to sin. However, God also directed the people through the godly leadership of Moses. Typically God also leads us into freedom through wise leadership and through his word.
The people of Israel had been crying out to God for deliverance. He was concerned about their suffering and he rescued them. Yet Moses and the people had to exercise courage to obey and follow God.
Once free and living in the desert, the people complained and began to yearn for the familiar days of Egypt. Often the unfamiliar freedom that comes when we follow and obey God, feels uncomfortable and even painful at first. If we trust God he will lead us into our Promised Land.
The institution of the law and the Ten Commandments in Exodus reveals the emphasis and importance of choice and responsibility in God’s kingdom. God blesses obedience and punishes disobedience.
Passages That Refer To Moses Writing
Right from the start it is important to note that the Pentateuch is anonymous. Nowhere in the Pentateuch is an author named, not Moses or any other person. However, that said, a number of passages in the Pentateuch mention that Moses wrote things down.
Consider the following:
Exodus 17:14Then the Lord said to Moses, Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it . . .
Exodus 24:3-4When Moses went and told the people all the Lords words and laws, they responded with one voice, Everything the Lord has said we will do. Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.
Numbers 33:2At the Lords command Moses recorded the stages in their journey.
Deuteronomy 31:24After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end . . .
And these references are just a sample of a number of other passages that could be cited .
None of these passages concern the writing of the book of Genesis.
Certainly the passages that speak of Moses writing things down do not claim that Moses wrote the entirety of the Pentateuch, but they do imply that Moses wrote material that was incorporated into the Pentateuch.
With this in mind, we turn now to references to the book of the law of Moses or the book of Moses found in biblical books that follow the Pentateuch.
Here are just a few examples:
Nehemiah 13:1On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people . . .
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