What the book is

Exodus is the second of the five books of the Law. Its name, from the Greek translation, means “going out”; in Hebrew it is named after its opening words, “These are the names”. It continues the story of Jacob’s family, now grown into a people and enslaved in Egypt. God calls Moses from a burning bush, reveals his name, sends plagues on Egypt, brings Israel out on the night of the Passover, and leads them through the sea. At Mount Sinai he makes a covenant with them and gives them his law, beginning with the Ten Commandments:

“I am the LORD your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house where you were slaves.

Exodus 20:2 · Open Word Bible, Balanced Read it with the reasoning →

The book ends with the tabernacle built and the glory of the LORD filling it. Exodus became the great story of rescue for Israel, told at every Passover, and the New Testament uses its pictures for what Christ has done: the Passover lamb, the bread from heaven, and the covenant sealed in blood.

Who wrote it, and when

As with Genesis, Jewish and Christian tradition has held that Moses wrote the five books of the Law, and Exodus itself says that Moses wrote down some of its words (17:14; 24:4; 34:27). Many scholars think instead that the book was drawn together from older sources and traditions over a long time, reaching its final form after the exile. When the exodus itself took place is also debated: some date it to the fifteenth century BC, from the figures in 1 Kings 6:1; many date it to the thirteenth, from the cities named in 1:11. The draft takes no side on these questions; they do not change how a sentence is translated.

How the book is laid out

  • Slavery in Egypt and the call of Moses (1–4): the burning bush and the revealing of God’s name.
  • The plagues and the Passover (5–13): Moses before Pharaoh, ten plagues, and the night Israel leaves Egypt.
  • The sea (14–15): the crossing, and the song of Moses and Miriam.
  • In the wilderness (15–18): bitter water, manna and quail, water from the rock, the battle with Amalek, and Jethro’s advice.
  • The covenant at Sinai (19–24): the Ten Commandments, the laws of the covenant, and the covenant sealed with blood and a meal on the mountain.
  • Instructions for the tabernacle (25–31): the ark, the lampstand, the altar, the priests’ clothing and ordination.
  • The golden calf and the covenant renewed (32–34): Israel’s first great failure, Moses’ prayer, and the LORD passing before him and proclaiming his name.
  • The tabernacle built (35–40), and the glory of the LORD filling it.

How Open Word Bible translates Exodus

The divine name. In Exodus God reveals his personal name to Moses, and the book uses it hundreds of times. The text writes it “the LORD” in small capitals, and a reader setting shows “Yahweh” instead. See the divine name.

”I AM WHO I AM” (3:14). God explains his name from the Hebrew verb “to be”. The draft follows the familiar “I AM WHO I AM”, marks the decision uncertain, and the footnote gives the other readings: “I will be who I will be”, and the Greek translation’s “I am the one who is”. A decision on 6:3 explains in what sense the fathers had not known God “by my name”.

The Red Sea. The Hebrew name of the sea means “Sea of Reeds”; the draft keeps “the Red Sea”, the name the sea has had since the Greek translation, and a decision explains the Hebrew.

How many? (12:37). About 600,000 men on foot left Egypt. The Hebrew word for “thousand” can also mean a clan or a military unit, and the footnote gives that reading, which would make the number far smaller.

The Ten Commandments (20). “You shall not murder” (20:13): the verb means unlawful killing, not every taking of life. “You shall have no other gods besides me” (20:3): the Hebrew says “before my face”, and the footnote gives the other senses. See “The fear of the LORD”.

A pregnant woman struck (21:22). If a pregnant woman is struck “so that her children are born early” and no further harm follows, a fine is paid. Whether the Hebrew means a premature birth or a miscarriage matters for how the law values the unborn child; the draft reads it as a premature birth, marks the decision uncertain, and gives “she miscarries” in a footnote.

The name proclaimed (34:6–7). “The LORD, the LORD, a God of tender compassion and grace, slow to grow angry, rich in faithful love and in truth.” These words echo through the rest of the Old Testament. See Hesed for the word behind “faithful love”.