Commentary on the book of Exodus

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Title of the book. The second part of the Pentateuch of Moses is called by the Jews the Palestinian initial word - “shemot” (names) or “elle shemot” (these names), and by the Jews of Alexandria and Christians, according to the predominant content - “Ἔξοδος”, “Exodus”, “Exodus”, since it describes the exodus of the sons of Israel from Egypt. Author of the book. The author of the book of Exodus, as can be seen primarily from its contents, was Moses. So, after the victory over the Amalekites, he receives a command from the Lord to record this event: “write this in a book for remembrance” (Ex. 17:14). A similar command was given to Moses after the restoration of the covenant broken by Israel: “And the Lord said to Moses: Write these words for yourself” (Ex. 34:27). Likewise, before the solemn conclusion of the covenant after the Sinai legislation, Moses, having recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the laws, “Moses wrote all the words of the Lord” (Ex. 24:4). Jesus Christ also testifies about Moses, as the author of the book of Exodus, in his famous words to the Sadducees: “about the dead, that they will rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, how God said to him at the bush…”. (Mark 12:26). The story of God's appearance to Moses at the bush is included in the book. Exodus, and this is, according to the Savior, the book of Moses. Of course, the expression “book of Moses” can mean: a book that speaks primarily about Moses or is called by the name of Moses. But such an understanding cannot take place, since in the book. Exodus Moses does not occupy the main place in the title of the book. his name is not mentioned among the Jews. The expression “book of Moses” has only one meaning: the book written by Moses (cf. John 5:45–47). In contrast to this evidence, negative criticism rejects the Mosaic origin of the book of Exodus and splits its contents into several parts, attributing the origin of each of them to a different time. Thus, according to one of the representatives of the “record hypothesis” - Ewald, the oldest part of the Exodus is the song of Moses (Ex. 15: 1–18); 100 years after Moses, someone wrote “the life of Moses”; in the last years of the judges, the “book of the covenant” appeared (Exodus 20–23), in the age of Solomon the “book of beginnings”, embracing most of the contents of the book. Exodus; its final edition falls to the time of Jotham, a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah. Reiss (“the book of the covenant” dates back to the time of Jehoshaphat), Delitzsch (most of the Exodus appeared before the Babylonian captivity), and others hold approximately the same views. But the opinion about the different-time origins of the contents of the book. The outcome has no basis for itself. The many details found in it undoubtedly indicate that the author of the book is a contemporary and eyewitness of the events described. So, the alleged book. The outcome of the state of Egypt is exactly the same as it appears according to the modern Egyptian monuments of the era of Moses, completely different from the later situation, at least, for example, in the age of Solomon. In particular, the mention of some Egyptian cities - Pliopolis, Ramesses, Pithom (I) and Etham (Ex. 13:20), without indicating their position, assumes familiarity with them to the reader and the author himself. Likewise, only an eyewitness to the events could provide such exact information about the time of their occurrence as the three-day journey through the desert of Sur from the Red Sea to Mera (Ex. 15:22); arrival in the desert of Sin on the 15th day of the second month after leaving Egypt (Ex. 16:1); giving manna the next day; camping at the foot of Sinai on the first day of the third month after the exodus from Egypt (Ex. 19:1); the appearance of the glory of God on the third day after Moses descended from Sinai (Ex. 19:16), etc. As a contemporary of the construction of the tabernacle in the desert, Moses notes that its wooden parts were made of shittim wood (Arabian acacia), but not from any other material, for example, oak or cedar, which would be appropriate in the mouth of a later writer - a resident of Palestine; mentions the “tahagi” leather, unknown to other Old Testament writers, from which one of the curtains of the tabernacle was made, etc. Finally, a remark preceding the presentation of some laws: “when the Lord your God brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites” (Exodus 13:5; Exodus 23:23, etc.; Exodus 34:11, etc.) leaves no doubt that the book. Exodus was written in the desert, before the Jews entered Palestine. Time and place of writing the book. As far as can be judged from the above passages of the book. Exodus (Exodus 17:14; Exodus 24:4; Exodus 34:27), it was not written at one time, but as Moses received various laws from God. The final edition of the book falls at the end of the forty-year wandering in the desert - during the stay of the Jews at the Jordan “The children of Israel,” it is said, “ate manna for forty years, until they came to the inhabited land; They ate manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan” (Ex. 16:35). The purpose of writing a book. The immediate goal of writing the book. The outcome is to give the Jewish people and perpetuate in their memory religious, moral and civil laws (Ex. 13:5, 8-11; Ex. 34:11, etc.); the more distant one comes down to indicating the fulfillment of the promises given to the forefathers of the Jewish people (Exodus 5:2–8). The period embraced by the book. The Exodus, and the Division of Its Contents. The Book of Exodus covers the period of time from the beginning of the enslavement of the Jews in Egypt by Pharaoh, “who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8), until the first month of the second year after their exodus from Egypt (Exodus 40:17), i.e., more than 400 years (for the duration of the Jews’ stay in Egypt, see the explanation of Article 49, Chapter 12). Its content sets out the history of the people of Israel “from the moment when the Jews, under the pressure of the pharaohs, began to feel mutual solidarity, brought closer and closer together by a sense of common danger and the miracles that accompanied the exodus from the land of enslavement - to the giving of the law at Sinai, to the receipt of a full national life, concentrated around the main sanctuary - the tabernacle.” Enclosed within this framework, the entire content of the book. The outcome can be divided into three parts: • the first after a short introduction (Ex.1.1–7), connecting the narrative of the book. Exodus from the book. Genesis, tells about the liberation of the people from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 1:8–13:16); • the second tells the story of the Jews' journey to Mount Sinai (Exodus 13:17–18:27); • the third tells about the conclusion and renewal of God's covenant with the chosen people (Exodus 19–40). You might be interested in: