Book of Exodus

second book of the Bible

The Book of Exodus (Hebrew: שְׁמוֹת, Shemot) is the second book of the Hebrew Bible. Book of Exodus is the record of Israel's birth as a nation. Within the protective "womb" of Egypt, the Jewish family of seventy rapidly multiplies. At the right time, accompanied with severe "birth pains," and infant nation, numbering between two and three million people, is brought into the world where it is divinely protected, fed, and nurtured. The Hebrew title, ‘‘We'elleh Shemoth’’, ‘‘Now These Are the Names,’’ comes from the first phrase in 1:1.

Children of Israel in Egypt (1867 painting by Edward Poynter)

Quotes

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You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (22:21)
  • Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
    • KJV, Exodus 1:1-4
      • The first sentence is the source of the Hebrew name of Exodus, Shemot (“names”)
 
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (Exodus 3:2)
  • And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
  • Exodus 3:2, KJV
  • Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
  • And God said to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
 
And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. (Exodus 5:1)
  • And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
    • Exodus 5:1, KJV
  • You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
  • Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
    • Chapter 20, Verse 3
  • Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
    • Chapter 20, Verse 4-6
  • Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
    • Chapter 20, Verse 7
  • Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
    • Chapter 20, Verse 8-11
  • Honour thy father and thy mother.
    • Chapter 20, Verse 12
  • Thou shalt, not murder.
    • Chapter 20, Verse 13
  • Thou shalt not commit adultery.
    • Chapter 20, Verse 14
  • Thou shalt not steal.
    • Chapter 20, Verse 15
  • Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
    • Chapter 20, Verse 16
  • Thou shalt not covet (neighbour's house).
    • Chapter 20, Verse 17 (a)
  • Thou shalt not covet (neighbour's wife).
    • Chapter 20, Verse 17 (b)
  • Thou shalt not covet (neighbour's slaves, animals, or anything else).
    • Chapter 20, Verse 17 (c)

Quotes about Exodus

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  • Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites, find their way to Egypt and become too numerous for the Pharaoh’s liking, so he enslaves them and orders that all the boys be killed at birth. Moses escapes the mass infanticide and grows up to challenge the Pharaoh to let his people go. God, who is omnipotent, could have softened Pharaoh’s heart, but he hardens it instead, which gives him a reason to afflict every Egyptian with painful boils and other miseries before killing every one of their firstborn sons. (The word Passover alludes to the executioner angel’s passing over the households with Israelite firstborns.) God follows this massacre with another one when he drowns the Egyptian army as they pursue the Israelites across the Red Sea. The Israelites assemble at Mount Sinai and hear the Ten Commandments, the great moral code that outlaws engraved images and the coveting of livestock but gives a pass to slavery, rape, torture, mutilation, and genocide of neighboring tribes. The Israelites become impatient while waiting for Moses to return with an expanded set of laws, which will prescribe the death penalty for blasphemy, homosexuality, adultery, talking back to parents, and working on the Sabbath. To pass the time, they worship a statue of a calf, for which the punishment turns out to be, you guessed it, death. Following orders from God, Moses and his brother Aaron kill three thousand of their companions.
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Old Testament
GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SolomonIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachi
Apocrypha
EsdrasTobitJudithAdditions to EstherWisdom of SolomonSusannaBaruchAdditions to DanielPrayer of Manassheh1 Maccabees2 Maccabees
New Testament
MatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John 3 JohnJudeRevelation