history/overview of exodus

--old testament understanding--

the patriarchal age (as mentioned in the postings about the pentateuch) began around 2000 b.c., and extended to around 1200 b.c. when the israelites had settled in palestine. egypt was a great power and, according to my textbook, "palestine lay within the bounds of its sovereignty." i won't go into too much detail about the government and politics of egypt throughout this period, but you get an idea of the enormous influence of egyptian culture when reading the end of genesis and the book of exodus...and the power of the pharoah when reading about his interactions with moses and aaron.

the word, exodus, is derived from the word exodos, meaning "departure." this is a properly descriptive title for this book narrating the details of israel's departure from egypt. my text refers to the exodus as the central event of israel's history. timing of the exodus by many conservative scholars has been concluded to be between 1300 and 1250 b.c./this period having the majority of evidence to support it. if this estimation is accurate, the pharaohs of the oppression would have been seti I (1305-1290) and rameses II (1290-1213)/rameses II having been the pharaoh during the exodus. the route of the israelites' travel was not the normal route from egypt to canaan (known as "the way of the philistines"). in order to avoid egyptian forts and supply stations on that route, they went the "way of the wilderness."

the book of exodus contains so much insight into the history of the israelites...and God's covenant relationship with them. this is illustrated beautifully during moses' interaction with Him at the burning bush. here, God reveals His name in response to moses' questioning. i want to quote my textbook here, which has a wonderful explanation of this: "to grasp the force of moses' question, we must understand that a name in ancient times was bound closely with that person's essence. it expressed one's character. to learn a person's name was to have access to a person's very character. moses is really asking, 'what is God's relationship to the people?' He has been the 'God of the ancestors. who is He now?'" the explanation continues as follows: "'I am who I am' reflects a hebrew idiom in which something is defined in terms of itself...'I am who I am' means 'I am indeed he who is.'...'I am he who is there (for you)--really and truly present, ready to help and to act.'"...and moses was able to see God help and act on behalf of His people through the exodus.