Exodus takes its name from the Septuagint (LXX), a Greek translation of the OT in use at the time of Christ. The Hebrew title was merely the first words of the text, “Now these are the names of” (Exod. 1:1).1 The word Exodus gives the theme of the first half of the book, since it denotes a large number of people leaving a land. However the latter half of this book describes the establishment of the institutions, the laws, and the worship of Israel.
A. AUTHOR AND DATE
It is fairly clear that the author was an eyewitness to the events. The vivid descriptions of the plagues upon Egypt, of the thunderings at Mount Sinai, and of the manna in the wilderness require a witness who was there. The minute details concerning the wells and palm trees at Elim, the two tables of stone, the worship of the golden calf, and many others testify of a personal eyewitness.2 Since there is little or no evidence of later additions to the book, it may be safely assumed that the writer of Exodus composed his material during or shortly after the experiences recorded in the book.
If it is granted that a contemporary Israelite wrote the accounts in Exodus, it is easily assumed that Moses was the writer. The author could have been no ordinary Israelite; he was highly gifted, educated, and a cultured man. Who was better prepared among all these people of slavery than Moses? Jesus affirmed that the law was written by Moses (Mark 1:44; John 7:19-22); His disciples also attested this fact (John 1:45; Acts 26:22). There is internal evidence in the book itself that Moses wrote certain parts (17:14; 24:4). Connell writes: “Nothing within the book conflicts with this claim that Moses was the author. The frequent mention of Moses' name in the third person has its parallels in the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, whilst the record of his call in chapter iii carries the same marks of authenticity as do the accounts of theirs.”3
Higher criticism has attacked the claim that Moses wrote the Pentateuch and has held that these books are a compilation of documents written at much later times. This radical position that denied Mosaic authorship to the Book of the Law is not as widely held today as earlier. “Though many liberal scholars still question the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, archaeological discoveries have given scholars of every theological background a higher respect for the historicity of the events it describes.”4 There is no sound reason in the light of present-day research to abandon the traditional view that Moses wrote Exodus during the wilderness wandering.
The actual date of the exodus from Egypt and the giving of the law has been a problem to scholars for centuries and has not yet been resolved. Dates have been suggested as early as 1580 B.C. and as late as 1230 B.C. Archaeological evidence “seems to point to a date some time in the thirteenth century,” though this is in apparent conflict with the date in I Kings 6:1. The issue “is not a matter of doctrine, but simply a matter of historical enlightenment.”5
B. CONTENTS
The material found in Exodus follows naturally the Book of Genesis. The word “now” (Exod. 1:1) connects this account with what goes before. In fact the material in Exodus would be rather meaningless without the accounts in Genesis. However, after a brief reference to what came before, the author launches into a description of the changed situation. God's people, once the favored guests of Pharaoh, have become a nation of slaves. Jehovah undertakes to deliver this people from her oppressors, and make her into a nation under God with institutions and laws given by divine revelation. Exodus is a picture of the mighty-working God, redeeming and creating a people for himself.
The theme of Exodus is clearly redemption by the mighty acts of God. The leader of Israel is the Almighty operating on and through His servant Moses. The task of deliverance seemed impossible, but God accomplished it with a mighty hand. The establishing of these difficult people in a new homeland as a godly nation appeared hopeless, but the book closes with a triumph of God's grace. The focus is on God's character as the One who reveals himself as mighty and just, yet tender and forgiving. Israel would look back on these events through these pages of history, and see, perhaps even more clearly than did the Israel of the Exodus, the God who had revealed himself to His people.
The purpose in writing the book is evident. This account of God's acts in delivering His people from Egypt and giving to them their laws and institutions would be a constant reminder of God's special concern for Israel and a uniting factor in their worship. Israel could never have become and continued to be the people whose God is the Lord without the awareness of these divine events in their history. The recounting of the events created faith in the later generations of Israel. These same events are spiritualized into the great redemption wrought by Jesus Christ on the Cross. Christians look back to these divine manifestations as symbolic of God's work for them in Christ (see John 1:29; Heb. 8:5; 10:1).