1. The book of Exodus is part of the Pentateuch.
2. The book is named Exodus because “its central event was understood by the Septuagint’s translators to be the departure of the Israelites from Egypt.”
3. The Documentary Hypothesis states that four different authors wrote the Pentateuch, called J, Yahwist, E, Elohist, P, Priestly, and D, Deuteronomist. The book of Exodus shows evidence of writers J, E, and P. The subject of chapters 25-31 and 35-40 suggests that they were written completely by the Priestly writer.a The Yahwist author shows up in some writing, but the Priestly and Elohist are more obvious.b
4. As a whole, the book of Exodus explains the journey of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the Passover and flight from Egypt. The book explains the journey to the Mount Sinai, where Moses receives the Ten Commandments and how the Israelites build the Tabernacle under God’s instruction.
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Moses is the main character in the book of Exodus. He constantly leads the Israelites through all their suffering and guides them to follow God's law and trust in Him.
6. The purpose of the book of Exodus is to show how "'The sons of Israel' in Ex 1:1 [who] are the actual sons of Jacob/Israel the patriarch,” become “the nation Israel”.
7. In Exodus, God shows that he will always fight to keep his people safe when he sends the plagues to free the Israelites, and protects them along their journey to Mount Sinai. He also lays out the basic rules of our relationship with Him through the Ten Commandments.
8. There are two arguments for different possible time periods of the events of the book of Exodus, “the early date,” around the 15th century, and “the late date,” around the 13th