01 October 2018

Book of Exodus Notes

Chapter 1: Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt

Jacob and his offsprings went to Egypt, which later on became the nation of Israel.
Joseph was already in Egypt, but then he and his brothers died. However, his descendants were
fruitful and multiplied, filling the nation of Israel with a plethora of people. (1:1-7)

→ Pharaoh Oppresses Israel

A new king controlled Egypt and he was unfamiliar with Joseph. He told his people,
“Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly
with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us
and escape from the land.” For this reason, he made the Israelites do labor for Egypt's
government, such as building cities. This way they would not think about nor have the time to
fight against Egypt. Still, the Israelites continued to multiply. Hence, the Egyptians made them
work as slaves and gave them hard and rigorous jobs to do. (1:8-14)
The king tells the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill the Israelite male babies
and let the females live. However, the midwives did not obey his commands in fear of God.
Since these midwives protected the babies lives, God was happy and gave them families. Then
the king orders ALL his people to kill the Israelites males who are born. (1:15-22)

Chapter 2: The Birth of Moses

A Hebrew woman conceives a son and hides him for three months in fear that he would
be killed. She was not able to hid him anymore though, so she put him in a basket and placed
him by the river. She told her daughter to stand from afar and see what would happen. When te
king's daughter came to bathe at the river, she saw the basket. She told her servant to check what
was inside and saw that it was a Hebrew baby; she decided to keep him. The baby's sister comes
asks if she should find someone to nurse the child for her. She agrees and so she calls the child's
mother. When the child became older, the king's daughter claimed him and named him Moses
because she "drew him out of the water." (2:1-10)

→ Moses Flees to Midian

Moses is aware that he is a Hebrew. One day when he is older, he goes out and sees an
Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses kills the Egyptian. The next day, he sees two Hebrews
fighting and attempts to make them stop. One of them asks Moses if he will kill him just as he
killed the Egyptian. Moses became scared as he realized people knew about what he had done.
When the king hears of this, he wants Moses killed. Moses flees to the land of Midian.
The priest of Midian seven daughters came to the well where Moses was located to get
water for their father's flock. Moses saves them from the shepherds and watered their flock. They
tell their father about him. He tells them to call Moses to eat bread. Soon, he gave Moses his
daughter Zipporah. Together, they give birth to a son named Gershom becauses Moses was "a
sojourner in a foreign land." (2:16-22)

→ God Hears Israel’s Groaning

The king dies and the Israelites cry for help because of their slavery. God hears their
groaning and remembers his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (1:23-25)

Chapter 3: The Burning Bush

Moses was leading his father in law's flock and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. An
angel of God appears as a flame of fire in a bush. Moses realizes that the bush does not burn.
Then God calls Moses and tells him to take his sandals off because he is standing on holy
ground. God tells Moses "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob." Moses is scared to look at God. (3:1-6)
God tells Moses that he hears the cries of the Israelites and is aware of their sufferings.
He says that He has come to lead them out of the Egyptian hand to a new land flowing with milk
and honey. God wants to send Moses to the Pharaoh to take the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses is
confused as to why he has been chose to do this job. God says that He will be by his side and
after doing so, he will serve Him on this mountain. (3:7-12)
Moses asks God what he should tell the people of Israel if they ask him what is the God
of your fathers name. God tells Moses to tell them that "I AM" has sent him. God also says "But
I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will
stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let
you go." (3:13-22)

Chapter 4: Moses Given Powerful Signs

Moses asks what he should do if they do not believe him. God gives Moses three
miracles to perform so that they could believe him. The first one was that his staff was able to
turn to into a snake and back into a staff. The second one was that his hand could turn leprous
and then return back to normal. The third miracle was that if he pour water from the Nile onto
the dry ground, it would turn into blood. (4:1-9)
Moses then says that he is no eloquent, but God says that He will be his mouth and teach
him what he should speak. Moses insists that he sends someone else. God decides to send Aaron,
Moses' brother, to speak for Moses. God says "He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall
be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him." He also tells him to take the staff to perform the
miracles. (4:10-17)

→ Moses Returns to Egypt

Moses asks his father in law for permission to go to Egypt to see if his brothers are alive.
He accepts Moses' request. God tells Moses to go to Egypt because all the people who were
seeking his life are dead. Moses took his wife, sons, and the staff of God to Egypt. (3:18-20)
 God tells Moses to perform all the miracles for the king. He also tells Moses to warn the
king that his firstborn son will be killed if he does not let Moses do what he needs to. (4:21-23)
Suddenly, Moses was sought to put to death by God. However, Zipporah "took a flint and
cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom
of blood to me!” Hence, He left him alone. (4:24-26) This is probably referring to the fact that
God was angry that they did not have their son circumcised.
God orders Aaron to go the mountain of God to meet Moses. After reiterating what
needed to be done, they both gather all the elders of the people of Israel. "Aaron spoke all the
words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the
people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he
had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped." (4:27-31)

Chapter 5: Making Bricks Without Straw

Moses and Aaron go to the king and request that he let their people go into the wilderness
for a few days to worship. The king says the he does not know God and will not let the Israelites
go. He also tells them that they are taking away people from their work. He tells the Israelites
that they will no longer be given straws to make bricks; they will have to gather it themselves.
They still need to make the same number of bricks too; it will not be reduced. (5:1-9)
Then the foreman of the Israelites seek to resolve the situation, saying that the king's
people are in fault. Their cries were of no help and they knew that they were in trouble. They tell
Moses and Aaron "The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight
of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” (5:15-21)
Moses asks God why he sent him if He is not helping His people. (5:22-23)

Chapter 6: God Promises Deliverance

God says to Moses "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand
he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” (6:1)
God assures Moses that He will bring the Israelites out from the burdens of the Egyptians
and bring them into the land the He swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He wants them to
be completely free from slavery. Moses tells this to the people of Israel but they did not believe
him because they became hopeless. (6:2-9)
God speaks to Moses and Aaron, charging them to bring the people of Israel out of the
land of Egypt. (6:10-13)

→ The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

(6:14-25) states the names of those included in Moses’ and Aaron’s lineage.

Chapter 7: Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh

God says to Moses "I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall
be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell
Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land." (7:2) God also says that he will harden the
king's heart so that he will not listen to them. By doing so, the people of Egypt will see His
amazing miracles. Moses and Aaron obeyed God's orders. Moses was 80 and Aaron was 83
when they spoke to the king. (7:3-7)
God tells them that when the king asks them to prove themselves then Aaron should take
his staff and make it become a serpent. However, the king did not listen to them because he
summoned the "wise men and sorcerers" and they were able to do it too. Aaron's staff ate their
staffs though. (7:8-13)

→ The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood

Then God tells Moses and Aaron to tell the king that "The Lord, the God of the Hebrews,
sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far,
you have not obeyed. Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold,
with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into
blood." Moses and Aaron listened and did exactly what they were told. Afterwards, the fish in
the Nile died and it stank so the Egyptians could not consume from it. There was also blood
throughout the land of Egypt. However, the Egyptians did the same by their "secret arts," and so
the king did not believe in them. Meanwhile, the Egyptians dug for water to drink. (7:14-24)
"Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile." (7:25)

Chapter 8: The Second Plague: Frogs

God told Moses to tell the king to let His people go so that they could serve Him. If he
does not obey, then He will plague their country with frogs. The king did not obey and so, Aaron
made the frogs come. However, the magicians did the same again. (8:1-7)
The king tells Moses and Aaron to beg God to take the frogs away by the next day and by
doing so, he will let the Israelites go. God removed all the frogs, but still the king did not listen.
(8:8-15)

→ The Third Plague: Gnats

Then God tells Moses to tell Aaron to use the staff to make gnats in all the land of Egypt.
He did exactly that. The magicians tried their best to produce the gnats too, but they were
incapable of doing so. The magicians told the king "This is the finger of God.” However, he did
not listen to them. (8:16-19)

→ The Fourth Plague: Flies

Then God tells Moses to tell the king that if he does not let His people go, then He will
send swarms of flies to the houses of Egyptians. However, He will not send them to the places
where the Israelites stay. By doing so, the king will know that He is God in the midst of the
earth. This indeed happened the next day. (8:20-24)
 Then the king calls Moses and Aaron to sacrifice to God within the land. Moses says “It
would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an
abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their
eyes, will they not stone us? We must go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to
the Lord our God as he tells us.” The king agrees, but says they cannot go far away Moses then
asks God that the flies become eliminated and they do. Again, the king did not let the people go.
(8:25-32)

Chapter 9: The Fifth Plague: Egyptian Livestock Die

God tells Moses to tell the king that if he does not let the Israelites go, then a very severe
plague will fall upon the livestock of his people. The Israelites livestock will be spared. His
words became true and all the Egyptian livestock died. Still, the king did not let His people go.
(9:1-7)

→ The Sixth Plague: Boils

For the sixth plague, God says to Moses and Aaron, " “Take handfuls of soot from the
kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. It shall become fine dust over
all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the
land of Egypt.” The king's magicians could not stand before Moses nor fix this plague. Still, the
king did not listen to them. (9:8-12)

→ The Seventh Plague: Hail

God tells Moses to tell the king "Let my people go, that they may serve me. For this time
I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you
may know that there is none like me in all the earth." God also says that by now, the king would
have been cut off from the earth but it is through him, His power is shown and His name could
be proclaimed in all the earth. Since the king will not let His people go, God says that he will
cause heavy hail to fall. Anything that this hail falls upon will die. He warns everyone to pay
attention to his words and save themselves. (9:13-21)

Soon, there was hail and fire flashing continuously too. It destroyed anything in its way
in Egypt. The land where the Israelites were remained unharmed though. (9:22-26)
The king says to Moses and Aaron “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I
and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God's thunder
and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” Moses says he will stretch out his hands
to God and the hail will stop, which shows that the earth is God's. Moses knows, however, that
the king and his servants are not scared of God. After the hail stopped, the king and his servants
did not let the Israelites go. (9:27-35)

Chapter 10: The Eighth Plague: Locusts

Moses and Aaron asked the king how long will he refuse to listen to God. They tell him
that God will bring locusts into his country, so that no one can see the land, if he does not obey.
(10:3-6)
The king's servants tell the king that Egypt is ruined so should let the Israelites go. The
king then asks Moses and Aaron which Israelites will go, and they imply that for all of them to
go. The king denied them from doing so. (10:7-11)
Soon, the locusts settled over the entire land of Egypt. "They covered the face of the
whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit
of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field,
through all the land of Egypt." The king calls Moses and Aaron, begging them to lift this plague.
God lifted it, but the king did not obey God's orders. (10:12-20)

→ The Ninth Plague: Darkness

Then God said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be
darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” This plague lasted three days for the
Egyptians, but the Israelites had light. The king says that they can go serve God, but to leave
their livestock behind. Moses tells him that they need to take them along as sacrifices and burnt
offerings. The king decided to not let them go. The king then said to him “Get away from me;
take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” Moses
replies that he will not see him again. (10:21-29)

Chapter 11: A Final Plague Threatened

God tell Moses that he will bring one more plague upon Egypt and the king. After this, he
will let the Israelites go. He suggests that the Israelites ask their neighbor for silver and gold
jewelry. (11:1-3)

God warns that at midnight, every firstborn in Egypt will die. This includes the firstborn
of the king to the firstborn of animals. (11:4-9)
Still the king did not the people of Israel leave. (11:10)

Chapter 12: The Passover

→ The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

 At midnight, God struck down all the firstborn in Egypt. There was a great cry in Egypt
as there was at least one person dead in every house. Then the king told Aaron and Moses to go
serve God with the people of Israel.

→ The Exodus

In fear, the Egyptians wanted the Israelites out of their land quickly. The Israelites took
their dough before it was leavened (rise) and plundered the Egyptians of their silver and gold.
(12:33-36)
The people of Israel, which included 600,000 men, went from Rameses to Succoth. They
also baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they brought out of Egypt. (12:37-39)
The Israelites lived in Egypt for 430 years. "It was a night of watching by the Lord, to
bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by
all the people of Israel throughout their generations." (12:40-42)

→ Institution of the Passover

God tells Moses and Aaron that for the Passover ceremony, everyone must be
circumcised. "No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. It shall be eaten in one house; you shall
not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. All the
congregation of Israel shall keep it." (12:43-49)
All the Israelites obeyed the commands given Moses and Aaron. " And on that very day
the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts." (12:50-51)

Chapter 13: Consecration of the Firstborn

God said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the
womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” (13:1-2)

→ The Feast of Unleavened Bread

Moses tells the people to remember this day in which they came out of Egypt because
God had led the way. He says that no leavened bread should be consumed. In the month of April,
they are going out and when God brings them into the land that He swore to their fathers to give
them, they should keep their service in this month. "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread,
and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for
seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all
your territory. 8 You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me
when I came out of Egypt.’" This will occur every year in honor of God. (13:3-10)
 The Israelites must set aside all the firstborns for God. This is honor of Him allowing
them to escape the house of slavery (Egypt.) God struck down all the Egyptians' firstborns at one
point, but protected the Israelites from this plague. Hence, "I [the Israelites] sacrifice to the Lord
all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem." (13:11-16)

→ Pillars of Cloud and Fire

"God steers the Israelites away from the land he promised them. He does this because the
Philistines, a coastal nation, are in the way of Canaan, the land God promised the Israelites.
God is worried that if the Israelites get into a war with the Philistines, they will forget that he,
God, just saved them. So they go the long way around."
"God leads the people "in a pillar of cloud by day," and "a pillar of fire by night." (13:21-
22). “Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had wanted to be moved with his
people.”

Chapter 14: Crossing the Red Sea

"God tells Moses to take the Israelites in an odd direction so Pharaoh will think they're
aimlessly wandering around. God will also harden Pharaoh's heart so that he regrets letting the
Israelites go. Pharaoh's heart is hardened, again. Pharaoh decides to go after the Israelites. He
rallies 600+ chariots to do the job. The Israelites see the Egyptians advancing, and start
panicking. When Moses cries out to God, God tells him to stretch out his hand and divide the
sea. God's angel keeps the Egyptian army at bay while the sea opens up to create a passageway.
The Israelites pass through the sea on dry land. The Egyptians follow the Israelites, but God
closes the sea on them once the Israelites are through. The Egyptians all drown."

Chapter 15: The Song of Moses

“Moses and the Israelites sing a song to God after their triumph. The song that the
Israelites sing has a ton of historical references: it talks about the character of God, has a
different understanding of water.. The Israelites haven't even gone into Canaan yet;
contradiction. Miriam sings her own, slightly shorter, song.”

→ Bitter Water Made Sweet

“As they're traveling in the deserts, the Israelites can't find fresh water. They complain to
Moses, who asks God for help. Moses throws a piece of wood into the brackish water, and it
becomes sweet. God makes a rule that if the Israelites do right by God's rules, they won't be
punished with the diseases the Egyptians got.”