Exploring Exodus: The Origins of Biblical Israel [Paperback]

The book of Exodus records the pivotal events in the formation of biblical Israel—the deliverance from slavery, the leadership of Moses, the wilderness wanderings, and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. Bible scholar Nahum Sarna, whose widely praisedUnderstanding Genesishas become a standard text, examines and illuminates the distinctiveness of the Exodus narrative in light of ancient Near Eastern history and contemporaneous cultures—Egyptian, Assyrian, Canaanite, and Babylonian. In a new foreword to this edition, Sarna takes up the debate over whether the exodus from Egypt really happened, clarifying the arguments on both sides and drawing us back to the uniqueness and enduring significance of biblical text.Foreword
xi

Preface
xix

Introduction
1
The uses of the Exodus theme; The title; The connection with Genesis; Structure and content; The historical background.

CHAPTER I
The Oppression
15
The Hyksos and their expulsion; The enslavement of the Israelites; Brickmaking; The midwives.

CHAPTER II
The Births and Youth of Moses
27
The birth of Moses; The motif of the abandoned hero; The role of women; The name Moses ; Moses' upbringing; The Midianites; Jethro.

CHAPTER III
The Commissioning of Moses
38
The Burning Bush; The God of the Father(s); A land flowing with milk and honey ; The ethnic complexity; Moses' reluctance; The Divine Name; The elders; Hebrews ; Worship the wilderness; Stripping the Egyptians; Signs and wonders; Moses' continued resistance.

CHAPTER IV
The Ten Plagues
63
The hardening of the heart; Bricks without straw; Demoralization; Signs before the pharaoh;  The plagues; The literary form; Judgments on the gods of Egypt.

CHAPTER V
The Passover and the Exodus
81
The calendar; The paschal lamb and the unleavened bread; Leaven; Bitter herbs; The blood; The death of l“�