ExodusPart One

ExodusPart One

Exodus 1–15

Stephen J. Binzwith Little Rock Scripture Study staff

LITURGICAL PRESSCollegeville, Minnesota

www.littlerockscripture.org

Nihil obstat for the commentary text by Stephen J. Binz: Rev. Robert C. Harren, J.C.L., Censor deputatus.Imprimatur for the commentary text by Stephen J. Binz: W Most Rev. John F. Kinney, J.C.D., D.D., Bishop of St. Cloud, Minnesota, November 11, 2011.

Cover design by Ann Blattner. Interior art by Ned Bustard. Map on page 79 created by Robert Cronan of Lucidity Information Design, LLC.

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permis-sion in writing from the copyright owner.

This symbol indicates material that was created by Little Rock Scripture Study to supplement the biblical text and commentary. Some of these inserts first appeared in the Little Rock Catholic Study Bible; others were created specifically for this book by Amy Ekeh.

Commentary by Stephen J. Binz, © 2011, 2019 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, except brief quotations in reviews, without written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America.

Inserts adapted from Little Rock Catholic Study Bible, © 2011 by Little Rock Scripture Study, Little Rock, Arkansas; additional inserts, prayers, and study questions by Little Rock Scripture Study staff, © 2019 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be repro-duced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright holder. Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321. Printed in the United States of America.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Binz, Stephen J., 1955– author.Title: Exodus / Stephen J. Binz with Little Rock Scripture Study staff.Description: Collegeville : Liturgical Press, 2019– | Series: Little Rock Scripture Study.Identifiers: LCCN 2019001482 (print) | LCCN 2019009043 (ebook) | ISBN 9780814664766 (eBook) |

ISBN 9780814664520 (pbk.)Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Exodus—Textbooks.Classification: LCC BS1245.55 (ebook) | LCC BS1245.55 .B56 2019 (print) | DDC 222/.120071—dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019001482

Exodus, Part One: ISBN 978-0-8146-6452-0 ISBN 978-0-8146-6476-6 (e-book)Exodus, Part Two: ISBN 978-0-8146-6453-7 ISBN 978-0-8146-6477-3 (e-book)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Welcome 7

What materials will you use? 7

How will you use these materials? 8

Lesson One (Introduction and Exodus 1–3) 11

Lesson Two (Exodus 4:1–6:27) 27

Lesson Three (Exodus 6:28–10:29) 39

Lesson Four (Exodus 11–12) 53

Lesson Five (Exodus 13–15) 63

Praying with Your Group 75

Reflecting on Scripture 77

Map of the Exodus 79

Wrap-up lectures are available for each lesson at no charge. The link to these free lectures is LittleRockScripture.org/Lectures/ExodusPartOne.

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WelcomeThe Bible is at the heart of what it means to be a Chris-

tian. It is the Spirit-inspired word of God for us. It reveals to us the God who created, redeemed, and guides us still. It speaks to us personally and as a church. It forms the basis of our public liturgical life and our private prayer lives. It urges us to live worthily and justly, to love tenderly and wholeheartedly, and to be a part of building God’s kingdom here on earth.

Though it was written a long time ago, in the context of a very different culture, the Bible is no relic of the past. Catholic biblical scholarship is among the best in the world, and in our time and place, we have unprecedented access to it. By making use of solid scholarship, we can discover much about the ancient culture and religious practices that shaped those who wrote the various books of the Bible. With these insights, and by praying with the words of Scripture, we allow the words and images to shape us as disciples. By sharing our journey of faithful listening to God’s word with others, we have the opportunity to be stretched in our understanding and to form communities of love and learning. Ultimately, studying and praying with God’s word deepens our relationship with Christ.

Exodus, Part One Exodus 1–15

The resource you hold in your hands is divided into five lessons. Each lesson involves personal prayer and study using this book and the experience of group prayer, discussion, and wrap-up lecture.

If you are using this resource in the context of a small group, we suggest that you meet five times, discussing one lesson per meeting. Allow about 90 minutes for the small group gathering. Small groups function best with eight to twelve people to ensure good group dynamics and to allow all to participate as they wish.

WHAT MATERIALS WILL YOU USE?

The materials in this book include:

• The text of Exodus, chapters 1–15, using the New American Bible, Revised Edition as the translation.

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• Commentary by Stephen J. Binz, which has also been published separately as The God of Freedom and Life: A Commentary on the Book of Exodus (Liturgical Press).

• Occasional inserts highlighting elements of the chapters of Exodus being studied. Some of these appear also in the Little Rock Catholic Study Bible while others are supplied by staff writers.

• Questions for study, reflection, and discussion at the end of each lesson.

• Opening and closing prayers for each lesson, as well as other prayer forms available in the closing pages of the book.

In addition, there are wrap-up lectures available for each lesson. Your group may choose to purchase a DVD con-taining these lectures or make use of the audio or video lectures online at no charge. The link to these free lectures is: LittleRockScripture.org/Lectures/ExodusPartOne. Of course, if your group has access to qualified speakers, you may choose to have live presentations.

Each person will need a current translation of the Bible. We recommend the Little Rock Catholic Study Bible, which makes use of the New American Bible, Revised Edition. Other translations, such as the New Jerusalem Bible or the New Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition, would also work well.

HOW WILL YOU USE THESE MATERIALS?

Prepare in advance

Using Lesson One as an example:

• Begin with a simple prayer like the one found on page 11.

• Read the assigned material in the printed book for Les-son One (pages 12–13) so that you are prepared for the weekly small group session. You may do this assign-ment by reading a portion over a period of several days (effective and manageable) or by preparing all at once (more challenging).

• Answer the questions, Exploring Lesson One, found at the end of the assigned reading, pages 24–26.

• Use the Closing Prayer on page 26 when you complete your study. This prayer may be used again when you meet with the group.

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Meet with your small group

• After introductions and greetings, allow time for prayer (about 5 minutes) as you begin the group session. You may use the prayer found on page 11 (also used by individuals in their preparation) or use a prayer of your choosing.

• Spend about 45–50 minutes discussing the responses to the questions that were prepared in advance. You may also develop your discussion further by respond-ing to questions and interests that arise during the dis-cussion and faith-sharing itself.

• Close the discussion and faith-sharing with prayer, about 5–10 minutes. You may use the Closing Prayer at the end of each lesson or one of your choosing at the end of the book. It is important to allow people to pray for personal and community needs and to give thanks for how God is moving in your lives.

• Listen to or view the wrap-up lecture associated with each lesson (15–20 minutes). You may watch the lecture online, use a DVD, or provide a live lecture by a quali-fied local speaker. This lecture provides a common focus for the group and reinforces insights from each lesson. You may view the lecture together at the end of the session or, if your group runs out of time, you may invite group members to watch the lecture on their own time after the discussion.

Above all, be aware that the Holy Spirit is moving within and among you.

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ExodusPart One

LESSON ONE

Introduction and Exodus 1–3

Begin your personal study and group discussion with a simple and sincere prayer such as:

PrayerGod of freedom and life, fill our minds and hearts with your liberating presence as we read, study, and live your saving word.

Read the Introduction on pages 12–14 and the Bible text of Exodus 1–3 found in the outside columns of pages 15–22, highlighting what stands out to you.

Read the accompanying commentary to add to your under-standing.

Respond to the questions on pages 24–26, Exploring Lesson One.

The Closing Prayer on page 26 is for your personal use and may be used at the end of group discussion.

Lesson One

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exodus,” a new experience of liberation from the captivity of Babylon and an opportunity to begin their life again. In every age, Israel knew that its future would take shape according to the same patterns with which their past had been formed.

For Israel the Exodus was never just a memory of the past; it was a living reality for every generation. By retelling the story and especially through celebrating the covenant in Israel’s liturgy, the events of the past became present. When the people of Israel went up to the temple to celebrate the covenant renewal, they were not just recalling Mount Sinai but they were standing with Moses and their an-cestors as that event became alive for them. Reciting the narrative in ritual ceremony was not just a telling about the past; it was also a description of the present moment. The saving presence of God, the God of freedom and life, was reestablished for every generation. Israel remains always the people of the Exodus.

This foundational revelation underlies every other aspect of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. The whole complex of affirmations about God found in the law, the prophets, the psalms, and the gospels is rooted in the Exodus event. God is not abstract, static, and impartial; the God revealed in Exodus liberates, enlivens, redeems, calls, negotiates, forgives, challenges, and journeys. God is revealed in the real, human events of history.

Formation of the Exodus NarrativeThe book of Exodus was not intended as an

eyewitness account of events as they happened. It is rather a testament of the faith of genera-tions expressing the meaning of the historical events experienced by their ancestors. While Exodus is rooted in historical events, it was ex-pressed by later generations who had remem-bered and celebrated those events for hundreds of years. The story was told and retold in such a way that the experience of past generations and the faith of contemporary generations merged with one another.

Though the historical event of Exodus oc-curred around 1250 BC, the narrative was not

INTRODUCTION

Significance of the ExodusThe Exodus event is ancient, yet always

new. It is the foundational event in which Israel came to know Yhwh (the Lord) and to know themselves as a people. It is the experience from which we continue to know who God is and what it means to be God’s people. The pas-sage from bondage to freedom, from death to life, is the story of all the people of God.

The revelation of God as the personal and mysterious divine presence acting in history to bring people to freedom and life is the very heart of Jewish and Christian faith. The Exodus was the crucial event. In that generation of forty years, Israel came to know Yhwh as the God of freedom and life. Indeed, the Exodus narratives are a proclamation of Israel’s faith, for Israel’s creed was the recital of God’s saving deeds in history.

Israel’s liberation from bondage and its establishment as a people was the decisive and definitive event of God’s self-disclosure to ancient Israel. Though God continued to be revealed in subsequent history, further under-standings and actions of God were always seen in light of this primary event of revelation. From that time on, Israel would see everything in its national history from the perspective of that foundational event. The prophets continu-ally called Israel back to faith in Yhwh (the Lord), “who brought you up from the land of Egypt” (Exod 32:4). The Exodus became the paradigm for describing God’s activity in human history.

The recital of the Exodus narratives is al-ways a call to new hope. Because God had heard Israel’s cries and acted in the past, Israel could be certain that God would continue to remember the past and act in the present. God, who had rescued Israel from bondage and death, would continue to rescue and save. In Israel’s ever-new experiences of delivery, Israel would come to know God more fully and in new ways. At the time in which the Exodus narratives were put in their present form, the people of Israel were experiencing a “new

Lesson One

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I. Introduction: The Oppression of the Israelites in Egypt

CHAPTER 1

Jacob’s Descendants in Egypt1These are the names of the sons of Israel who,

accompanied by their households, entered into Egypt with Jacob: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants was seventy. Joseph was already in Egypt.

6Now Joseph and all his brothers and that whole generation died. 7But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific. They multiplied and became so very numerous that the land was filled with them.

The Oppression8Then a new king, who knew nothing of

Joseph, rose to power in Egypt. 9He said to his people, “See! The Israelite people have multiplied and become more numerous than we are! 10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase; otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us, and so leave the land.”

11Accordingly, they set supervisors over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. Thus they had to build for Pharaoh the garrison cities of Pithom and Raamses. 12Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians began to loathe the Israel-ites. 13So the Egyptians reduced the Israelites to cruel slavery, 14making life bitter for them with hard labor, at mortar and brick and all kinds of field work—cruelly oppressed in all their labor.

1:1-7 Jacob’s Descendants in EgyptThe opening verses link the Exodus story

with the ancestral narratives of Genesis. These traditions revealed a God who brought forth and fostered life for Abraham and his descen-dants. The narratives of Genesis 37–50 describe how Joseph, who had been sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, rose to prominence in Egypt. Later when the life of his family was threatened by a famine in Canaan, Joseph pro-vided for his father Jacob and his brothers when they came seeking food in Egypt. Though he had been enslaved and his life threatened by his brothers, Joseph saved their lives and allowed them to remain in Egypt.

Verse 6 indicates the passage to a new era. The twelve sons of Jacob (Israel) had died. Through the passage of several generations, that family had become the people of Israel. Five Hebrew verbs in verse 7 describe an ex-traordinary increase in the number of God’s people. God’s intentions for humanity at crea-tion, to be fruitful and multiply, and God’s promises to Abraham, to make his descendants a great nation, were being fulfilled. The focus of Exodus is the formation of this multitude into the people of God.

1:8-14 The Oppression“Pharaoh” was the title for the kings of

Egypt. The new Pharaoh, who had no appre-ciation of the accomplishments of Joseph, caused the situation to change for the Israelites.

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Lesson One

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Command to the Midwives15The king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives,

one of whom was called Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16“When you act as midwives for the He-brew women, look on the birthstool: if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she may live.” 17The midwives, however, feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt had ordered them, but let the boys live. 18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this, allowing the boys to live?” 19The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. They are robust and give birth before the midwife arrives.” 20Therefore God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and grew very numerous. 21And be-cause the midwives feared God, God built up families for them. 22Pharaoh then commanded all his people, “Throw into the Nile every boy that is born, but you may let all the girls live.”

The Pharaoh of this oppression was probably Seti I, who was succeeded by Ramesses II, the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Excavations indicate that this dynasty undertook a vast building project in the delta region of the Nile in which they engaged the slave labor of foreigners. Since the area was on the eastern frontier where enemies often invaded Egypt, the king feared that the Israelites would ally themselves with Egypt’s enemies in case of an invasion.

The Pharaoh is purposely left unnamed. As the narrative takes on epic proportions, he becomes a symbol for the forces of slavery and death that take on the God of freedom and life. Israel’s blessing of abundant life led to fear in the king of Egypt. His fears became structured into the oppressive system of slavery and soon led to the destruction of life. Though slavery had become an accepted and unchangeable institution for Egypt, it was totally contrary to Israel’s understanding of God’s purpose for

them. Indeed, the more they were oppressed, the more abundant they grew.

Verses 13-14 stress the intensity of Israel’s experience of oppression. The writer uses a series of Hebrew words (translated as slavery, work, oppression, and labor) that are all forms of the Hebrew root “serve.” The service of Pha-raoh implies slavery and oppressive labor. Yet the same word is later used for the service and worship of God (3:12). Only in the service of God can Israel discover its purpose and experi-ence genuine freedom.

1:15-22 Command to the MidwivesHaving failed to utterly suppress the Isra-

elites with harsh servitude, the king of Egypt ordered the murder of the male children of the Hebrews. Ironically he chose professional life-bearers, the midwives, to be his instruments of death. Because the Hebrew midwives re-spected (“feared”) God, they knew that the preservation of life took precedence over the murderous decrees of the king, even at the risk of their own lives.

Recording the names of the two women invites a familiarity with them in contrast to the nameless oppressor. Women, often power-less in ancient societies, are given a crucial role in promoting the life of Israel. Indeed, all the Israelite women are said to be robust and lively, serving the cause of life. Two powerless women silence the power of Egypt. God worked through the courage and commitment of these two women to enable Israel to continue to flourish. God rewarded their reverence for the offspring of others by giving them children of their own.

Having failed again, Pharaoh initiates his third policy of oppression, the command to drown in the Nile all the boys born to the He-brews. Ironically, each form of oppression portends the eventual triumph of Israel. The midwives, in saving the sons from death, fore-shadow God’s saving the firstborn at the Pass-over. The drowning of the boys in the Nile anticipates the way Pharaoh and his armies will meet their death. The oppressive actions,

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Lesson One

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CHAPTER 2

Birth and Adoption of Moses1Now a man of the house of Levi married a

Levite woman, 2and the woman conceived and bore a son. Seeing what a fine child he was, she hid him for three months. 3But when she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket, daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile. 4His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him.

5Then Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe at the Nile, while her attendants walked along the bank of the Nile. Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it. 6On opening it, she looked, and there was a baby boy crying! She was moved with pity for him and said, “It is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and summon a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for you?” 8Pharaoh’s daughter answered her, “Go.” So the young woman went and called the child’s own mother. 9Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10When the child grew, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses; for she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

finally, prepare the way for the story of Moses’ birth.

2:1-10 Birth and Adoption of MosesPharaoh’s decree of death is again thwarted

by women. Pharaoh’s command to “let all the girls live” (1:22) comes back at him as the com-bined efforts of three women avert his plan for violence and death. Moses’ mother saves him by literally following the orders of Pharaoh to put her child in the river. Later she emerges to be the nurse of her own son and is even paid for her service from the royal treasury. The daughter of Pharaoh, the child of the oppres-sor, sees the child of the oppressed and is moved with pity. Pharaoh’s own daughter saves the very person who would destroy the power of Pharaoh and lead his people to free-dom. Moses’ sister serves as the intermediary and brings together his biological and adoptive mothers in an ironic conspiracy that results in the life of Israel’s deliverer.

As the story of Moses’ birth took shape within Hebrew tradition, it is probable that some motifs, such as dramatic rescue and royal education, were influenced by the heroic folk-lore of the Near East. Yet the author used themes from these sources to dramatically link Moses with the oppression of his people and to foreshadow his future role. From the mo-ment of his birth he suffered the oppression and the ban of death from which he would deliver his people. The one who would lead Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh grew up and was educated in Pharaoh’s own palace. What the daughter of Pharaoh did for Moses anticipates what God will do for Israel. She came down, saw the child and heard its cry, was moved with pity, rescued it from the waters, and provided for its care.

Pharaoh’s means of destruction, the waters of the Nile, became the means for saving Moses. A helpless baby in a fragile basket became the means of God’s manifestation of power. The instrument of Moses’ rescue, the basket or “ark,” is the same Hebrew word used for the ark of Noah in Genesis. The threatening waters

of destruction now become the instrument of freedom and life.

The name “Moses” is actually of Egyptian origin meaning “born of” or “son of.” In Egyp-tian names the root is often coupled with the name of a deity, that is, Tutmoses and Ramses. Yet the Hebrews often discovered popular etymologies for foreign names. The Hebrew Mosheh is an active participle meaning “one who draws out.” His rescue from the waters is a foreshadowing of his future role. But before he can draw out his people, he must himself be drawn out.

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Lesson One

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Moses’ Flight to Midian11On one occasion, after Moses had grown up,

when he had gone out to his kinsmen and wit-nessed their forced labor, he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own kinsmen. 12Looking about and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13The next day he went out again, and now two He-brews were fighting! So he asked the culprit, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14But he replied, “Who has appointed you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses became afraid and thought, “The affair must certainly be known.” 15When Pharaoh heard of the affair, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian. There he sat down by a well.

16Now the priest of Midian had seven daugh-ters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17But shep-herds came and drove them away. So Moses rose up in their defense and watered their flock. 18When they returned to their father Reuel, he said to them, “How is it you have returned so soon today?” 19They answered, “An Egyptian delivered us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock!” 20“Where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why did you leave the man there? Invite him to have something to eat.” 21Moses agreed to stay with him, and the man gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. 22She con-ceived and bore a son, whom he named Gershom; for he said, “I am a stranger residing in a foreign land.”

2:11-22 Moses’ Flight to MidianHebrew Scripture is silent on the period of

Moses’ youth and education. Typical of biblical literature, many details of his life have been omitted, with the text focused on those ele-ments related to the liberation of God’s people. Moses is seen here in three short episodes from

his adult life that indicate his character. His central concern in each episode is justice for the victims, though he pursues that justice in an impetuous and violent way.

Moses responds to the injustice of three dif-ferent peoples against three different types of victims. First, an Egyptian oppressor is beating a Hebrew slave; second, a Hebrew is maltreat-ing a fellow Hebrew; and third, nomadic men are depriving women of what is theirs by right. In each scene Moses shows the courage to risk his own life for others and an intolerance for the abuse of the weak by those with power. Each incident also prepares for what is to fol-low in the narrative by providing a transition and a foreshadowing.

The first episode shows that, although Moses was brought up in the palace of Egypt, he allied himself with the oppressed Hebrews. Seeing the injustice done to his people, Moses responds with action by striking the Egyptian. His conflict with the Egyptian and his fleeing from the land into the wilderness anticipates what his people will soon experience.

The second scene demonstrates that issues of justice must be addressed within the Israelite community as well. Moses’ authority to inter-vene and confront his own people is chal-lenged. His credentials as ruler and judge are questioned. This will be the continuing struggle of Moses with his people as they will often reject his authority and refuse to listen to him during their experience in the desert.

The third episode takes place as Moses has fled out of Egypt and into the wilderness. His flight foreshadows the escape of Israel from Egypt into the desert. There, as a sojourner in the desert, Moses discovers his own alien iden-tity as an Israelite, just as the people will come to know themselves in this same wilderness.

When the daughters of the priest of Midian were driven away by the shepherds, Moses delivered them and provided water for their flocks. There in a foreign land, his concern for the abused creates an alliance with the people of Midian, which was expressed in their hos-pitality and the eventual marriage of Moses. His wife Zipporah (meaning “bird”) gave birth

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Lesson One

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II. The Call and Commission of Moses

The Burning Bush23A long time passed, during which the king

of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their bondage and cried out, and from their bondage their cry for help went up to God. 24God heard their moaning and God was mindful of his cove-nant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 25God saw the Israelites, and God knew. . . .

CHAPTER 31Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of

his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock beyond the wilderness, he came to the mountain of God, Horeb. 2There the angel of the Lord appeared to him as fire flaming out of a bush. When he looked, although the bush was on fire, it was not being consumed. 3So Moses decided, “I must turn aside to look at this remark-able sight. Why does the bush not burn up?”

to their son Gershom, whose name expresses Moses’ experience as a stranger without a true home. His state as an alien both in Egypt and in Midian anticipates his call to lead his people to their Promised Land.

Moses’ sympathy for the downtrodden and his desire to liberate those who are treated unjustly anticipates the saving will of God demonstrated throughout the Exodus. From the beginning Moses is presented as a man who transcends the narrow bounds of his own people. He was brought up as an Egyptian, he spent much of his adult life sojourning among the Midianite people, and he even married outside the community of Israel. The call to freedom and life creates broad alliances and anticipates the fulfillment of God’s promise (Gen 12:3) to make Israel a blessing to all the communities of the earth.

2:23–3:3 The Burning BushA new era begins with the death of Pharaoh

and the beginning of God’s direct action on behalf of the people in bondage. The dead op-pressor, Seti I, was succeeded by the Pharaoh of the Exodus, Ramesses II. As often happened in the Near East, the death of an unpopular ruler became the signal for rebellion by subject people. It was the lament of the people, their groaning and crying out, that was the turning point. When the people became aware of the

injustice done to them and cried out against it, God responded and began their deliverance.

Up to this point in the narrative God has remained hidden. Here the Hebrew text repeti-tively insists that God is the subject of four

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Who Are These People?

HebrewsA name for the Israelite people most often used by strangers or foreigners (see Exod 1:16, 19; 2:6); “Hebrew” also refers to the language of most of the Old Testament.

IsraelitesDescendants of Jacob, whose other name is Israel (Gen 32:29); the common term for God’s people until the Babylonian exile in the sixth century BC.

Jews

People of Judah; the common term for the descendants of Jacob during and after the Babylonian exile. The tribe and territory of Judah were all that remained of ancient Israel after the Assyrian deportation of the northern tribes in 722 BC.

Israelis Citizens of modern Israel.

Lesson One

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EXPLORING LESSON ONE

1. After reading the Introduction, how would you describe the central message of the book of Exodus? How is this message relevant to you?

2. The Introduction describes several traditions that have come together to form the book of Exodus. Why is it important to understand the existence of these traditions when reading Exodus?

3. How did the Hebrews come to be enslaved in Egypt (1:1-14)? (See also Gen 46–47.)

4. How would you describe the difference between Pharaoh’s attitude toward life and that of the women in the story (1:15–2:10)?

5. What similarities are there between the stories of the infancy of Moses in Exodus 2:1-10 and that of Jesus in Matthew 2:13-21?

Lesson One

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6. a) What do the episodes in 2:11-22 reveal about Moses?

b) Moses’ natural personality traits will be fully employed when God calls him to go to Egypt to liberate God’s people. How has God called you in ways that make use of your natural gifts and personality traits?

7. When you reflect on how long God’s own people had to wait for deliverance from Egyptian slavery (2:23-24), how do you make sense of it? How does this reality fit in with how you understand God’s activity in your own life?

8. What kinds of life experiences might you describe as “burning bush” experiences, times of unexpected encounters with God?

9. a) What was the value of a name in ancient Near Eastern society?

b) What does the divine name reveal about God (3:13-14)? (See also John 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:5-8.)

Lesson One

10. What insight into God or Moses stays with you as you reflect back on the Scripture and commentary for this lesson?

CLOSING PRAYER

PrayerThe Israelites groaned under their bondage and cried out, and from their bondage their cry for help went up to God. (Exod 2:23)

God of freedom and life, you heard the cry of your op-pressed people. In love and faithfulness you answered their prayers by sending Moses to help them. Soften our hearts and open our ears so we may answer when you call upon us to help others, and when we encounter obstacles, remind us that you are always with us. We pray today for those most in need of your liberating power, especially . . .

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