The book of Exodus is the story of God rescuing the children of Israel from Egypt and forging a special relationship with them. Exodus is the second book of the Pentateuch(the five books of Moses), and it’s where we find the stories of the Ten Plagues, the first Passover, the parting of the Red Sea, and the Ten Commandments.
The book gets its name from the nation of Israel’s mass emigration from Egypt, but that’s only the first part of the story. This book follows Israel out of Egypt into the desert, where the nation is specifically aligned with God (as opposed to the idols of Egypt and the surrounding nations). This is the book in which God first lays out his expectations for the people of Israel—we know these expectations as the 10 Commandments. Most of the Old Testament is about how Israel meets (or fails to meet) these expectations. So if you want to understand any other book of the Old Testament, you’ll need a basic understanding of what happens in Exodus.
Important characters in Exodus
Exodus has a tight cast of important characters to keep an eye on.
God (Yahweh)—the creator of heaven and earth and the divine being who chooses the nation of Israel to represent him on earth. God goes to war against the gods of Egypt, frees Israel from their tyranny, and then makes a pact with the new nation. While the rest of the nations serve lesser gods, Yahweh selects the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the people group that will serve him and him alone.
Moses—the greatest of the Old Testament prophets who serves as a go-between for God and the other humans in the book of Exodus. Moses negotiates with Pharaoh for Israel’s freedom, passes God’s laws on to the people of Israel, and even pleads for mercy on Israel’s behalf when they anger God.
Aaron—Moses’ brother and right hand. Aaron assists Moses as a spokesperson, and eventually is made the high priest of the nation of Israel.
Pharaoh—the chief antagonist in the Exodus story. Pharaoh enslaves the nation of Israel, commits genocide, and is generally a huge jerk.Pharaoh is worshiped as part of the Egyptian pantheon: a lesser god laying an illegitimate claim to God’s people. God defeats Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt by sending a series of ten devastating plagues, and finally destroying Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea.
Key themes in Exodus
Exodus is all about God making Israel his own. God rescues the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (whom he made some important promises to back in Genesis). Then, he gives them his expectations—a list of dos and don’ts. Finally, God sets up camp in the midst of the new nation: they are his people, and he is their God.
When God gives Israel the Ten Commandments, he frames them by stating his relationship to the Hebrews. This verse sums up the themes of Exodus nicely:
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Ex 20:2)
(You can find more Bible verse art here.)
Let’s take a quick spin through some of Exodus’ themes.
Redemption
It’s hard to miss this one! The entire book is about God hearing Israel’s cries for help, rescuing them from their oppressors, and making them his own.
Covenant
Like the rest of the Torah, covenant is a big theme here. God makes a solemn, binding agreement with the people of Israel, establishing himself as their god and them as his people. This relationship comes with certain expectations, with benefits for the Israelites if they uphold their end of the agreement, and consequences if they do not.
God’s presence
Toward the beginning of the book, the cries of Israel rise up to God, who hears them and remembers his promises to Abraham back in Genesis. In the middle of the book, God meets Israel in the wilderness: he is high atop a mountain, and they are on the plain below. God is closer to the people, but still a ways off. However, by the end of the book, God is dwelling in the middle of Israel’s camp in the wilderness. Moses believes that it is God’s presence among the people that sets Israel apart from every other nation in the world (Exod 33:16).
Law
This is related to the theme of covenant—specifically, the expectations God has for the people of Israel. From chapter 20 onward, we start seeing more and more directives for the people on how to live as the people of God.
Zooming out: Exodus in context
Exodus is where the story of the Bible really starts picking up. God has already made his promises to Abraham: his descendants would be a mighty people, they would possess the land of Canaan, and through them the whole earth will be blessed by God. While in Genesis we see God working through a family, in Exodus we see God working with an entire nation.
Exodus is a starburst of Old and New Testament theology. God is faithful, and keeps His promise to Abraham (Gn 15:13–21) by judging the Egyptians and liberating Israel. The Lord also gives Israel the first iteration of the Law, and begins to dwell among His people in the tabernacle. God’s liberation of Israel from slavery foreshadows His work to redeem the nations (Ro 6:17–18), just as His judgment on His people serves as an example for Christians now (1 Co 10:6–13). Exodus is also where God reveals His memorial name: YHWH, or LORD (Ex 3:14; 6:3).
An overview of Exodus’ story and structure
Act 1: Prologue
(Exodus 1–2)
Exodus picks up whereGenesisleaves off: the young nation of Israel is in Egypt (they were invited by Joseph, the one with the famous coat). A new Pharaoh notices the Israelites multiplying, and enslaves them. Afraid of an uprising, he orders that all Hebrew sons should be cast into the Nile at birth.
But one baby boy escapes this fate: the Hebrew Moses grows up in Pharaoh’s household. When adult Moses kills an abusive Egyptian slave driver, he flees the country.
Act 2: God saves Israel
(Exodus 3–19)
Forty years later, God appears to Moses as a burning bush and sends him to deliver Israel from the hand of Pharaoh.
Moses, with the help of his brother Aaron, confronts Pharaoh on God’s behalf: “Let My people go” (Ex 5:1). Pharaoh refuses, and so God sends those famous 10 plagues upon the Egyptians. When the last plague kills Pharaoh’s son, he finally allows Israel to leave.
The Israelites celebrate the first-ever Passover, and then set out into the wilderness. Pharaoh changes his mind and sends his army to recapture them. God saves Israel miraculously by parting the Red Sea and allowing Israel to escape their would-be captors—and then uses the sea to wash away Pharaoh’s army.The Israelites leave Egypt and make their way to the foot of Mount Sinai in the wilderness. God descends on the top of the mountain, and then, something amazing happens.
Act 3: God makes a covenant with Israel
(Exodus 20–40)
The Israelites leave Egypt and make their way to Mount Sinai, where God gives His laws to Moses. God makes a covenant with the nation of Israel and the generations to come: because He rescued them from Egypt, Israel is to observe His rules. God speaks the Ten Commandments directly to the whole nation of Israel, and He relays specific ordinances to Moses on the mountain. And the people agree to it!
After this, God makes plans for a place of worship. He’s going to come down from the mountaintop and dwell in the midst of the people of Israel—but in order for this to happen, the people need to prepare a portable tabernacle for him. God gives Moses the plans for the tabernacle, the sacred furniture, and the garments for the priests.
But already things aren’t going as planned. While God is giving Moses laws for the people, the people start worshiping a golden calf … not cool. Moses pleads with God on Israel’s behalf, and the nation is given another go at keeping God’s commands.
And so Israel builds the tabernacle: a holy tent. The book of Exodus ends with the glory of the LORD filling the tabernacle. God is now dwelling among His chosen people, Israel. However, now there’s another problem: how will the people live in the presence of such a holy and powerful being?
That’s what the next book, Leviticus is all about.
Who wrote Exodus?
The whole Torah is a carefully, intentionally edited work. Moses is traditionally credited as the human author of theOld-Testamentbook of Exodus. This is because Exodus is part of the Torah, which is known as the Law of Moses. That doesn’t necessarily mean Moses penned every single word of this book—but since Moses is the main human character in these books, and since Moses is the one receiving directives from God, the books are usually attributed to him. (You can learn more about the authorswho wrote the Bible here.)
More pages related to Exodus
- Leviticus(next book of the Bible)
- Genesis (previous)
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
- Joshua
- The Pentateuch
Steven Ford on February 8, 2020 at 2:00 pm
See AlsoA Brief History of English LiteratureSummary of the Book of Exodus - Bible SurveyDiaries, Death Eaters and Dahlia - Chapter 33 - slaybestieslay946 - Harry PotterBook of Exodus - HNV - Bible Study ToolsThese are fantastic! Is there a downloadable version?
Jeffrey Kranz on February 12, 2020 at 1:46 pm
Thanks, Steven! We don’t have any poster/PDF versions of these yet, I’m afraid—but perhaps someday soon!
Joye Burford on February 7, 2020 at 9:32 am
I am so delighted in reading your summary on the Books of the Bible! I have began to read the bible from the beginning again and this time and I am truly enjoying it and learning so much and your comments even make it much more clearer.
Many Blessings,
JoyeJoanne Long on January 23, 2020 at 5:42 am
You have made my bible study more understandable and clear. Love your work!!
maryse Jean-Pierre on January 18, 2020 at 1:21 pm
Hi Jeffery
I have started reading the entire Bible chronologically and these overviews are tremendous blessings. Thanks for all the preparation and hard work you do for His Kingdom. Praying for you and this crucial ministry God has given you.
Blessings
MarysePRINCE RICKY on June 30, 2019 at 11:23 am
I want to see this kind of information about the book of Genesis as well. Please send me. Tq.
Jeffrey Kranz on July 3, 2019 at 10:57 am
Check out our page on Genesis!
Daniel Oldham on April 3, 2019 at 11:43 pm
This work you have undertaken is just excellent. I am thoroughly enjoying reading, and learning more and more as I go. Outstanding job; you are truly spreading His word. Thank you. :)
Jeffrey Kranz on April 7, 2019 at 5:14 pm
Thanks for the kind words, Daniel!
Lim Wan Cheng on March 12, 2019 at 2:23 am
Clear and very good presentation on the Exodus. Thank you very much, Jeffrey. What a blessing!
Jeffrey Kranz on March 14, 2019 at 11:46 am
Thanks so much for the kind words! =)
john kimani on February 16, 2019 at 1:31 am
Very good teaching with great research and explanation
Jeffrey Kranz on February 19, 2019 at 12:07 pm
Thanks, John! =)
mira on February 15, 2019 at 8:16 am
Thanks Jeffery ! Your video and the overview help me to plan and organize my bible study for kids well ! =)
-from Seoul
Jeffrey Kranz on February 19, 2019 at 12:07 pm
Super kind of you to let me know how helpful this is, Mira. Thank you!
Susanne Medina on February 7, 2019 at 2:53 am
God blessed you with the talent to both draw and compose sketches. It lays a foundation for me to draw in the details and colors to make it mine. Thanks!
Jeffrey Kranz on February 13, 2019 at 12:39 am
What a kind note—thank you! We’ve considered making a Bible outline coloring book … would that be something you’d find useful?
Tracie Landells on January 30, 2019 at 5:49 am
These videos are awesome! Thank you! The Bible can be overwhelming and confusing, but these videos clear up the big picture as I walk through the Bible verse by verse throughout the year.
Scott Silverii on November 17, 2018 at 7:29 pm
I am using your fantastic explanations and began sharing your videos as the focus at my men’s ministry – Brick Breakers. They are a blessing.
Thank you,
ScottJeffrey Kranz on November 21, 2018 at 3:24 pm
Glad to hear they’re useful, Scott—thanks for the kind words!
Bill Boldt on October 3, 2018 at 2:02 pm
Thank you Jeffery. I appreciate your work.
God bless, Pastor Bill.
Bill Boldt on October 2, 2018 at 1:52 pm
Jeffery,
I have enjoyed your survey work of the O.T. books. Are we allowed to print them? If so is there a format for that?
Thank you and God bless.
Jeffrey Kranz on October 2, 2018 at 4:40 pm
Thanks, Bill! I don’t have print-friendly formats for all these, but you’re welcome to print out these book surveys all the same. =)
Annette Williams on August 11, 2018 at 11:10 am
Oh my..those breakdowns added immensely to my study of the Word. I appreciate to effort that took . I just signed on for more….
Jeffrey Kranz on August 15, 2018 at 1:21 pm
Thanks, Annette—glad they’re helpful. =)
Lula Cunningham on August 8, 2018 at 5:03 am
I would like an overview of each book in old testament . Thanks
Jeffrey Kranz on August 8, 2018 at 8:08 am
Lula, you can find them all here. Enjoy!