Exodus

How do you start a Books of the Bible: Exodus research paper? Our expert writers suggest like this:

The book of Exodus is the retelling of the Jews' coming into Egypt as guests of Joseph to their flight to freedom from slavery, led by Moses under the direction of God, called Yahweh by the Jews. Exodus contains the following elements of Biblical History:

• The attempt to kill all male children
• The subsequent plagues
• The parting of the Red Sea to rescue God's people from the Egyptian soldiers who are then drowned are told in Exodus.

Exodus not only contains stories about God's people, but also His laws and the liturgy the faithful were expected to follow.

Exodus and The Wandering Jews

Exodus tells how the Jews wandered in the desert and God gave them food and drink, and save them from their enemies. Moses received the tablets with God's laws after seeing the burning bush. The people complained about their plight and "God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them" (Exodus 2:24-25, The NRSV). The Ark of the Covenant and its place in their worship is told.

Exodus is written by Moses under the direction of God. In Exodus 17:14, "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.'" Moses obeyed God, "And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord" (Exodus 24:4).

The Writing of Exodus

Although there is some dispute concerning the dates of the writings, it is generally considered to be written between 1400 and 1440 B.C. It marks the departure of the Israelites from Egypt and the beginning of the promise that Abraham and his descendants would live and multiply in the Land of Milk and Honey (Exodus 33:3).