Exodus Chapters 1, 2, Commentary by Mark Dunagan

EXODUS CHAPTER 1-2:10 Authorship The Hebrew title of Exodus is a title based on the opening words of the book, “now these are the names of”, and in the Hebrew Bible is called “Shemoth”. The English title Exodus (“a going out”) transliterates the title in the Septuagint, which named the book for its central focus. In fact, the Greek word “exodus” is found in Exodus 19:1. It is clear that Moses is the human instrument which God used to write the book, for Jesus clearly states that Moses is the author (Mark 7:10; 12:26). See also John 5:46-47; 7:19; Acts 3:22; Romans 10:5.

Within the book itself, it is clearly asserted that Moses wrote an official record of a particular event (Exodus 17:14; 24:4,7,12; 34:27).

Date Of The Exodus Davis notes, “The date of the exodus is not an inconsequential historical matter when it comes to the interpretation of Scripture. The date that one adopts will influence all earlier chronology. In essence this date constitutes a bench mark for all pre-Solomonic chronology and the cultural backgrounds that will be associated with the various periods. Also at stake here is the locus of authority.

The Bible speaks very clearly to the issue of the date of the exodus and if these statements represent revelatory authority, then they are reliable and should constitute the foundation for chronological thought” 1 The date of 1445 B.C. is established by 1 Kings 6:1 which states that the exodus from Egypt took place 480 years prior to the fourth year of Solomon (966/5 B.C.).

To argue that the number 480 in the above verse is figurative is to set a dangerous precedent. Davis notes, “if one is able to manipulate a number whose functions are clearly delineated in a sober historical context, then every number in Scripture becomes subject to the whims of an interpreter” (p. 35). ”Also in the time of Jepthah (ca. 1100 B.C.) Israel had been in the land for 300 years (Judges 11:26). Therefore 300 years plus the 40 years of the wilderness sojourn and some time to conquer Heshbon places the Exodus in the middle of the 15th century” 2

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Moses and the Gods of Egypt, Studies in Exodus, John J. Davis, p. 39 The Bible Knowledge Commentary, p. 104 1

“Second, archeological evidence from Egypt during this period corresponds with the biblical account of the Exodus….For example, though Thutmose IV, succeeded his father, Amenhotep II, Thutmose was not the eldest son. (The eldest son was killed by the Lord on the night of the first Passover, Ex. 12:29.)

Amenhotep II (1450-1425 B.C.) repressed insurgents in the early part of his reign. Semites were forced to make bricks…..Third, events in Palestine about 1400 B.C. correspond with the Conquest under Joshua. Archeological evidence suggests that Jericho, Ai, and Hazor were destroyed about 1400 B.C. One scholar has concluded, ‘All the accredited Palestinian artifactual evidence supports the literary account that the Conquest occurred at the time specifically dated by the biblical historians’ (Bruce K. Waltke, “Palestinian Artifactual Evidence Supporting the Early Date of the Exodus,” Bibliotheca Sacra 129.

January-March, 1972:47)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 104).

Egyptian History “Amenhotep I ruled in the newly centralized government from 1546 to 1526 (actually begun by his father Ahmose I) and was succeeded by Thutmose I (who ruled ca. 1526-1512). Moses was born (ca. 1526) in this king’s reign (or at the end of the reign of Amenhotep I). This king’s famous daughter, Hatshepsut, may have been the royal princess who discovered Moses along the Nile. When Thutmose II (1512-1504) died, Thutmose III was very young. So his stepmother, Hatshepsut, contrived to make herself ruler starting in 1503. During Hatshepsut’s brilliant reign Egypt experienced prosperity. In these years Moses spent his youth in the royal court. After Hatshepsut’s death in 1482 Thutmose III ruled alone till 1450. Thutmose III liquidated the entire royal court and attempted to obliterate Hatshepsut’s name from monuments in the land. At that time Moses probably found the court of Egypt inhospitable and fled to Midian.

Thutmose III became a powerful kingdom builder, extending his empire to include Syria. Thutmose III was succeeded by Amenhotep II (1450-1425), the Pharaoh of the Exodus (1446). Unlike his warring father, Amenhotep II seems to have suffered military reverses because he was not able to carry out extensive campaigns. His weak war efforts may have resulted from the loss of all or most of his chariots, in the waters of the Red Sea. The so-called ‘Dream Stela’ of Thutmose IV records that the god Har-em-akht told the young prince in a dream that someday he would be king. If Thutmose IV had been the eldest son, proof of his throne-right would have been unnecessary. It is logical, therefore, to assume that he was a younger son, not the oldest son, of Amenhotep II. This accords with the statement in Exodus 12:29 that the eldest son of Pharaoh died the night of Israel’s first Passover” (Bible Knowledge Comm. pp. 106-107).

“Amenhotep II was a very energetic and skillful king. He is known to us in Egyptian history as a capable warrior and sportsman who distinguished himself in rowing, horsemanship, and archery. The mummy of this king was found 1898 in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes along with his famous bow which he boasted that no other man could draw” (Davis p. 44). The following is a chart that

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attempts to parallel what we know about Egyptian history with the book of Exodus:

From: Moses and the Gods of Egypt, by John J. Davis, p. 14

I. Chapter 1: 1:1-7 These verses make it clear that the book of Exodus isn’t an isolated account, rather it is a sequel to the book of Genesis. These verses are basically a bit of review, the names of Jacob’s children (Genesis 35:22-26), the number that went down into Egypt (Genesis 46:27), and the death of Joseph (Genesis 50:26). In addition, we learn that all the brothers and their generation (wives, etc..) died in Egypt. In verse 7 we find that God is beginning to fulfill his promise to Abraham that his descendants would be innumerable (Genesis 12:13). At the time of the Exodus, at least 80 years from this general time period, the males in Israel will number 600,000 (Exodus 12:37). So that the total Israelite population at that time may have been about 2 million.

1:8 Evidently here we have a change in Egyptian Dynasties. The new Pharaoh that arose didn’t remember the great services that Joseph had performed for Egypt. “His relationship with Israel was not based on gratitude and Joseph was no longer of any significance to him” 3 This new king was (probably) Thutmose I (1539-1514 B.C.). His grandfather Amosis (1580-1559 B.C.) was the founder of the eighteenth dynasty and the man who had fought for freedom against the Hyksos. Hence, the oppression of Israel was the result of a resurgence of nationalistic spirit among the Egyptians after the removal of the Hyksos dynasty.

“The description of the treatment of the Israelites in the following chapters is in 3

Bible Students Commentary, Exodus, W.H. Gispen, p. 32 3

harmony with his cruelty. In a war with Nubia he personally killed the king of Nubia with his javelin and on the journey back hung his body upside down from the bow of his ship. During his invasion of Canaan he was a cruel conqueror.

He erected many buildings in Egypt, which also agrees with the description of Israel’s oppression by means of forced labor” (Gispen pp. 32-33).

1:9-10 There were frequent invasions into the Nile Delta, and this Pharaoh feared that Israel would side with a future enemy. “In the wave of Egyptian nationalism (which included a hatred of the Hyksos) all Semites, including the Hyksos and the Israelites, may have been treated with suspicion” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 108). It is clear that the new dynasty understood that the Hebrews were a foreign people, who might leave the land (1:10). On the one hand they feared the Israelites, on the other hand they wanted the labor which so many people could render to the empire.

1:11 The word “taskmaster” means “officers or chiefs of the labor gangs”. “By placing large numbers of the Israelites in labor gangs, it would break down their will to become independent, and prevent any security threat” (Davis p. 54). The Egyptians hoped that forced and hard labor would stem the population growth among the Hebrews. Storage cities not only would house domestic products but also could be used to store military hardware.

“Pithom ( PIE thuhm) and Raamses (ray AM sez)”-The city of Pithom has been identified with three possible cities, and Raamses, has been identified with five different sites. “While earlier scholars favored the site of Tanis (for ancient Raamses), more recent evidence seems to have firmly established that the city of Raamses was situated in the region south of Tanis at Qantir” (Davis p. 55).

Point To Note:

Some have tried to argue that Raamses II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus (13011234), from the fact that one of the cities built by the Israelites was called Raamses. But it is now known that the name Raamses was used long before the birth of Raamses II. In fact, Raamses I, belonged to a family of the eastern delta, where for generations all the men had been called Seti or Raamses. Note also Genesis 47:11.

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1:12 In spite of the Egyptian’s ruthless treatment, the Israelites only continued to increase. This bondage is described as being in, “the iron furnace” (Deut.

4:20).

1:13-14 “Making bricks involved carrying water; digging earth; mixing earth, water and straw; filling moulds with muds; removing dried bricks from the mould; and transporting bricks by unaided manpower” 4 From Exodus 5:7-8 we learn that a specific quota of bricks had to be made each day, and at the first all the materials were supplied. “’All kinds of work in the fields’ consisted especially of heavy labor in the irrigation system. The Israelites had to bring up the water from the Nile to the fields above by means of an irrigation device, a paddle wheel that was driven by foot, and was hard to operate (Deut. 11:10-12)” (Gispen p. 35). In addition, the identify of the oppressors in this verse is not left in doubt, the text specifically says, “the Egyptians”. “Josephus speaks of the children of Israel being employed specifically to dig canals” (Davis p. 57).

The Hebrew Mid-wives 1:15 The king in this verse could either be Amenhotep I (1548-1528 B.C.) who ruled for about 21 years or his successor Thutmose I (1528-1508 B.C.).

“Previous plans of subjugation having been only partially effective, the king decided to take more drastic measures and attempted to exterminate young male babies in order to keep the population of the Israelites under control” (Davis p. 57).

“Shiphrah”-(SHIF ruh); “Puah” (POO uh).

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Bible Study Textbook, Exodus, Wilbur Fields, p. 65 5

Points To Note: 1. It appears that only two midwives could not have serviced nearly half a million Hebrew women. Possibly these two women were the head of a mid-wives guild or union and had other women working under them. Maybe Pharaoh did not contact all the mid-wives, but just these two. 2. The “birth-stool” refers to the custom of mothers delivering their babies while sitting on two stones. 3.

Some question whether these women were Hebrews or native Egyptians, because it is argued that it would be hard to imagine that the king would have expected the Hebrew women to slay the children of their own people. But they are clearly called “Hebrew midwives”. If it is hard for me to imagine any Egyptians wanting to assist slave mothers. In addition, the world has always tried to find traitors among the people of God.

1:16 The daughters were spared because it was assumed that they wouldn’t become a military threat.

1:17-19 Points To Note: Concerning these verses there has been the question of whether or not these women lied and whether God here approves of lying. 1. First of all, it is clear that Pharaoh couldn’t argue with their answer. The fact that Pharaoh didn’t punish them seems to indicate that he couldn’t argue against what they said.

So what they did say about the Hebrew women was true, in fact, even Pharaoh knew that the Hebrew women were noted for giving birth very quickly, or before the mid-wife could arrive. Hence, the person trying to argue that this text proves that God approves of lying in certain situations must first prove without a shadow of a doubt that these women actually did tell a lie. 2. Verse 19 suggests that the mid-wives were telling Pharaoh, that they were more needed among and preoccupied with the Egyptian women, then the Hebrew women. 3. A common explanation for this text is, “They simply did not divulge the fact that their tardy arrival was deliberately planned. They might easily have been caught by the Egyptian police if they had been put under twenty-four-hour surveillance; so they ran a real risk of detection, trial, and execution….God did not honor and bless these two brave women for their withholding part of the truth; rather, he blessed them for their willingness to incur personal danger in order to save the lives of innocent babies” 5 4. Since the above is speculation, we could also just as easily speculate that the mid-wives had informed the pregnant Hebrew women of Pharaoh’s plan, and said something like, “Pharaoh wants us kill your male children when you aren’t looking and when we are assisting after the birth”. In view of such information, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Hebrew women didn’t 5

Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, Gleason L. Archer, p. 109 6

call on the mid-wives until after the baby was born. 5. Apparently, Pharaoh’s first plan was to have the mid-wives make such deaths look like stillbirths, possibly harming the baby as they washed it and wrapped it after birth. 6. The following comments remind us of the danger of taking a greater evil, lesser evil position on such passages as the above: “We cannot say that protecting innocent lives is a greater good than the demand always to tell the truth….To do so would pit part of God’s nature against other parts of his nature….We need to follow all of God’s Word and that Word involves respect for both life and truth…

Truth-telling is not only a covenantal responsibility….it is a universal responsibility for all times, all peoples, in all places. We must not form our own subjective hierarchies or personal priorities in assigning what we believe is the greater good or lesser evil….It is possible to maintain a position of nonconflicting absolutes. God will provide a way to avoid the conflicts (1 Corinthians 10:13)” 6 Let us be impressed that God condemns both murder and lying in the same verse (Revelation 21:8). Carefully note God’s attitude towards the sanctify of human life. The mid-wives are commended for their refusal to take infant lives, God’s gift (Psalm 127:3). “The relevance of this to modern controversy about abortion should be carefully pondered” 7 After all is said and done, carefully note that the mid-wives are blessed, not because they did something evil, but because they feared God (1:21).

1:20 In spite of Pharaoh’s plans, the Israelites are continuing to multiply.

1:21 The households for the mid-wives seems to imply that these women found good husbands, married and had children. God gave them families of their own.

“The benefaction fits the action, since they refused to cooperate in the destruction of the families of Israelites” (Gispen p. 37)---God gave them their own families.

1:22 Now Pharaoh commands the entire population, Egyptian and Hebrew to kill any Hebrew male baby of which they are aware. Probably this command was enforced by the death sentence upon all who disobeyed.

II. Chapter 2:1-10:

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Hard Sayings Of The Old Testament, Walter C. Kaiser Jr., p. 97 Exodus, R. Alan Cole, p. 55 7

2:1-2 The name of Moses’ father is given in 6:20, “Amram” (AM ram), and his mother’s name was “Jochebed” (JAH kuh bed). Moses was born about 1525 B.C. (seeing that he was 80 years old at the time of the Exodus, 1446 B.C., (7:7). Aaron his brother was three years older than him (7:7), and Miriam apparently older still. For when Moses is three months old, and Aaron is a little over three years old, she is old enough to follow the basket as it slowly drifts down the Nile. “beautiful”-(Acts 7:20). The faith and fearlessness of Moses’ parents are mentioned in Hebrews 11:23. The parents saw that their child was attractive, well-formed, “but here perhaps also: robust, promising. The mother saw something special in the child (a future savior?)” (Gispen p. 39). “This statement about his beauty does not really suggest that the parents would have been less willing to save his life if he had been an ordinary baby” (Fields p. 74).

2:3 After three months, the parents could no longer hide their new born. “A healthy child cries too loudly to be hidden at three months old” (Cole p. 57). The “wicker basket” was probably made of papyrus reeds and then was made watertight with pitch. The basket was then placed among the reeds, “These would be in shallow water, where the current could not carry the basket away, with less danger of crocodiles than on an open sand-bank or beach” (Cole p. 57). The words for wicker and basket in this verse are both Egyptian terms.

2:4 Moses’ sister is then sent to keep an eye on the basket from a distance.

Points To Note: 1.

Faith doesn’t give up or despair, and faith didn’t move Moses’ mother to suffocate her child instead of seeing her child drown. 2. Faith leaves room for the Providence of God, faith allows or gives God time and room in which to act, faith doesn’t panic. 3. “What looked like a potentially disastrous situation turned out, under the providence of God, to be the means by which God could prepare Moses for the great challenge which was ahead” (Davis p. 60). Once again we see how something that man plans for evil (Pharaoh’s command) can be used by God to bring about His purposes (Genesis 50:20). 4. Notice how faith also does everything in it’s power and then leaves the rest up to God. 5. In addition, be impressed that faith looks for the way to escape moral compromise. Yes, Moses’ mother had thrown her baby into the Nile, but she had first placed him in a water-proof basket! (1 Corinthians 10:13).

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2:5-6 If the Pharaoh at this time was Thutmose I (1539-1514 B.C.), then the daughter of Pharaoh may have well been Hatshepsut, the famous Queen who later assumed kingship. “Hatshepsut was her father’s favorite and after his death became very influential under her weak husband Thutmose II (1514-1501 B.C.)…even to the extent that her brother (or stepson?) Thutmose III (1501-1447 B.C.) had no say at all during her lifetime, no matter how famous he later became….She ruled Egypt from 1501-1479 B.C. Monuments of Hatsheput still exist, although Thutmose III later tried to eradicate her name….When Moses was born she was still only ‘Pharaoh’s daughter’, yet she had sufficient influence to be able to keep Moses alive” (Gispen p. 40). In this verse her maidens were walking along the Nile, probably making sure that no strangers disturbed her privacy.

Points To Note:

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What had previously put Moses’ life in harm’s way (his crying), now works to his deliverance. 2. Immediately the heart of Pharaoh’s daughter went out to this beautiful and healthy baby boy. In Pharaoh’s daughter we see that even unbelievers still have that image of God, are still capable of compassion, mercy and love. 3. The fact that she determined to keep this Hebrew male child seems to make it clear that this woman had a tremendous amount of influence and power, especially with her father.

Therefore, I must reject the idea that “Pharaoh’s daughter” in this verse is simply one of many women in Pharaoh’s harem.

2:7-9 Miriam quickly intervenes and suggests that she can find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child, until it is weaned. Just note the Providential workings of God in this verse. No miracles are performed, and yet God is not only able to spare Moses, but God is able to see to it that Moses’ own mother is allowed to nurse him---and is even financially compensated for it! (2:9) This weaning period could refer to a period of two or three years, or perhaps as much as twelve years according to some sources. And besides the physical care, Moses’ mother certainly taught him everything she could about his ancestry, the promises made to Abraham, the true God, etc….”All honor to the wonderful women of all ages who fear the Lord! Moses’ wise mother knew that some ‘emancipated’ women of our times do not know, namely that service at home to her family will have more powerful influence on the world than competing with men for authority. Who had a more lasting powerful influence on the world, the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut or Moses’ mother” (Fields p. 77). Clearly, someone had taught him that he was Hebrew, and what that meant! (Hebrews 11:24)

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2:10 “Moses”-The “she” that gave this name clearly seems to be Pharaoh’s daughter. “In Egyptian his name means ‘son of’ (the water). The “mose” in Moses is found in Egyptian names such as Ahmose, Thutmose, etc…In Hebrew, Moses name is Moshe, derived from the verb masha, , meaning ‘to draw out’” (Fields p. 78). Hence his name probably had two meanings.

Stephen notes that, “Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). “Moses probably was educated along with the children of the Egyptian noble houses by the priests who were entrusted with education in Egypt. He was instructed in theology, astronomy, medicine, mathematics, and other subjects, in virtually everything that was part of the intellectual domain of the civilized world of that time” (Gispen p. 41). He would have also learned languages such as Egyptian hieroglyphic, and Babylonian cuneiform. Josephus claims that Moses had led a victorious war against the Ethiopians, which may be true or false. “He would have learned such sports as archery and horseback riding which were favorite pastimes of a number of the Pharaoh’s” (Davis p. 64).

Final Point: “It has been said correctly that ‘the enemies of the Hebrews raise the fine child, the tyrant’s of God’s people provide him with the weapons of knowledge with which he will soon wrest away their prey from them….Egypt was to help mold the deliverer of Israel” (Gispen p. 41). Truly, “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28); and “How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (11:33). The world always thinks that people will naturally believe and accept whatever it says. But how many young people, who are presently being indoctrinated by worldly people, will convert to Christianity, and become great influences for the spread of the gospel? How many future preachers, godly mothers, fathers, elders, etc….is the world presently educating for God purposes?

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