King James Version
Exodus
Exodus in the King James Version (1769), public domain in the United States.
The Book of Jubilees retells Genesis 1 through the opening of Exodus. Jubilees 46 through Jubilees 49 tell Joseph’s death, Israel in Egypt, Moses, the sea, and the Passover. The Book of Jubilees has the text. An Exodus chapter that Charles’s 1913 synopsis names carries a Retold in Jubilees line.
Background and History
The chapters above are the King James text. This essay is the setting of Exodus: who is said to have written it, when and where, what happens in it, and how the text has been copied.
At a Glance
| Author | Moses, in Jewish and Christian tradition and in the words of Jesus. Exodus itself records Moses writing parts of it. Many critical scholars see the book as compiled from sources over centuries. |
|---|---|
| Date | Traditional about 1446–1406 BC. Critical scholars commonly date the final form to the exile or Persian period, about 550–400 BC. |
| Place written | Not stated. The traditional setting is the wilderness of Sinai, in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. |
| Genre | Narrative and law: deliverance from Egypt, covenant at Sinai, and the tabernacle. |
| Chapters | 40 |
| Verses | 1213 in the King James Version |
| Key verse | Exodus 20:2Exodus 20:2 · King James VersionI am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.Exodus 20:2 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
Who Wrote It
Exodus does not name its author. It records Moses writing in Exodus 17:14Exodus 17:14 · King James VersionAnd the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
Exodus 17:14 · King James VersionOpen the Source, Exodus 24:4Exodus 24:4 · King James VersionAnd Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Exodus 24:4 · King James VersionOpen the Source, and Exodus 34:27Exodus 34:27 · King James VersionAnd the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
Exodus 34:27 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1). Jesus cites the burning bush as the book of Moses in Mark 12:26Mark 12:26 · King James VersionAnd as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
Mark 12:26 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Josephus, in Against Apion 1.8, assigns the five books of law to Moses. (2) The Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b, takes Moses as the writer of his book. (3) The William Davidson English on Sefaria is copyrighted, so this page paraphrases it.
Critical scholarship, following the documentary hypothesis, sees Exodus as joining sources usually labeled J, E, and P, with the priestly material in Exodus 25–31 and Exodus 35–40. Newer critical views often speak of blocks of tradition rather than continuous documents. Traditional scholars answer that differences of style follow differences of subject, narrative and ritual law, and that the book presents Moses as both actor and recorder. The Genesis page sets out the documentary hypothesis in full.
Who It Is Not
Aaron and Joshua appear in the book but are not named as authors. The song of Miriam in Exodus 15:21Exodus 15:21 · King James VersionAnd Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
Exodus 15:21 · King James VersionOpen the Source is attributed to her within the narrative.
When and Where
Bible Gateway gives the Pentateuch 1446–1406 BC and adds that it may have been oral until much later. (4) The 1446 BC figure rests on 1 Kings 6:11 Kings 6:1 · King James VersionAnd it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
1 Kings 6:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source, which places the exodus 480 years before Solomon built the temple. Many scholars prefer a thirteenth-century exodus because Exodus 1:11Exodus 1:11 · King James VersionTherefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
Exodus 1:11 · King James VersionOpen the Source names the store city Raamses, and others doubt a historical exodus on the scale described. This page prints both views. The book itself gives no year.
Audience and Setting
Israel after the exodus, learning who their God is and how to live as his people. The purpose is to record deliverance, give the covenant law, and describe the dwelling of God among them.
Rulers at the Time
The pharaoh who did not know Joseph, in Exodus 1:8Exodus 1:8 · King James VersionNow there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
Exodus 1:8 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1), and the pharaoh of the exodus are not named. This page does not assign them a reign. Identifications with Thutmose III, Amenhotep II, or Ramesses II depend on the date chosen.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Oppression in Egypt | Israel enslaved, Moses born and called. Exodus 1–4 |
| The plagues and Passover | Exodus 5–12 |
| Red Sea to Sinai | Crossing, manna, water, Amalek. Exodus 13–18 |
| Covenant at Sinai | The Ten Commandments and covenant code. Exodus 19–24 |
| Tabernacle | Instructions, golden calf, building. Exodus 25–40 |
| Composition, traditional | About 1446–1406 BC. (4) |
| Composition, critical | Often the exile or Persian period. Qumran copies date from the third century BC. (5) |
Places in This Book
| Ancient name | Modern-day location | References |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt | Egypt. The book names no capital. | Exodus 1:1Exodus 1:1 · King James VersionNow these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.Exodus 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| Raamses and Pithom | Store cities in the eastern Nile Delta, Egypt. Their exact sites are debated, and this page does not choose. | Exodus 1:11Exodus 1:11 · King James VersionTherefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.Exodus 1:11 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| Mount Sinai | Traditionally Jebel Musa in the southern Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. Other candidates have been proposed, including sites in Arabia. The location is uncertain. | Exodus 19:11Exodus 19:11 · King James VersionAnd be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.Exodus 19:11 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
What Is Happening
Exodus 1–2 describe the oppression and Moses’ birth. Exodus 3–4 are the burning bush and the revelation of God’s name. Exodus 5–12 are the plagues and Passover. Exodus 13–15 are the exodus and the song at the sea. Exodus 16–18 are the journey to Sinai. Exodus 19–24 are the covenant. Exodus 25–31 give tabernacle instructions. Exodus 32–34 are the golden calf and covenant renewal. Exodus 35–40 are the building of the tabernacle and the glory filling it.
Key Themes
Deliverance in Exodus 20:2Exodus 20:2 · King James VersionI am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exodus 20:2 · King James VersionOpen the Source. God’s name in Exodus 3:14Exodus 3:14 · King James VersionAnd God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exodus 3:14 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Covenant in Exodus 19:5–6Exodus 19:5–6 · King James Version19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Exodus 19:5–6 · King James VersionOpen the Source. God’s presence in Exodus 40:34Exodus 40:34 · King James VersionThen a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exodus 40:34 · King James VersionOpen the Source.
Apologetics Questions
The historicity of the exodus is the main question. No Egyptian record names Israel’s departure, and critics treat that silence as evidence. Others answer that Egyptian records rarely report defeats and that the Merneptah Stele, from the late thirteenth century BC, already names Israel in Canaan. This page did not check a museum page for that stele and names it only as a known object. The number of people in Exodus 12:37Exodus 12:37 · King James VersionAnd the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
Exodus 12:37 · King James VersionOpen the Source is also debated, including whether the Hebrew word for thousand can mean a clan or unit.
How the Book Points to Christ
God reveals himself as I AM in Exodus 3:14Exodus 3:14 · King James VersionAnd God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exodus 3:14 · King James VersionOpen the Source, and Jesus says before Abraham was, I am, in John 8:58John 8:58 · King James VersionJesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
John 8:58 · King James VersionOpen the Source. The Passover lamb of Exodus 12 is applied to Christ in 1 Corinthians 5:71 Corinthians 5:7 · King James VersionPurge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1 Corinthians 5:7 · King James VersionOpen the Source. The tabernacle is the pattern in which the Word tabernacled among us in John 1:14John 1:14 · King James VersionAnd the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Jesus is God.
Text and Manuscripts
The Israel Antiquities Authority says Qumran yielded copies of every book of the Hebrew Bible except Esther, dating from the third century BC into the first century AD. (5) Exodus is among them. The Hebrew on this site’s verse pages is the Westminster Leningrad Codex.
Canon Reception
Exodus was never disputed. It belongs to the five books of Moses that Josephus counts first. (2)
Further Reading
Who Wrote Genesis in the Bible? sets out the case for Mosaic authorship of the Torah. Who Wrote the Bible?.
References
- Book of Exodus, 1:8; 17:14; 24:4; 34:27Exodus 1:8 · King James Version
Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
Exodus 1:8 · King James VersionOpen the Source. King James Version - Against Apion, 1.8Josephus, Against Apion 1.8 · William Whiston
For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from, and contradicting one another: [as the Greeks have:] but only twenty two books: which contain the records of all the past times: which are justly believed to be divine. And of them five belong to Moses: which contain his laws, and the traditions of the origin of mankind, till his death.
Josephus, Against Apion 1.8 · William WhistonOpen the Source (Flavius Josephus, Against Apion 1.8, translated by William Whiston. Josephus counts twenty-two books: five of Moses, thirteen of the prophets from Moses to Artaxerxes, and four of hymns and precepts.) - Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b, 14b (The English on Sefaria is the William Davidson edition, which is copyrighted. This page paraphrases it and does not reprint it. The baraita gives the order of the Prophets and the Writings and asks who wrote each book.)
- When Was Each Book of the Bible Written?, Exodus (Jacob Edson, Bible Gateway, 16 September 2024. The survey gives Exodus as 1446–1406 BC, and says those books may have been mostly oral tradition until much later. It is one editor’s approximation, not a manuscript date.)
- Dead Sea Scrolls, introduction, Biblical manuscriptsDead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts · Israel Antiquities Authority
Among the Scrolls are partial or complete copies of every book in the Hebrew Bible (except the book of Esther).
Dead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts · Israel Antiquities AuthorityOpen the Source (Israel Antiquities Authority. Biblical manuscripts from the Qumran caves date from the third century BC into the first century AD, and every book of the Hebrew Bible except Esther is represented.)
The King James Version (1769) is in the public domain in the United States.