THE PREQUEL HELPS ONE GRASP THE SEQUEL
A Flashback to Genesis 46
8 Several commentators note that the conjunction at the beginning of the opening word of Exodus (ה ֶלּ ֵא ְו) is a sign that the book is a continuation from where Genesis ended. At the other end of the spectrum are commentators such as Sarna, Exodus, 4, who asserts a.
A Burgeoning Missionary People
However, it is interesting to consider that the two verses leading up to Genesis 1:28 are all about God's image. The reason God wanted Adam to "be fruitful, multiply and fill" the earth in Genesis 1:28 was for mission: specifically, that God's image and glory would spread over the globe.
A New Pharaoh
If this Pharaoh was in fact a born and bred Egyptian, he would certainly be less than sympathetic to the mass of the descendants of Abraham who were all of Semitic origin. The blessing of God is never celebrated by the seed of the serpent.39 Pharaoh wants to convince his advisors that if something is not done soon, the Egyptian people will soon find themselves in a minority position.40 In a cunning way, Pharaoh calls the mass of the descendants of Abraham a people: "The people of Israel are too many and too powerful for us."
A Scheming Pharaoh
46ה ָמ ְכּ ַח ְת ִנ is the hitpacel cohortative of ם ַכ ָח and is translated in the ESV as "let us act sensibly." The word wise (instead of wisely) is found in versions such as the JPS, KJV, and NASB. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids: Zondervan is apropos: “The Israelite narrator and reader would understand the irony of the circumstances.
God over Pharaoh
THE DELIVERER DELIVERED: EXODUS 2:1-10
A Generic Couple from a Specific Tribe
Schaalman (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans writes: “The power of these chapters [Exod 1 and 2] is enhanced by the ominous writing behind the text. 9 The phrase “deliver a deliverer” in this sentence, as well as the title of this chapter (“The Deliverer Delivered”) are borrowed adaptations of phrases found in the works of others.
The Birth of a Son
Or perhaps "good child" describes the good behavior or apparent moral potential of the baby. While elements of these suggestions may be on the right track, the approach of biblical theology is better for discerning the significance of the phrase "good child." Once again, the precursor to Exodus is Genesis, and in Genesis 39:6 Joseph was described as.
An Ark, some Tar, and Reeds
However, after Genesis 9:18 the word does not appear again in the Bible until Exodus 2:3, where Moses is placed in a miniature tebah and over the waters of the Nile. Before Exodus 2:3, the only other use of the term in Exodus is found in 1:14, where the enslaved Jews were forced to work with ḥōmer (mortar).
Two More Women
It should be noted that in Exodus 2:5 two separate terms are used to describe those who accompany Pharaoh's daughter. 46 Hamilton, Exodus, 20, suggests that Jochebeda indeed deliberately wanted Pharaoh's daughter to discover Moses (see also Oswalt, Exodus, 296).
The Two Women Used by God
But perhaps Pharaoh's daughter quickly checked the gender of the child and discovered that he had been circumcised. 50 This passage addresses two main possibilities as to how Pharaoh's daughter could have identified Moses as a Hebrew: (1) circumstances and (2) circumcision.
Compassion, Irony, Foreshadowing
In God's providential scheme, the early period of Moses' life would be spent in a native Hebrew environment.56 Pharaoh's daughter showed unusual compassion when she entrusted the Hebrew child to Hebrew hands and paid wages, and it is precisely at the time of wages that great irony can be found. The offer of Pharaoh's daughter to pay wages to a Hebrew from Egyptian coffers foreshadows a later development in Exodus.
Moses and his Beginnings
THE WONDERFUL NAME: EXODUS 3:10-15
Call and Response
God certainly didn't expect Moses - of all people - to go back to Pharaoh. Humility further supported Moses' question.18 Moses was now a humble aged shepherd, and shepherds were an abomination to Egyptians (Gen. 46:34).19 For a humble shepherd, it was a most unlikely prospect to gain an audience with the highest Egyptian official. : "Who am I?" may be Moses' way of doubting how much seriously.
The Presence and a Sign
32 Several scholars note the connection between the single use of ʾehyeh in Exodus 3:12 and the triple use of the same word in Exodus 3:14. Noteworthy is the fact that the "guiding vision" for Moses was not simply a vision in his inner eye of the Hebrew people stepping out of Egyptian territory.
God before the Tribunal of Moses
What is God's name, Moses?" offered by the Hebrews in their "initial meeting" with Moses in Exodus 4:29-31. What [my] is your name?” In Judges 13:17, Manoah simply asked for the angel's identity.
The Revelation of the Name
THE DIVINE DESIRE TO BE RECOGNIZED
A Springboard Text
THE PASSOVER: LIFE IN THE SEAM
Where and When
It shall be the first month of the year for you." Thus, even as he began to reveal instructions for the Passover, Yahweh revealed that a new. Understood in this way, the Passover ritual enables all Israelites to attain a holy status, an important prerequisite to becoming royalty.
A Lamb for Each House
Joshua and the people of Israel entered the Promised Land on the tenth day of the first month (Josh 4:19), and the tenth day of the seventh month was set aside for the Day of Atonement (Lev 23:27). Jacob (301) claims that the animal was chosen during the light of the tenth day and then slaughtered when light returned on the fourteenth day.
The Blood
As in the case of the ram that was sacrificed instead of Isaac (cf. So at least the blood of the Passover lambs meant priesthood, faith, purification, protection and replacement.
Meat, Bread, and Herbs
Probably at least part of the meaning of unleavened bread is this "newness". Another accompaniment to the Passover lamb was bitter herbs (Hebrew: . mērōrîm).55 The root letters of the Hebrew word mērōrîm are mrr.
Methods and Manner
Alexander's comment is a wise one: "The sacred nature of the meat explains why the Israelites should burn whatever is left over, having first taken care not to fry more than they can eat."62 Barbequed meat is delicious at the second day, but just in case. The last sentence of Exodus 12:11 reads, "It is the LORD'S Passover." The word "it" in this last sentence of Exodus 12:11 refers primarily to the slain, roasted, eaten lamb.67 "It" (the lamb) is Yahweh's "Passover." The English word "Passover" is a translation of the Hebrew noun pesaḥ, but the English term does not seem to capture the precise meaning of the Hebrew.68 The verses leading up to Exodus 12:11 describe divine protection for Israel: a lamb must bleed and die, providing everything the nation needs to be protected from God's wrath.
Yahweh’s Plan
SPECTACLE AT THE SEA
Yahweh Commands
At the Red Sea, the action of Moses' rod and hand on the waters causes further trouble for Egypt, but at the same time, the same action blossoms into blessing for Israel. 11. Since this relatively rare word is reused in Exodus 14:16, it is not impossible to imagine that the writer of the Red Sea account would want his story to read as one.
Final Preparations
If, after Exodus 14:16, one expected Yahweh to say, "And I will deliver you all out of Egypt," you will be disappointed. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, in Exodus 14:17-18, Yahweh focuses not so much on Israel's deliverance as on securing His own fame and glory.15 In orchestrating events at the Red Sea, God's primary purpose was to to create honor for himself.
A Genesis Moment
Now in the Red Sea, as God parted the sea from the seabed, he was providing life for his people. 26 Like Jonah who faced the terror of the water, but was (miraculously) given new life, so the people of God would escape their ordeal at the Red Sea as God's new, freed creation.27 God's purpose in delivering Israel through the channel east of the Red Sea was to create a people who, in the words of Och, "would mediate the presence of God in the world".28. Currid poses some insightful questions to the reader of Exodus: “Do we dare think that the God who parted the Red Sea is.
One Seabed, Two Attitudes
The Egyptians pursued and entered after them in the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen." Conjecture drowns. Even with their impressive, innovative, formidable military technology, the Egyptians were unequal to the task of overcoming the God who controlled nature.
In Wheel Trouble
The LORD proceeded to "clog the wheels of their chariots, that they might drive hard." The verb translated "to knead" (Hebrew: sûr) has been understood in three general senses. However, the third possibility that sûr would be translated "turning aside" seems to have the best connections with the larger text of the Second Book.45 Yahweh "turned" the wheels.
Shaking Off Insects
Several commentators therefore argue that the use of nāʿar in Exodus 14:27 implies a "shaking off".53 At the Red Sea, Yahweh shook Egypt as one would shake rubble from a carpet. With regard to Egypt, the end of Exodus 14:28 reports, "Not one of them remained." In the original Hebrew text, the language of the phrase "not one of them remained" is striking in its resemblance to both Exodus 8:31 [27] and 10:19, where during the plagues flies and locusts were removed so that "not one of them them remained.”54 The close connection between the language in all three passages may indicate that in Exodus 14:28 the Egyptians are to be regarded as flies and/or locusts, insects which Yahweh easily shakes off at the sea.55.
Epilogue to the Spectacle
REDEEMED FOR MISSION
Arrival at the Mountain
Commentary on Exodus (Grand Rapids: Kregel concludes: "The most reasonable interpretation is that they arrived on the fifteenth day of the third calendar month, that is, two months to the day after their departure from Egypt." Hamilton, Exodus, 299, suggests , that perhaps in order to prevent the worship of a particular place (i.e., "mountain cultivation"), the Lord has allowed the precise identification of the place to elude the readers.
The Priority of Grace
The second phase of grace for Israel is summed up in the phrase: "how I carried you on eagle's wings." After his victory over the Egyptians, God "carried" or "carried". The third phase of grace for Israel is described in the phrase "brought you to Me". Yahweh might have said, "You saw for yourselves what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and freed you from your slavery," but that is not what Exodus 19:4 records.
Relationship and Role by Grace
The precious wealth was to be spent in the enterprise of drawing other nations, precious to God, to himself. 34. Israel, in particular, was to be the conduit of God's glory and grace to the universal—the peoples of the earth.
Saying Yes to Yahweh
Israel’s Failure, Christ’s Success,
GOD’S MOBILE HOME
God Commands a Home
Just as I show you the pattern of the tabernacle and all its furnishings, so you shall make it." Because miqdāš comes from the word qādaš ("holy"), "sanctuary" is an appropriate translation, since the word "sanctuary" in turn comes from the Latin sancer/sanctus, meaning "holy, holy."7 notes Thomas Dozeman. , "The word miqdāš emphasizes the sacred quality" of the tabernacle complex.8 Thomas McComiskey agrees, noting that miqdāš "denotes that which is devoted to sphere of saints.
God Moves In
EPILOGUE
