COMMENTARY ON EXODUS BY FR. TADROS Y. MALATY Translated by DR. GEORGE BOTROS Reverend Father Tadros Y. Malaty has kindly permitted that his books be published in the COeRL. He has requested that we convey that any suggestions or amendments regarding their translation are welcome, and should be forwarded to: [email protected] FORWARD The Holy Book begins with the Book of Genesis, in which God proclaimed the beginning of creation and human life in the bosom of God, the Lover of mankind. But it happened that man rebelled and was expelled from paradise, carrying in his soul a void that nobody could fill; and in his heart an eternal death, that nobody could escape. God did not stay with His hands tied before man -- his beloved creation. If man chose to give God the nape instead of the face then God, in His love, committed Himself to save him, and to get him back again into His divine bosom. Thus, the Book of Exodus came to proclaim allegorically the free salvation of God; presenting us with the exodus of the old people, out of the land of bondage, by the mighty hand of God, to set forth toward the freedom of glory of the children of God. This Book, although it presents us with actual historical events was not meant to record these events for their own sake -- as it is not a documentary book, but its intention is to let us enter into the depths, to discover the salvation that we are now living. Concerning this, the scholar Origen says: [These things are not written as a historical record -- as we do not think the divine books cared for recording the history of the Egyptians, but are written to teach us and for our admonition (1 Corinthians 10: 11)]. He also says: [We know that the Holy Books are not written to present us with ancient stories, but for the sake of edifying our salvation. So, what we read about the king of Egypt (Exodus 1: 8), we are living it today in the life of each one of us]. Egypt and the Hebrews: As this book concentrated on the exodus of the Hebrews from the land of Egypt, we have to understand that Pharaoh represents the devil that captivates the children of God; Egypt represents the world; and the Hebrews represent the believers sojourning as strangers in the world. Talk in this book is taking an allegoric form. Yet, Egypt now became a symbol of blessing, according to the promise of God: “Blessed is Egypt My people” (Isaiah 19: 25); “God is known to Egypt, the Egyptians know the Lord ... make sacrifice and offering ... make a vow to the Lord and perform it” (Isaiah 19: 21). And “Israel” refers now to the “New Israel”, namely those who receive faith in the Lord Christ, the Savior, and not to Israel as a nation, or a particular race. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK Nomenclature: Hebrews did not give a name to this book, but considered it an integral part of the “Torah-the Law” as a whole. They used to call it “ ”, namely, (second of five), or the second 6 book of the “Pentateuch” -- the five books of Moses; and “ “, namely, (These are the names of ...) -- which are the first words in this book. Yet its name in the Septuagint version, as well as in most of the other versions, is the Greek “Exodus”; which means (To exit), which refers to the events that came in Chapters 1 to 15, especially 12 to 15, which tell about the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt. Author of the book: The prophet Moses wrote this book by divine inspiration. That is clear from the following: 1- The book begins by the word “And” or “Now”; as though this book is a continuation of the book before it, “Genesis”, written by the prophet Moses. 2- This book, very accurately, and in great detail, presents us with certain events, indicating that the author is an eyewitness, or he is actually the leader of that Exodus mission. 3- It records certain events that concern Moses personally; for example, his secret killing of the Egyptian, and how “he looked this way and that way” before killing him. As well as the conversation between him and the Hebrew man who was striking his companion; and how he took his wife and his two sons on donkeys; and about the circumcision of his son ..., etc. 4- The Samaritans accepted this book as one of the five books of Moses “the Pentateuch”. As enemies of the Jews, they would not do that unless they are sure of it. Time of the exodus: Scholars had different views as to the exact date of the exodus. The following is a summary of their most prominent: 1- According to the Egyptian historian “Manitho”, in the year 250 B.C., the exodus took place in the sixteenth century B.C., believing that the Hebrews were expelled from Egypt together with the “Hexose”. But this view does not conform with the new discoveries, nor with the texts that came in Exodus 1: 11; 12: 40; 1 Kings 6: 1. 2- Some believe that the Exodus took place around the year 1290 B. C., during the reign of “Ramses II”. Those who adopt this view believe that the Jews were afflicted in the days of “Seti I” (1309 -- 1290 B.C.), and continued to be in the days of his successor “Ramses II” (1290 -- 1224 B.C.). They based their view on the fact that the children of Israel built the storehouses of the cities of “Pithom” and “Raameses”, saying that the name “Ramses” is that of the Pharaoh in whose time the exodus took place. But this view is not to be taken into 7 consideration, because this name could have been used in a time long before that of Ramses the second. 3- Another idea is that the Exodus took place in the time of “Jephthah”, about 1230 B C; a view wrongly based on a memorial built by Jephthah, on which he recorded his victory over Israel and other nations that dwelt in the land of the Philistines at that time. Actually, the presence of that memorial is rather a confirmation that Israel had departed and settled down in the land of the Philistines, long time before that war happened. 4- The most probable view is that the Exodus took place at about 1447 B. C., during the reign of the eighteenth dynasty, in the days of “Tohotmes III”, or in those of “Amenophes II”. That conforms with Judges 11: 26, in which Jephthah, who lived about 1100 years B.C., mentions that 300 years have passed since the Hebrews entered the land. Namely, they entered it about 1400 B.C.; so, if we add the 40 years of their wandering in the wilderness, the time of their exodus would be at about 1440 B.C. This view conforms with what came in 1 Kings 6:1, that the house of the Lord was built in the year 480 after the exodus from the land of Egypt. So, if King Solomon began building the temple at the year 957 or 966 B.C., the exodus would have taken place at about the year 1447 B.C. That date also conforms with the discoveries in Jericho and Hazor, and with what was recorded on the plates of “Tal-El- Amarnah”, of some people who came to the land of the Philistines at about the same time, or shortly before it. Location of the crossover: Scholars also differed in their views concerning the exact location of the crossover. Miracles were performed on the hands of Moses, in “Zoan” (Tanis) (Psalm 78: 12), the capital of the “Hexose”, of which “Raamses” was a suburban. The Hebrews were, at that time, building storehouses in the cities of “Pithom” and “Raameses” (Ex. 1: 11). From Raameses, they departed to Succoth (Ex. 12: 37); they did not go by the shortest route to the land of the Philistines, but took the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea (Ex. 13: 17, 18), where they set their tents for the first time, after they departed from Succoth, in “Etham”, eight miles west of Succoth, at the edge of that wilderness (Ex. 13: 20). From there they turned and camped before ‘Pi Hahiroth’, between ‘Megdol’ and the sea, opposite ‘Bal Zephon’ (Ex. 14: 2). It is not easy to fix this location, yet it is positive that it is west of the Red Sea. From there they went to the wilderness of ‘Shur’ (Ex. 15: 4, 22; Numbers 13: 10, 15). Many scholars believe that the Gulf, in the days of Moses, extended to the region of the Bitter Lakes, as a swamp of water. And some believe that the crossover took place in the vicinity of the city of ‘Ismaelia’ or, according to others, of the city of ‘Suez’. 8 It is to be noted that the Hebrew name for the Sea of Sof, ‘Yam Sup’, designates a sea of papyrus. According to the opinion of some, this name conforms with the swamp in the region of the ‘Isthmus’, that extends for about 72 miles from the Red Sea, to the head of the Gulf of Suez, an arm of the Red Sea. Features of the Book: St. Augustine talks about the close connection of the Old Testament to the New Testament saying: [The New Testament is hidden in the Old; while the Old testament is proclaimed in the New.? This is most clearly demonstrated in the Book of Exodus.