Intro to Exodus (Prepared by Pastor David Anglin) The Hebrew Bible- TANAK (Torah, Nevi’im, Kutu’vim) English Bible- Pentateuch, Hist, Poetry, Prophets The TANAK and English Bible have the same books but they are arranged slightly different, as noted above. The Torah (refers to the Law) and Pentateuch (means 5 law books) are the first 5 books of the OT (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), are traditionally attributed to the Authorship of Moses. The Bible is vitally important for 2 reasons: 1) It provides a Real History (unbiased) 2) It provides a Redemptive History Brief Historical Overview of Israel’s History: Historical Context God’s promises to Abraham and His descendants: Abrahams calling around 2090 B.C. Genesis 12:1-3- ”Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 15:12-16- “12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Jacob arrives in Egypt around 1875 B.C. Genesis 50 ends with the sons of Israel living with wealth, privilege, and influence as Joseph is the all- powerful prime minister of Egypt. Joseph dies, and his people grow in numbers over the next centuries. One Pharaoh’s Dynasty ends and another begins. Nationalism and Xenophobia (fear of people from other countries) takes over and the Pharaoh uses this to his advantage by making this surging minority an endless pool of cheap labor to build his great cities. They experience not just slavery but severe oppression and even the King ordering His servants to murder the new born infant males. Authorship: Moses John 1:17 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Liberal/Cristical Scholars have attacked Mosaic Authorship seeking to discredit the authenticity and authority of the Bible. The most notable attack is referred to as the theory of Wellhausen, also the JEDP Theory or the Documentary Hypothesis. The JEDP Theory has been thoroughly challenged and discredited but nonetheless has continued to find its way into discussions about the Torah. The reality is there is no other suitable option for denying Mosaic Authorship so the ghost of Wellhausen continues to be used to discredit the Bible. No seriously objective informed academic still uses this theory. Only liberal professor in seminaries, Bible Colleges, and Universities who continue to parrot the arguments without showing how it has been easily been debunked. Below are some of the evidences for Mosaic Authorship. Evidences of Mosaic Authorship Evidence for the Mosaic Authorship of the Pentateuch From Dr. Stephen Miller’s OT Survey Notes 1) The Pentateuch itself claims that Moses wrote it. In Exodus, the text says that God spoke to Moses and gave him the pattern for the tabernacle (Ex. 25:1, 8-9, 40; see also Exod. 20-23; 24:4, 7; 25-31). Leviticus and Numbers are said to have been given by God to Moses. Numerous times in many different ways it is stated in the Pentateuch that the Lord spoke to Moses, In Deuteronomy the text states that the speeches were delivered and written by Moses (e.g., Deut. 31:9, 24-26). 2) Elsewhere in the OT, the claim is made that Moses wrote the Pentateuch (e.g., Josh. 1:7; 8:32, 34; 22:5; Judg. 3:4; 1 Chron. 15:15; 2 Chron. 23:18; Dan. 9:11,13). 3) The NT claims that Moses wrote the Pentateuch: 1) Jesus (cf. Mark 12:26; John 5:46-47; Luke 16:29, 31; John 8:5; Matt 8:4; 19:7, 8; Luke 24:44). 2) Apostles (cf. Acts 15:21; 2 Cor. 3:15). 4) Tradition of the synagogue and church confirms the Mosaic view. Noggin acknowledges, “With very few exceptions, it has always been the view of the synagogue and the church that Moses is the author of the Pentateuch.” (Soggin, IOT, 80). Samples are: Samaritan Pentateuch, Ecclesiasticus 45:5 (2d cent. B.C.); 2 Mac. 7:30; Philo (Life of Moses 3:29), Josephus (Antiquities IV:8, 48); Palestinian and Babylonian talmud. 5) Internal Evidence 1) Portions of the Pentateuch indicate that is was written in the desert (Num 2:1ff.). 2) It was written by an eyewitness who preserved the local color, etc. of the journeys (“twelve springs and seventy palm trees,” Exod. 15:27). Portions of the Pentateuch are written like a diary. 3) It was written by an author who knew Egypt. Names like Moses and Potiphar are Egyptian. Watering with the foot (Deut. 11:10) is a reference to the irrigation practices of Egypt, not Palestine. 4) Archaisms are preserved. Although there is apparent modernization of spelling and place names, many ancient expressions are preserved in the Pentateuch. One of the best examples, the pronoun for “she” appears as hiw” instead of the usual hi” (H.H.Rowley, The Growth of the Old Testament, p 46). 6) Moses had the education and background to have written the Pentateuch. 7) There is no solid external objective evidence to deny the Mosiac tradition. No J document, P document, etc. have ever been found. 8) If the Documentary Hypothesis is true and Moses is not the author than the Pentateuch must be a manufactured history. 9) The documentary hypothesis in its Wellhausenian form denies special revelation and the supernatural. Meaning, the law is not a revelation of God to Moses, the miracles did not occur, and predictive prophecy in not possible. 10) Archaeological discoveries have confirmed the antiquity of the Pentateuch (e.g., Code of Hammurabi, tablets from Nuzi, Mari, Ebla, etc.). 11) Any theory based on an evolutionary development of Israel’s religion must be rejected. Israel’s religion was revealed, not developed by human trial and error. Dating the Exodus: (2 Schools of Thought) The Late Date: • Exodus occurred during the Pharaoh’s of the 19th Dynasty (1321-1205 B.C.) • Built upon Rameses II (1300-1234 B.C.) Based upon Ex. 1:1 (Store houses of Pithom and Raameses). The Pharaoh having a long reign according to Ex. 2:32, and we know he reigned for around 65 years. What is at Stake? • After Amenhotep III’s reign (1421-1376 B.C.) Egypt goes through a period of decline and loosens its grip on Syria and Palenstine. • Amenhotep IV (1380-1362 B.C.) changes his name to Akhenaten (sun god). Akhenaten received letters from Palestine governors requesting help because of an invasion of a nomadic people known as the Habiru. Known as the Amarna Letters. The Early Date: • Exodus occurred during the Pharaoh’s of the 18th Dynasty (1580-1321 B.C.) • Thutmoses III (1501-1447 B.C.) thus making Amenhotep II (1447-1421 B.C.) • Also Hatshepsut (1501-1479 B.C.) would have likely been the daughter of Pharaoh who had the courage to defy her father and save the Hebrew baby in the basket. • Thutmoses was known to be more cruel than Rameses, hated foreigners, and there are paintings from his reign showing Semites working as slave laborers on his building projects. The Biblical Dating: Judges 11:26- “ While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time?” • Jepthah judged Israel around 1100 B.C. • 1100 + 300 years + 40 years of wandering = 1440 B.C. 1 Kings 6:1-“In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord.” • The Temple is begun in the 4th year of Solomon’s reign, 480 years after the Exodus. • The years was 966 B.C. + 480 = approximately 1446 B.C. • Thutmoses died in 1447 B.C.= leaving the Exodus having taken place between 1447-1445 B.C. Acts 13:20- Ex. 1 - covers 4 centuries (430 years)- the people of God are dwelling in dark times. Ex. 2 - covers 80 years- God is working behind the scenes, sovereignly orchestrating His plan of deliverance. 80 years before Moses is called by God to set His people free God has already been working. Centuries of seemingly unheard prayers and God has not forgotten, God has some been deaf, and God has been Sovereignly working in the midst of darkness to bring forth the miraculous deliverance of His people. Moses becomes a murderer.