Bible: Exodus

Audience

If we assume that the book of Exodus, along with the rest of the Pentateuch, was composed and edited during and after the Babylonian Exile (587–538 BCE), then the immediate audience for this work would have been a postexilic Jewish community, living either in Babylonia (modern-day Iraq) or in the land of Israel. Evidence for the latter can be found in the biblical book of Nehemiah, where, in the eighth chapter of that book, we read of a gathering of men and women in Jerusalem who listen intently to the scribe Ezra as he reads from the “Book of the Law” (Neh. 8:3). This practice—of reading a portion of the Pentateuch (or Torah) before an assembly of worshipers—in time became a fixed practice in early Judaism and today forms an essential part of synagogue ritual on the Sabbath and major festivals in every Jewish community. Moreover, a ceremonial retelling of those passages in the book of Exodus that relate the liberation from slavery and the journey to Sinai has become an integral part of the Passover liturgy in Judaism, particularly during the ritual meal celebrated during the first two nights of Passover (known as a seder in Hebrew).

However, with the absorption of the Old Testament into the expanded scriptures of early Christianity, the book of Exodus became an integral part of the Christian Bible and, as such, served as a sacred text to be studied and read aloud during church services. The figure of Moses leading the Israelites through the parted waters of the Red Sea became a familiar image in medieval cathedrals, often represented in stained glass and fresco paintings.

In the modern era, Christian theologians in the third world have found in the story of the Israelites’ escape from slavery a paradigm for their own vision of a world without poverty, political oppression, and evil. This school of thought is often referred to as “Liberation Theology,” and it combines a conviction of divine compassion for the poor and marginalized with a passion for social justice.