a 4:25 There is a play on words here between Hebrew sheth (Seth) and shath (given).

a 6:14 Or "teakwood."

b 6:16 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

c 6:18 Or "covenant."

d 7:2 "Clean" refers to anything that is presentable to God. "Unclean" refers to anything that is not presentable to God.

a 8:20 "Clean" refers to anything that is presentable to God.

a 9:9 Or "covenant."

b 9:19 The second part of verse 18 (in Hebrew) has been placed just after verse 19 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.

a 9:27 There is a play on words here between the Hebrew yapht (May God expand) and yepheth (Japheth).

b 10:4 1 Chronicles 1:7, Samaritan Pentateuch, Greek; Masoretic Text "the Dodanim."

a 11:2 Or "from the east."

b 11:3 Or "bitumen."

a 12:6 English equivalent difficult.

a 14:14 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

a 14:19 Or "Possessor."

b 15:1 Or "I am your shield, your very great reward."

c 15:2 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

a 15:18 Or "covenant."

b 16:12 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

a 17:2 Or "covenant."

a 21:30 Or "a witness."

b 21:31 Beersheba can mean either "Well of the Seven" or "Well of the Oath."

a 22:24 A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.

a 23:18 The last part of verse 17 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 18 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.

a 24:30 The last part of verse 29 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 30 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.

a 24:63 Greek; Hebrew meaning uncertain.

b 25:6 A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.

a 25:22 Hebrew meaning of this sentence uncertain.

b 25:30 There is a play on words here between Hebrew 'adom (red stuff) and Edom.

a 27:11 Or "but I am a smooth man."

a 27:40 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

b 27:40 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts.

a 27:42 English equivalent difficult.

a 29:17 Or "had no sparkle in her eyes."

a 29:23 The first part of verse 25 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 23 to express the complex Hebrew paragraph structure more clearly in English.

b 30:8 Or "I have struggled the struggles of Elohim."

a 30:14 Mandrakes were considered a source of fertility for women.

a 30:37 English equivalent difficult.

b 31:13 Greek; Masoretic Text "the God at Bethel."

a 31:42 Or "Protection of Isaac."

a 31:47 Galeed is the Hebrew equivalent of the Aramaic words Jegar Sahadutha.

b 31:54 Genesis 31:55 in English Bibles is Genesis 32:1 in the Hebrew Bible.

c 32:1 Genesis 32:1-32 in English Bibles is Genesis 32:2-33 in the Hebrew Bible.

a 32:31 Another name for Peniel.

a 35:2 "Clean" refers to anything that is presentable to God.

a 35:22 A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.

a 36:12 A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.

b 36:24 Latin; Hebrew meaning uncertain.

a 38:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts "son, whom he named"; other Hebrew manuscripts, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Targum "son, whom she named."

a 40:1 A cupbearer was a trusted royal official who ensured that the king's drink was not poisoned.

a 41:9 A cupbearer was a trusted royal official who ensured that the king's drink was not poisoned.

b 41:9 English equivalent difficult.

a 41:40 Greek; Hebrew meaning uncertain.

b 41:43 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

c 41:56 Greek, Syriac; Masoretic Text "all that was in them."

a 47:16 Samaritan Pentateuch, Greek, Targum; Masoretic Text "I'll give to you."

a 49:5 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

b 49:16 There is a play on words here between Hebrew Dan and yadin (he will hand down decisions).

a 50:10 A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks.

Introduction to EXODUS.

In the first book of the Bible, we read about God's promise to make a great nation of Abraham's descendants. But as the second book of the Bible begins, we may be tempted to wonder just how he will keep that promise. By now the Israelites have become numerous, but they are slaves in a foreign land. Exodus, which means "departure," tells how God rescued his people from Egypt through the work of his reluctant prophet Moses.

Moses is the book's main character, but Exodus also introduces us to his brother Aaron and his sister Miriam, as well as to the unwisely stubborn Pharaoh of Egypt and the young warrior Joshua. Exodus is full of gripping stories-the baby set adrift on the Nile River, the burning bush, the ten plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, the miraculous provision of manna in the desert, the commandments given on Mount Sinai, and the scandalous orgy around the golden calf. The book that begins with the slaves' dramatic escape from Egypt ends with detailed instructions about building a tabernacle, a place where God and his rescued people can meet.

Exodus is much more than a dramatic freedom march. It's the story of how the Israelites were rescued from slavery for a relationship with God. In spite of the way God provided for his people, they acted pretty much the way most of us would have-resisting their leaders, complaining about the food, and at times openly defying God. Fearful and stubborn, they wandered in the desert for forty years before entering the land God had promised.

Like all people everywhere-like us, for instance-the children of Israel were both sinners and sinned against, unable to rescue themselves. In his mercy, God loved them, led them out of bondage, and made an eternal covenant with them.

Little wonder, given the themes of this great book, that African-American slaves understood the book's rescue theme well and often sang about the Israelites' release from slavery. In fact, a nineteenth-century spiritual, "Go Down Moses" ("and tell King Pharaoh / to let my people go") became a signature song of the twentieth-century civil rights movement.

The book of Exodus powerfully relates the biblical message of salvation. We can't read it without realizing that Moses' story prefigures the story of the greatest liberator of all time, Jesus, who frees his people from the bondage of Satan so that we can enter the promised land of life with God.

Key Names of God in Exodus Yahweh, Ya LORD El, Elohim God Ehyeh I Am Adonay Lord, Master El Shadday God Almighty Yahweh Nissi the LORD My Banner El Kanna Jealous God Ruach Elohim the Spirit of God Yahweh Ropheka the LORD Who Heals EXODUS.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20.

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30.

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40.

Israel Comes to Egypt 1 1 These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who came with him to Egypt with their families: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5 Joseph was already in Egypt. The total number of Jacob's descendants was 70.

6 Eventually, Joseph, all his brothers, and that entire generation died. 7 But the descendants of Israel had many children. They became so numerous and strong that the land was filled with them.

The Israelites Become Slaves 8 Then a new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, began to rule in Egypt. 9 He said to his people, "There are too many Israelites, and they are stronger than we are. 10 We have to outsmart them, or they'll increase in number. Then, if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country."

11 So the Egyptians put slave drivers in charge of them in order to oppress them through forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they increased in number and spread out. The Egyptians couldn't stand them any longer. 13 So they forced the Israelites to work hard as slaves. 14 They made their lives bitter with back-breaking work in mortar and bricks and every kind of work in the fields. All the jobs the Egyptians gave them were brutally hard.

Pharaoh Tells the Midwives to Kill All Hebrew Baby Boys 15 Then the king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth, look at the child when you deliver it. If it's a boy, kill it, but if it's a girl, let it live."

17 However, the midwives feared Elohim and didn't obey the king of Egypt's orders. They let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. He asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?"

19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are so healthy that they have their babies before a midwife arrives."

20 Elohim was good to the midwives. So the people increased in number and became very strong. 21 Because the midwives feared Elohim , he gave them families of their own.

22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people to throw into the Nile every Hebrew boy that was born, but to let every girl live.

Pharaoh's Daughter Adopts Moses 2 1 A man from Levi's family married a Levite woman. 2 The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw how beautiful he was and hid him for three months. 3 When she couldn't hide him any longer, she took a basket made of papyrus plants and coated it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in it and set it among the papyrus plants near the bank of the Nile River. 4 The baby's sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

5 While Pharaoh's daughter came to the Nile to take a bath, her servants walked along the bank of the river. She saw the basket among the papyrus plants and sent her slave girl to get it. 6 Pharaoh's daughter opened the basket, looked at the baby, and saw it was a boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, "This is one of the Hebrew children."

7 Then the baby's sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Should I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"

8 She answered, "Yes!" So the girl brought the baby's mother.

9 Pharaoh's daughter said to the woman, "Take this child, nurse him for me, and I will pay you."

She took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child was old enough, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. Pharaoh's daughter named him Moses [Pulled Out] and said, "I pulled him out of the water."

Moses Commits Murder and Flees to Midian 11 In the course of time Moses grew up. Then he went to see his own people and watched them suffering under forced labor. He saw a Hebrew, one of his own people, being beaten by an Egyptian. 12 He looked all around, and when he didn't see anyone, he beat the Egyptian to death and hid the body in the sand.

13 When Moses went there the next day, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. He asked the one who started the fight, "Why are you beating another Hebrew?"

14 The man asked, "Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought that everyone knew what he had done.

15 When Pharaoh heard what Moses had done, he tried to have him killed. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian.

Moses Marries Zipporah One day, while Moses was sitting by a well, 16 seven daughters of the priest of Midian came. They drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's sheep. 17 But some shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses got up, came to their defense, and then watered their sheep.

18 When they came back to their father Reuel, he asked them, "Why have you come home so early today?"

19 They answered, "An Egyptian rescued us from some shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the sheep."

20 Reuel asked his daughters, "Where is he? Why did you leave the man there? Go, invite him to supper."

21 Moses decided to stay with the man. So Reuel gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as his wife. 22 She gave birth to a son. Moses named him Gershom [Foreigner], because he said, "I was a foreigner living in another country."

The Israelites Pray to God during Their Suffering 23 After a long time passed, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites still groaned because they were slaves. So they cried out, and their cries for help went up to Elohim. 24 Elohim heard their groaning, and Elohim remembered his promisea to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 Elohim saw the Israelites being oppressed and was concerned about them.

Moses at the Burning Bush 3 1 Moses was taking care of the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. As he led the sheep to the far side of the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of Elohim.

2 The Messenger of Yahweh appeared to him there as flames of fire coming out of a bush. Moses looked, and although the bush was on fire, it was not burning up. 3 So he thought, "Why isn't this bush burning up? I must go over there and see this strange sight."

4 When Yahweh saw that Moses had come over to see it, Elohim called to him from the bush, "Moses, Moses!"

Moses answered, "Here I am!"