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EXODUS, THE

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Originally appearing in Volume V10, Page 79 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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EXODUS, THE , the name given to the See also:journey (Gr. lobos) of the Israelites from See also:Egypt into See also:Palestine, under the leadership of See also:Moses and See also:Aaron, as described in the books of the See also:Bible from Exodus to See also:Joshua. These books contain the See also:great See also:national epic of Judaism See also:relating the deliverance of the See also:people from bondage in Egypt, the overthrow of the pursuing See also:Pharaoh and his See also:army, the divinely guided wanderings through the See also:wilderness and the final entry into the promised See also:land. Careful See also:criticism of the narratives3 has resulted in the separation of later accretions from the earliest records, and the tracing of the elaboration of older traditions under the See also:influence of developing religious and social institutions. In the See also:story of the Exodus there have been incorporated codes of See also:laws and institutions which were to be observed by the descendants of the Israelites in their future To the same See also:hand are to be ascribed also See also:xxvii. 6, 20, 21; See also:xxviii. 41; See also:xxix. 21, 38-41. ' See the articles on the books in question. See also:home, and these, really of later origin, have thus been thrown back to the earlier See also:period in See also:order to give them the See also:stamp of authority. So, although a certain amount of the narrative could date from the days of Moses, the Exodus story has been made the vehicle for the aims and ideals of subsequent ages, and has been adapted from See also:time to time to the requirements of later stages of thought. The See also:work of criticism has brought to See also:light important examples of fluctuating tradition, singular lacunae in some places and unusual See also:wealth of tradition in others, and has demonstrated that much of that which had See also:long been See also:felt to be impossible. and incredible was due to writers of the See also:post-exilic See also:age many centuries after the presumed date of the events. The See also:book of See also:Genesis closes with the See also:migration of See also:Jacob's See also:family into Egypt to See also:escape the See also:famine in See also:Canaan.

Jacob died and was buried in Canaan by his sons, who, however, returned again to the pastures which the See also:

Egyptian See also:king had granted them in See also:Goshen. Their See also:brother See also:Joseph on his See also:death-See also:bed promised that See also:God would bring them to the land promised to their fore-fathers and solemnly adjured them to carry up his bones (Gen. 1.). In the book of Exodus the family has become a people.' The Pharaoh is hostile, and Yahweh, the Israelite deity, is moved to send a deliverer; on the events that followed see ExoDUS, BooK OF; MOSES. It has been thought that dynastic changes occasioned the See also:change in Egyptian policy (e.g. the See also:expulsion of the See also:Hyksos), but if the Israelites built See also:Rameses and See also:Pithom (Ex. i. 1r), cities which, as excavation has shown, belong to the time of Rameses II. (13th See also:century B.C.), earlier See also:dates are in-admissible. On these grounds the Exodus may have taken See also:place under one of his successors, and since Mineptah or Merneptah (son of Rameses), in relating his successes in Palestine, boasts that Ysiraal is desolated, it would seem that the Israelites had already returned. On the other hand, it has been suggested that when Jacob and his family entered Egypt, some Israelite tribes had remained behind and that it is to these that Mineptah's inscription refers. The problem is complicated by the fact that, from the Egyptian See also:evidence, not only was there at this time no remarkable See also:emigration of oppressed See also:Hebrews, but Bedouin tribes were then receiving permission to enter Egypt and to feed their flocks upon Egyptian See also:soil. It might be assumed that the Israelites (or at least those who had not remained behind in Palestine) effected their departure at a somewhat later date, and in the time of Mineptah's successor, Seti II., there is an Egyptian See also:report of the pursuit of some fugitive slaves over the eastern frontier. The value of all such evidence will naturally depend largely upon the estimate formed of the biblical narratives, but it is necessary to observe that these have not yet found Egyptian testimony to support them.

Although the See also:

information which has been brought to See also:bear upon Egyptian See also:life and customs substantiates the See also:general accuracy of the See also:local colouring in some of the biblical narratives, the latter contain several inherent improbabilities, and whatever future See also:research may yield, no definite trace of Egyptian influence has so far been found in Israelite institutions. No allusions to Israelites in Egypt have yet been found on the monuments; against fhe view that the Aperiu (or Apury) of the See also:inscriptions were Hebrews, see S. R. See also:Driver in D. G. See also:Hogarth, Authority and See also:Archaeology, pp. 56 sqq. ; H. W. See also:Hogg, Ency. Bib. See also:col. 1310.

.The plagues of Egypt have been shown to be those to which the land is naturally subject (R. See also:

Thomson, Plagues of Egypt), but the description of the relations of Moses and Aaron to the See also:court raises many difficult questions (H. P. See also:Smith, O.T. Ilist. pp. 57-6o). Those who reject Ex. i. i i and hold that 48o years elapsed between the Exodus and the See also:foundation of the See also:temple (i See also:Kings vi. i, see BIBLE: See also:Chronology) place the former about the time of Tethmosis (Thothmes) III., and suppose that the hostile IJabiri (Khabiri) who ' There is a lacuna between the See also:oldest traditions in Genesis and those in Exodus: the latter beginning simply " and there arose a new king over Egypt which knew not Joseph." The See also:interval between Jacob's arrival in Egypt and the Exodus is given varyingly as 400 or 430 years (Gen. xv. 13, Ex. xii. 40 seq., Acts vii. 6) ; but the Samaritan and See also:Septuagint versions allow only 215 years (Ex.loc. cit.), and a period of only four generations is presupposed in Gen. xv. 16 (cf. the length of the genealogies between the contemporaries of Joseph and those of See also:Muses in Ex. vi. 16-20).troubled Palestine in the 15th century are no other than Hebrews (the See also:equation is philologically See also:sound), i.e. the invading Israelites?

But although the evidence of the Amarna tablets might thus support the biblical tradition in its barest outlines, the view in question, if correct, would necessitate the rejection of a great See also:

mass of the biblical narratives as a whole. In the See also:absence of See also:external evidence the study of the Exodus of the Israelites must be based upon the Israelite records, and divergent or contradictory views must be carefully noticed. Regarded simply as a journey from Egypt into Palestine it is the most probable of occurrences: the difficulty arises from the actual narratives. The first See also:stage is the escape from the land of Goshen (q.v.), the See also:district allotted to the family of Jacob (Gen. xlvi. 28-34, xxvii. 1, 4, 6).3 As to the route taken across the Red See also:Sea (See also:Yarn Suph) scholars are not agreed (see W. M. See also:Muller, Ency. Bib. col. 1436 sqq.); it depends upon the view held regarding the second stage of the journey, the road to the See also:mountain of See also:Sinai or See also:Horeb and thence to Kadesh. The last-mentioned place is identified with See also:Ain Kadis, about 50 M. See also:south of See also:Beersheba; but the See also:identification of the mountain is uncertain, and it is possible that tradition confused two distinct places. According to one favourite view, the journey was taken across the Sinaitic See also:peninsula to See also:Midian, the home of See also:Jethro.

Others plead strongly for the traditional site See also:

Jebel Musa or Serbal in the south of the peninsula (see J. R. See also:Harris, Dict. Bible, iv. pp. 536 sqq.; H. Winckler, Ency. Bib. col. 4641). The latter view implies that the oppressed Israelites See also:left Egypt for one of its dtpendencies, and both theories find only conjectural identifications in the various stations recorded in Num. xxxiii. But this See also:list of See also:forty names, corresponding to the years of wandering, is from a post-exilic source, and may be based merely upon a knowledge of See also:caravan-routes; even if it be of older origin, it is of secondary value since it represents a tradition differing notably from that in the earlier narratives themselves, and these on inspection confirm Judg. xi. 16 seq., where the Israelites proceed immediately to Kadesh. Ex. xvi.-xviii. presuppose a settled encampment and a See also:law-giving, and thus belong to a stage after Sinai had been reached (Ex. xix. sqq.).

They are closely related, as regards subject See also:

matter, &c., to the narratives in Num. x. 29–xi., XX. 1-13 (Sinai to Kadesh), and the initial step is the recognition that the latter is their See also:original context (see G. F. See also:Moore, Ency. Bib. col. 1443 [v.]). Further, See also:internal peculiarities associating events now at Sinai-Horeb with those at Kadesh support the view that Kadesh was their true See also:scene, and it is to he noticed that in Ex. xv. 22 seq. the Israelites already reach the wilderness of Shur and accomplish the three days' journey which had been their original aim (cf. Ex. iii. i8, v. 3, viii. 27).

The wilderness of Shur (Gen. xvi. 7, xx. I; I Sam. xv. 7, xxvii. 8) is the natural scene of conflicts with See also:

Amalekites (Ex. xvii. 8 sqq.), and its See also:sanctuary of Kadesh or En Mishpat (" well of See also:judgment," Gen. xiv. 7) was doubtless associated with traditions of the giving of statutes and ordinances. The detour to Sinai-Horeb appears to belong to a later stage of the tradition, and is connected with the introduction of laws and institutions of relatively later See also:form. It is foreshadowed by the See also:injunction to avoid the See also:direct way into Palestine (see Ex. xiii. 17-19), since on reaching Kadesh the Israelites would be within reach of hostile tribes, and the conflicts which it was See also:pro-posed to avoid actually ensued.' The forty years of wandering in the wilderness is characteristic of the Deuteronomic and post-exilic narratives; in the earlier See also:sources the fruitful See also:oasis of Kadesh is the centre, and even after the tradition of a detour to Sinai-Horeb was See also:developed, only a brief period is spent at the See also:holy mountain. From Kadesh spies were sent into Palestine, and when the people were dismayed at their tidings and incurred the wrath of Yahweh, the See also:penalty of the forty years' delay was pronounced 2 See, e.g., J. Orr, Problem of the O.T. pp.

422 sqq.; Ed. See also:

Meyer, See also:Die Israeliten, pp. 222 sqq. Some, too, find in the Amarna tablets the See also:historical background for Joseph's high position at the Egyptian court (see See also:Cheyne, Ency. Bib. See also:art. " Joseph '). For the varying traditions regarding the number of the people and their See also:residence (whether settled apart, cf., e.g., Gen. xlvi. 34, Ex. viii. 22, ix. 26, X. 23, or in the midst of the Egyptians) see the See also:recent commentaries. ' See further J.

See also:

Wellhausen, Prolegomena, pp. 342 sqq.; G. F. Moore, Ency. Bib. col. 1443; S. A. See also:Cook, See also:Jew. Quart. Rev. (1906), pp. 741 sqq.

(1907), p. 122, and art. MosES. Ex. xiii. 17-19 forbids the See also:

compromise which would place Sinai-Horeb in the See also:neighbour-See also:hood of Kadcsh (A. E. Haynes, See also:Pal. Explor. Fund, Quart. Staten,. (1896), pp. 175 sqq.; C.

F. See also:

Kent [see Lit. below], p. 381). (Num. xiii. seq.). Originally See also:Caleb alone was exempt and for his faith received a blessing; later tradition adds Joshua and in Dent. i. 37 seq. alludes to some unknown offence of Moses. According to Num. xxi. 1-3 the Israelites (a generalizing amplification) captured Hormah, on the way to Beersheba, and subsequently the See also:clan Caleb and the See also:Kenites (the clan of Moses' See also:father-in-law) are found in See also:Judah (Judg. i. 16). Although the traditions regard their efforts as See also:part of a See also:common See also:movement (from See also:Gilgal, see below), it is more probable that these (notably Caleb) escaped the See also:punishment which befell the See also:rest of the Israelites, and made their way direct from Kadesh into the south of Palestine.' On the other hand, according to the prevailing tradition, the See also:attempt to break northwards was frustrated by a defeat at Hormah (Num. xiv. 40-45), an endeavour to pass See also:Edom failed, and the people turned back to the See also:Yam Suph (here at the See also:head of the Gulf of Akabah) and proceeded up to the See also:east of Edom and See also:Moab. Conflicting views are represented (on which see MOAB), but at length Shittim was reached and preparations were made to See also:cross the See also:Jordan into the promised land.

This having been effected, Gilgal became the See also:

base for a See also:series of operations in which the See also:united tribes took part. But again the representations disagree, and to the overwhelming See also:campaigns depicted in the book of Joshua most critics prefer the See also:account of the more See also:gradual See also:process as related in the opening See also:chapter of the book of See also:judges (see See also:Jews: See also:History, § 8). Thus, whatever evidence may be supplied by archaeological research, the problem of the Exodus must always be studied in the light of the biblical narratives. That the religious life of See also:Israel as portrayed therein dates from this remote period cannot be maintained against the results of excavation or against the later history, nor can we picture a united people in the See also:desert when subsequent vicissitudes represent the See also:union as the work of many years, and show that it lasted for a See also:short time only under See also:David and See also:Solomon. During the centuries in which the narratives were taking shape many profound changes occurred to affect the traditions. Developments associated with the Deuteronomic reform and the reorganization of Judaism in post-exilic days can be unmistakably recognized, and it would be unsafe to assume that other vicissitudes have not also left their See also:mark. See also:Allowance must be made for the shifting of boundaries or of See also:spheres of influence (Egypt, Edom, Moab), for the See also:incorporation of tribes and of their own tribal traditions, and in particular for other movements (e.g. from See also:Arabia).' If certain clans moved direct from Kadesh into Judah, it is improbable that others made the lengthy detour from Kadesh by the Gulf of Akabah, but this may well be an attempt to fuse the traditions of two distinct migrations. Among the Joseph-tribes (See also:Ephraim and See also:Manasseh), the most important of Israelite divisions, the traditions of an ancestor who had lived and died in Egypt would be a cherished See also:possession, but although most writers agree that not all the tribes were in Egypt, it is impossible to determine their number with any certainty. At certain periods, intercourse with Egypt was especially intimate, and there is much in favour of the view that the name See also:Mizraim (Egypt) extended beyond the See also:borders of Egypt proper. Reference has already been made to other cases of See also:geographical vagueness, and one must recognize that in a See also:body of traditions such as this there was See also:room for the inclusion of the most diverse elements which it is almost hopeless to See also:separate, in view of the scantiness of relevant evidence from other sources, and the See also:literary intricacy of the extant narratives. That many different beliefs have influenced the tradition is apparent from what has been said above, and is especially noticeable from a study of the general features. Thus, although the Israelites possessed See also:cattle (Ex. xvii.

3, xix. 13, See also:

xxiv. 5, xxxii. 6, xxxiv. 3; Num. xx. 19), allusion is made to their lack of See also:meat in order to magnify the wonders of the journey, and among divinely sent See also:aids to See also:guide ' So B. See also:Stade, Steuernagel, Guthe, G. F. Moore, H. P. Smith, C. F.

Kent, &c. See CALEB; See also:

JERAHMEEL; JUDAH; KENITES; See also:LEVITES; and JEws: History, §§ 5, 20 (end). 2 An instructive parallel to the last-mentioned is afforded by Dissard's account of the migration of Arab tribes into Palestine in the 18th century A.D. (Revue biblique, See also:July 1905).and direct the people upon the See also:march not only does Moses require the assistance of a human helper (Jethro or Hobab), but the See also:angel, the See also:ark, the See also:pillar of See also:cloud and of See also:fire and the mysterious hornet are also provided. In addition to the references already given, see J. W. See also:Colenso, See also:Pentateuch and Book of Joshua (on internal difficulties) ; A. Jeremias, Alte Test. See also:im Lichte d. alt. Orients' (pp. 402 sqq., on later references in See also:Manetho, &c., with which cf. also R. H. See also:Charles, See also:Jubilees, p.

245 Seq.); art. " Exodus " in Ency. Bib. ; Ed. Meyer, Israeliten (passim); Bonhoff, Theolog. See also:

Stud. u. Krit. (1907), pp. L59-217; the histories of Israel and commentaries on the book of Exodus. Among the numerous See also:special See also:works, mention may be made of G. See also:Ebers, Durch Gosen zum Sinai; E. H.

See also:

Palmer, Desert of the Exodus; O. A. Toffteen, The Historic Exodus; See also:fuller information is given in L. B. See also:Paton, Hist. of See also:Syria and Palestine, p. 34 (also ch. viii.) ; and C. F. Kent, Beginnings of Heb. Hist. p. 355 seq. (S. A.

End of Article: EXODUS, THE

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