Exodus is the heart of the Hebrew Bible, the defining moment in Israel's birth as a people, the dramatic triumph of their God. Yahweh, Pharaoh, Moses, Aaron, the Hebrew slaves, the plagues, the Red Sea--these larger-than-life characters and epoch-making events capture the imagination of everyone from biblical scholars to movie makers. However, the meaning and significance, the beauty and nuance, of this captivating biblical book are lost unless we have a world-class Scripture scholar to open our eyes to its riches.

The long-awaited conclusion of William H. C. Propp's masterful study of Exodus, this informative, clearly written commentary provides a new perspective on Israelite culture and on the role of ritual, law, and covenant in biblical religion. Exodus 19-40 sets a new standard in biblical scholarship. Thorough and up-to-date, it is the first commentary on Exodus to include critical textual evidence from the recently edited Dead Sea Scrolls. Informed by Propp's deep understanding of ancient cultural mores and religious traditions, it casts new light on the Israelites' arrival at Sinai, their entry into a covenant with God, their reception of the Law, their worship of the golden calf, and their reconciliation to God. The incisive commentary on the building of the Holy Tabernacle-God's wilderness abode-is supplemented by numerous illustrations that clarify the biblical text. Propp extends the scope and relevance of this major work in five appendices that discuss the literary formation of the Torah, the historicity of the Exodus tradition, the origins of Israelite monotheism, the Exodus theme in the Bible, and the future of Old Testament scholarship. By taking an anthropological rather than strictly theological approach, Propp places familiar stories within a fresh context. The result is a fully accessible guide to one of the most important and best known books of the Bible.

The book of Exodus is a key to understanding the Bible. Without it, the Bible would lack three early scenes: deliverance, covenant and worship. Exodus provides the events and narrative, the themes and imagery foundational for understanding the story of Israel and of Jesus. You can read Exodus on your own, and its main themes will be clear enough. But an expert can sharpen your understanding and appreciation of its drama. Tremper Longman provides a box-seat guide to Exodus, discussing its historical backdrop, sketching out its literary context, and developing its principal themes, from Israel's deliverance from servitude to Pharaoh to its dedication to service to God. And, for Christians, he helps us view the book from the perspective of its fulfillment in Christ.

The book of Exodus records the pivotal events in the formation of biblical Israel—the deliverance from slavery, the leadership of Moses, the wilderness wanderings, and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. Bible scholar Nahum Sarna, whose widely praised Understanding Genesis has become a standard text, examines and illuminates the distinctiveness of the Exodus narrative in light of ancient Near Eastern history and contemporaneous cultures—Egyptian, Assyrian, Canaanite, and Babylonian. In a new foreword to this edition, Sarna takes up the debate over whether the exodus from Egypt really happened, clarifying the arguments on both sides and drawing us back to the uniqueness and enduring significance of biblical text.

This text has been a popular introduction to the Pentateuch for over fifteen years, offering a unique alternative to the critical approaches that focus on the composition of these books rather than the actual content. With this new edition, T. Desmond Alexander keeps the book fresh and relevant for contemporary students by updating the references and adding material that reflects recent pentateuchal research as well as the author's maturing judgments. The result is a revision that will prove valuable for many years to come.

This 'close reading' of Exodus 19-40 focuses on the repetition of the 'encounter on the mountain'. This double encounter is expressed in a narrative structure of preparatory episodes climaxed by the theophany. The tension of the narrative is linked to 'the people' as the unlikely heroes of encounter and solved by the divine descent from the divine mountain to the man-made tent. The new situation of permanent encounter is foregrounded by the juxtaposed stories of pre- and post- Sinai journey, and the theme of the 'substitution of Moses' underlines a radical reinterpretation of traditional concepts, inviting the reader to embark on a process of identification.