Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Exodus, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
God’s Identity and Power
Redemption and Deliverance
The Covenant
Mediators and the Priesthood
Summary
Analysis
The LORD tells Moses to have the people camp at Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the Red Sea. Then Pharaoh will think that the Israelites are just wandering aimlessly. God will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that Pharaoh will pursue the people. God will thereby “gain glory” for himself over the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know that he is God.
The precise route of the flight from Egypt isn’t known, and modern scholars have debated the details. The Israelites are thought to have stopped at the northern, narrower end of the Red Sea. God tells Moses that he isn’t done with Pharaoh yet—he has a further plan to reveal himself to Egypt as the all-powerful God.
Themes
Indeed, when Pharaoh and his officials hear that the Israelites are gone, they have a change of heart, deciding they shouldn’t have let them leave Egypt’s service. So Pharaoh leads his army of chariots and chases the Israelites, overtaking them by Pi-hahiroth. When the Israelites see the Egyptians getting closer, they cry fearfully to the LORD. They ask Moses why he has brought them into the wilderness to die—wouldn’t it have been better to be enslaved in Egypt? Moses tells the people to remain strong and see what God will do on their behalf.
The narrative reaches one of its dramatic high points with Israel’s decisive “exodus” from Egypt. Each character in the story acts according to the role one would expect by this point in the story: Pharaoh changes his mind, the Israelites are frightened and complain to Moses, and Moses (who’s matured in his role from his earlier, more timid days) encourages the people to look to God. Notably, Moses tells the people to watch passively as God fights for them. This overturns ancient battle narrative conventions, as the people themselves aren’t triumphant; in fact, their weakness is emphasized. It is in following God that they are made strong.
Themes
The LORD tells Moses to lift his staff over the Red Sea and divide its waters, so that the Israelites can pass over on the dry ground. He will then harden the Egyptians’ hearts so that they will pursue the Israelites, and God will gain glory over the Egyptians. The pillar of cloud then moves behind the Israelites, between their army and Egypt’s army. Moses stretches out his staff over the Red Sea, and a strong east wind blows all night, causing the waters to divide and reveal dry land.
Though Moses parts the Red Sea by lifting his staff, it’s God who works through this gesture to bring about the Israelites’ deliverance. God also brings about his larger purpose: “gaining glory” over the Egyptians by once more hardening their hearts, thereby setting the stage for a conclusive revelation of himself as God.
Themes
The Israelites cross the dry land, the waters forming a wall on either side. The Egyptians, including all of Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, follow them. The LORD causes the Egyptians to panic as their chariots bog down. They decide to flee, because it’s obvious that the LORD is fighting for Israel. Then Moses stretches out his staff again, and the waters cover the Egyptians, killing everyone. Israel sees that God has accomplished a victory for them, and they believe in God and in Moses, God’s servant.
The parting of the waters is clearly a supernatural event, the waters forming walls of protection for the fleeing Israelites, and then becoming the medium of God’s judgment on the pursuing Egyptians. Though the doomed Egyptians recognize God’s power in the end, the more important point is that the Israelites believe in him as their God and in Moses as their God-given leader. This recognition will be key to the Israelites’ cohesion as a people, and to their survival, in the coming wilderness journey.
Themes
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