The Exodus

The Exodus from Egypt was a paramount event in biblical history, where the Israelites who had been inhabiting Egypt for some 400 under slavery, left Egypt and became a nomadic nation. Under the leadership of Moses and Aaron, the Israelites were liberated from their bondage to the Egyptians in order that Yahweh would establish them as his covenant people.

Beginning with the preluding events of the Ten Plagues and the Passover, the Israelites left the region of Goshen (in the process plundering the Egyptians) and traveled through the Sinai wilderness until encountering the Red Sea. There the Egyptian army pursued them and God delivered them by parting the Red Sea through Moses, allowing the Israelites to cross over on dry ground while drowning the pursuing Egyptian army. Leading them through the wilderness by a pillars of cloud and fire, Yahweh fed the Israelites with manna and quail and provided water at Meribah and Marah. Then Israel had a battled with Amalek at Rephidim who tried to thwart their trek through the wilderness. The Exodus proper came to close when God set up his covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai and provided them with Ten Commandments.

The Exodus is recorded in its entirety in the Book of Exodus with supplementary material in Numbers and Deuteronomy. Being one of the most significant events in Israel's history and a major act of deliverance, God's rescue of Israel from the hands of Egypt is credited as God's greatest act. Throughout the Old Testament in the poetry of the Psalms and the Prophets and in the minds of the Israelites, God's salvation is clearly portrayed as his proof of faithfulness and loyalty to Israel. This was pleasing to God for he had rescued Israel out of Egypt in order to bring glory to himself and make himself known.