Exodus - The Second book of Moses

Chapter 1

 In this chapter, Joseph and his family pass. The rest deals with a king in Egypt - who does not like the abundance of Hebrews. He starts to make life difficult for them and also instructs the midwives to kill all males, and let females live. They of course do not do this and God rewards them and allows them (the Hebrews) to prosper. The Pharaoh then says that all sons born to Hebrews be cast into the Nile. (Ethnic Cleansing at its earliest. Did it work then? Come on people!)

Chapter 2

This is the famous chapter of Moses' birth. His mother put him in a basket and sent him down the river. He was found down stream by the Pharaoh's daughter. She had a Hebrew woman raise the boy. She took him in as her own and named him Moses. Moses grew older and saw two men fighting, an Egyptian and a Hebrew man. Moses made shure that no one was around, and then he killed the Egyptian and hid him. The next day Moses saw two Hebrews fighting and said "Why are you fighting?" They replied "Who are you to judge us, and are you going to kill us too?" This made Moses afraid to be found by Pharaoh, and hid from him. Later on, Moses helps some women water their flock. Their father is appreciative of this and allows Moses to stay with them. The King(Pharaoh) dies, and God remembers his promise to the people of Israel. Also, Moses, while living with the women, takes one to be his wife - Zipporah - and has a son, Gershom.

Chapter 3

Moses was keeping watch over the flock of his father-in-law (Jethro, the Priest of Median) when he went to Hereb, the mountain of God. Here, moses sees the burning bush. God asks Moses to take off his shoes and lead his people out of Egypt, to a land of Milk and Honey. Moses questions him and asks what to say to his people. God tells him to say that "I am" has sent him, for God said to Moses, "I am who I am" He said to lead his people out for three days in the wilderness and make a sacrafice. Afterwards he is to return the mountain.

Chapter 4

This is a currious chapter. The first part is Moses training for his request to Pharaoh to release the Hebrews(Israelites) He doubts that Pharaoh will listen to him, so God gave him the power to do several miracles to convince the Pharaoh. These are: turning a staff into a serpent, becoming a leper and healing himself, and finally, turning water from the Nile into blood. But even with all this ammo, Moses still felt innadequate to speak. God said, "Who has made man's mouth?" But Moses asks God to send someone else. God really starts to get upset. So he says that Moses' brother will help him out. So Moses took his wife, his sons, and the staff of God and set off for Egypt. God says to Moses to make shure to do the miracles and to tell Pharaoh that if he doesn't let the people go, He will kill his first born. I don't quite understand this next verse, God now sought to kill Moses, I don't know why, but he was saved because Moses' wife cut off her son's foreskin (with a flint stone....ouch!) and touched Moses' feet with it. Don't know what this means. Anyway, Moses meets his brother and they present thier story to the elders of Israel.

Chapter 5

In this chapter Moses asks the Pharaoh to let his people go. Pharaoh asks why the Israelites are not working. He then burdens them with more work, and when they do not complete thier work they are beaten. Moses asks God why he allows such suffering to be brought upon his people.

Chapter 6

Here God restates his promise that he made to Abraham and Isaac. He tells Moses to say this to the people of Isreael. Moses does this, but they do not listen. God then asks him to tell the Pharaoh. Moses again questions this, and God again says to go to Pharaoh. Time out for some lineage.

  • Sons of Rueben - Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
  • Sons of Simeon - Jemuel, Jamin, Ohab, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul - the son of a Canaanite woman
  • Sons of Levi - Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived to be 137.
  • Sons of Gershon - Labni and Shimel.
  • Sons of Kohath - Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived to be 133.
  • Sons of Merari - Mahli and Mushi

Amram married Jochebed, his fathers sister. She bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived to be 137
Aaron Married Elisheba - daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahson. She bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

The sons of Korah - Assir, Elkanah, and Abinasph. Eleazar, Aarons son married a daughter of Putiel and she bore him Phinehas.

The chapter ends by restating that the Lord spoke to Aaron and Moses and that they spoke to Pharaoh the words the Lord commanded them.

Chapter 7

Moses and Aaron, now in thier 80's go to Pharaoh and demand him to let his people go. Aaron cast down his staff as the Lord commanded, and it became a serpent. The magicians of the Pharaoh then repeated the task, but Aarons serpent swallowed the others. So, when the Pharaoh went to the Nile, the following day, Moses and Aaron turned the water into blood. Not to be outdone, the court magicians repeated this task as well. Only now the people of Egypt had to dig wells because there was no clean water to drink.

Chapter 8

Moses now commanded Aaron to wave his hand over the Nile to create a plague of frogs. (By the way, Aaron is the means for all these miracles so far, In each case God tells Moses to tell Aaron to do the miracles.) So the frogs came, and the magicians also made frogs apear. Well, Pharaoh now says get rid of the frogs and I will let you go and make sacrifices. But after they stopped the frogs, Pharaoh said no way. So then Moses told Aaron to strike the ground with his staff and make the dust into gnats. This time the magicians could not make them and told Pharaoh that this was the Hand of God. Still, Pharaoh said no way. So then Moses and Aaron broughtin some flies, except that part of Egypt (Goshen) where the Israelites were. So Pharaoh said if the flies went away, he would let everone go. But when the flies were gone, he still said no way.

Chapter 9

This back and forth of miricles and broken promises continues. First a plague that attacks all the Egyptian animals, then a plague of boils that attacked the Egyptian men. Then when this was over, a hail storm that destroys all but the late blooming wheat and spelt comes along. Pharaoh again says make it stop and I will let your people go, only to say no way again once the plague stopped.

Chapter 10

Well, you guessed it. Another couple of plagues later and we still don't have freedom for the people of Israel. The plagues in this chapter are locusts and darkness. A line I find interesting is "Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?" Its a wonder that Pharaoh wasn't killed by his own people! At the end the chapter Pharaoh says "Get from me...never see my face again..." Pharaoh is really starting to get pissed off.

Chapter 11

This is the chapter that sets the stage for passover. The last plague of Egypt is the killing of the first born, everything must go, from cattle to Pharaohs son. Moses gives Pharaoh a chance, but Pharaoh with his heart hardened by God still won't let the people of Israel go.

Chapter 12

So this is passover. On the tenth day of the first month pick out a perfect lamb. On the 14th day kill it. Put blood on the door posts and on the lentel. The lamb must be roasted with everything in it, and what is not eaten should be burned. You should wear sandles, hold your staff and your loins should be girded. Also you should eat unleavened bread each night from the 14th - 21st. You should not work on the 14th or the 21st. There should be a holy assembly on these two days as well. God said to Moses that this should be kept by all his generations for ever. What happened? Why do we not follow this anymore? I read at the end of the chapter that sojourners nor foreigners eat the passover feast. So I guess if you can make shure that your not descended from Moses your O.K. Anyway, all the first born die that night. So Pharaoh finnaly lets them go. The Egyptians give the Israelites thier gold and silver because the Israelites found favor in the Egyptians eyes. Israel stayed in Egypt in Egypt about 430 years before they were set free. There were about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children. Because they were thrown out of Egypt they had no provisions.

Chapter 13

This chapter talks of concecrating all the first born male animalsto the Lord, and all previously born males should be redeemed. This chapter also talks about the beginning of the journey to the land of milk and honey. The Lord gives a guide, a pillar of flame by night, a pillar of cloud during the day. They also took Josephs bones with them.

Chapter 14

This chapter talks about the parting of the Red Sea. The Israelites are instructed to go to the sea and wait. Pharaoh decides that he made a mistake by letting them go and gathered up his armies and went after them. The Israelites saw them comming and thaught they made a mistake in leaving. But the Lord commanded Moses to raise his hand and part the sea. The neat thing here is that the bible says how it was done. The Lord made a strong wind blow from the east all night long. The next day the sea floor was dry and the waters were parted. After the Israelites walked through the corridor of the water, the Egyptians followed them in. There they were swallowed up by the waters. The Israelites now feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and his servant Moses.

Chapter 15

Basically a recap of the previous chapter, through a song. The song was to praise God for delivering them from Egypt. At the end of the chapter a creed from God comes down - "If you will diligently harken to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon you which I put upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord, Your healer."

Chapter 16

In this chapter the people start to complain about hunger, so God said that He would take of them. He gave them quail by night and bread each morning. The bread or manna was a white flake like thing, fine as hoar frost. It was like coreander seed and tasted like wafers made of honey. God instructed them to gather twice the amount of bread on the sixth day so they could rest on the seventh. They ate manna for 40 years until they made thier way back to Canaan.

Chapter 17

As the people continued thier journey they thirsted. They began to doubt Moses and "murmer" about him. So the Lord commanded Moses to strike a rock with his staff to produce water. The second half of the chapter deals with a battle between Amalek and Joshua. This is actually kind of humorous. When Moses held up his hand, Joshua would win. When Moses had his hand down, Amalek would win. So, Moses tried to keep his hands up, but after a while, he got tired. So his brother and Hur held up his hands for him.

Chapter 18

In this chapter Moses is reunited with his wife and sons. Also he gets some advice on how to deal with the people. It seems that anytime that anyone had a problem, they came to Moses to settle it, to find out what God wanted of them. Moses' father-in-law told him that if didn't get help he would not last. So he trained help to take care of smaller matters, but larger matters still came to Moses.

Chapter 19

Here the people come to Sinai to meet God. They see God as a cloud around Sinai and hear him as thunder, and as a trumpet blast that shook the mountain. God asked Moses to warn the people notto gaze at God, least they parish. He also asked moses to fetch his brother and bring him up the mountain.

Chapter 20

The Commandments! Here they are:
  • One - You shall have no other gods before me.
  • Two - You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in Heaven or that is in the earth beneath, or that is the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them: For I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
  • Three - You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
  • Four - Remember the sabbath day and keep it Holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work: But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maid servant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the Lord made Heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.
  • Five - Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
  • Six - You shall not kill.
  • Seven - You shall not commit adultery.
  • Eight - You shall not steal.
  • Nine - You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  • Ten - You shall not covet your neighbor's house; You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his manservant or his maidsevant, or his ox or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's.
The rest of the chapter deals with the creation of earthen altars for which to make sacrifices to God. It is interesting that it says all altars should be all natural, no hewn stone and no steps. Completely backward of what modern altars are in most churches that I know.

Chapter 21

This chapter mainly talks about how the laws should be obeyed, mainly in dealing with different types and degrees of assault. The interesting thing here is how slavery is "condoned." This is also the chapter that states "an eye for an eye." The other interesting thing is that it also deals with animals killing and injuring each other and what thier masters should do accordingly.

Chapter 22

More explination of the laws and what to do in different cases. They range from burning fields to seducing virgins. For the most part the law is common sense and decency. The main thing here is that soceresses and people who sleep with animals should be put to death. A lot of these laws are confusing, and not shure if they are variations of the commandments or a guide for better living. (Some of the penalties are rather strict though!)

Chapter 23

The rest of the laws are gone over in this chapter dealing with justice and ritual feasts. The key here is that God says, "But if you harken attentively to his voice (Moses?) and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enimies and an advesary to your adversaries."

Chapter 24

Moses now tells the word and ordinances of God to the Israelites. They agree to do as God asks and they have a sacrafice and form a covenant with God to do as he asks. God asks for Mosesto come up the mountain to get the stones with the law and the commandment. (considered one commandment?) and the chapter talks of seeing God, walking on a saphire stone, as clear as the very Heaven. Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.

Chapter 25

Here is a description of how to build the arc of the covenant (made from offerings). It must be made from acacia wood. Its size-2 and half cubits long, 1 and a half cubits wide and 1 and a half cubits tall. All the wood should be coated with gold. Add four cast gold rings to the corners and through the rings you should put gold covered acacia wood poles, never to be removed. There should also be a cover, 2 and a half cubits long, 1 and a half cubits wide - pure gold. It is to have two cheribim, one at each end. And all this shall be placed on a table, also made of acacia wood, 2 by 1 by 1 and a half cubits. And a lamp shall be made to light it. All built by a "talent of God"

Chapter 26

This chapter gives a description of how to build the tabernacle. Quite an extravagent temporary structure (tent) It says to make curtains 28 by 4 cubits (about 50 x 8 feet!) And there are other parts, equally detailed in thier construction. But yet I still can't quite figure it out exactly. But I bet it is all there. The neatest line I like in this chapter is "...blue and purple and scarlet stuff." - You know!

Chapter 27

This finishes up the instructions for building the place of worship. You really should read this yourself. Just keep in mind that a cubit is about 3 inches less than two feet. And Aaron and his sons shall be the ones who take care of the light, which is to burn pure beaten olive oil.

Chapter 28

Now that the place of worship is complete, the clothes are designed for the priests and sons. No expense spared here. Very fine adorned garments, every detail exquisite.

Chapter 29

This chapter deals with the concecration of these things. This is very ritualistic. It seems that if one were to perform these rituals (and it seems that we should be...daily) you would be attacked by animal rights activists and thrown in jail as devil worshipers.

Chapter 30

More on rituals. Covered here is oils, incense, and parfumes. Very detailed again. Very thurough in explination.

Chapter 31

This chapter gives the names of the designers that would build all these things.. Bezalel, the son of Urison, and Oholib the son of Ahisamach. God says here that the sabbath shall be kept by all generations of the people of Israel. It says that anyone who works on the sabbath shall be put to death. It also says that they shall be cut off from thier people. I guess death would do that. The chapter ends with Moses recieving the two tablets made of stone.

Chapter 32

Moses starts off the chapter pleading to God not to destroy the people of Israel, and so God repents there sin, although once Moses goes down the mountain and sees that they have made false gods of gold, he throws down the tablets, breaking them at the foot of the mountain. He then has about 5,000 people killed. He then asks God to forgive thier sin. God says that he will blot out those who sin against him from his great book. He then orders moses to take his people on thier journey again, following an angel. As punishment God sent a plague on the people for thier sins.

Chapter 33

This is just before they are to start back on thier journey. God condemns the people for wearing thier "ornaments", so they throw off thier ornaments to please God. Here also is a mention of the meeting tent where God speaks to Moses. Moses asks to see God, and God says He will let him see Him, but not his face, for "Man shall not see me and live" so God promises Moses can see his Godness pass before him, and also get to see his back.

Chapter 34

Here Moses sees God and asks him to pardon thier iniquity, and God tells him to observe what he commands him. The chapter started off with God asking Moses to bring two stones, like the ones he broke, only this time Moses would write the words, for 40 days and 40 nights. And when Moses was done and returned to his people, his face shone. So after he talked to them he would wear a viel, except when he would talk with God.

Chapter 35

Moses tells the people what God said and commands them to bring offerings to build the great tabernacle. The wo designers were also called forth.

Chapter 36

Here they build the tabernacle as God commanded them, to every detail.

Chapter 37

In this chapter Bezalel makes the ark, the mercy seat (the cover), the table, the lampstand, the altar of insense and the holy annointment oil and insense, all to Gods plan, every detail followed.

Chapter 38

Bezalel also makes the altar of burnt offering, laver of bronze, and the covet, and everything in it, as God commanded. What is interesting is that they give the approximate cost of the precious metals used in the structure. First you need to know that a "talent" is equal to about 75 pounds, and that a shekel is about .4 onces. The tabernacle used 29 talents and 730 shekels of gold, 100 talents and 1,773 sheckles of silver, and 70 talents and 2,400 sheckles of bronze. You do the math.

Chapter 39

This chapter is spent making the rest of the stuff for the tabernacle and for the priests. Moses blesses his people for the work they had done, for God commanded it, and they had done it.

Chapter 40

God now told Moses how to do the ceremony. The ceremony with the tabernacle was to be done each year on the first day of the new year. And each year Moses put up the tabernacle and held the worship ceremony. When the ceremony was over the tabernacle was carefully taken down, and it traveled with them on thier jouney. And the pillar of cloud followed by day, and the pillar of fire followed by night.