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FAMILY · TOLD GENTLY

Bible Stories

“Suffer little children to come unto me.” — Mark 10:14 · KJV

A peaceful reading of this page. 0:00
"I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

Exodus 20:2 · King James Bible

What it is

Exodus is the second book of the Bible — the story of how the family of Jacob, now grown into a nation of slaves in Egypt, is delivered by the mighty hand of God. Traditionally attributed to Moses. Forty chapters.

The shape of the book

Chapters 1–12: Slavery, Moses's call at the burning bush, the ten plagues, the Passover.
Chapters 13–18: The Red Sea crossing, manna, water from the rock, Jethro's advice.
Chapters 19–24: Sinai. The Ten Commandments. The book of the covenant.
Chapters 25–40: The plans for the tabernacle, the golden calf incident, God's presence filling the tabernacle.

Six passages worth knowing

Exodus 3 (the burning bush) · Exodus 12 (the Passover) · Exodus 14 (the Red Sea) · Exodus 20 (the Ten Commandments) · Exodus 32 (the golden calf) · Exodus 40 (the glory fills the tabernacle).

How to read it in a fortnight

Chapters 1–7 (one evening), 8–12 (one), 13–18 (one), 19–24 (two — this is the heart), 25–31 (one), 32–34 (one — the golden calf is not to be skipped), 35–40 (one). Nine evenings.

Why it matters

Exodus is the picture of salvation the whole Bible works from. A God who hears the cry of his slaves. A lamb whose blood covers the doorposts. A crossing through the deep on dry ground. A law given at a mountain. A tabernacle where God dwells with his people. Every one of these images comes back at Christmas, at the cross, at Pentecost. If Genesis is beginnings, Exodus is redemption.

Walk further

Continue Your Journey

Where else this page opens into the household library.

MosesLed Israel out of EgyptThe Red SeaThe great crossingMount SinaiThe Ten CommandmentsInteractive map — ExodusInteractive mapBaby Moses — for childrenFor children
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