Exodus, the liberation of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt in the 13th century bce, under the leadership of Moses; also, the Old Testament book of the same name. The English name of the book derives from the Septuagint (Greek) use of “exodus” to designate the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and their safe passage through the Sea of Reeds (traditionally mislocated as the Red Sea). The Hebrew title of the work is Shemot (Names).
Chapters 1–18 narrate the history of the Egyptian bondage, the Exodus from Egypt, and the journey to Mount Sinai under the leadership of Moses. The second half of the book tells of the Covenant that was established between God and Israel at Sinai and promulgates laws for the ordering of Israel’s life.
Since Exodus continues the sacred story of the divine promise to Israel begun in Genesis, it must be seen as part of a larger literary unit that is variously understood to include the first four, five, or six books of the Bible.
Scholars have identified three literary traditions in Exodus, designated by the letters J, E, and P. The J strand, so called because it uses the name Yahweh (Jahweh in German) for God, is a Judaean rendition of the sacred story, perhaps written as early as 950 bce. The E strand, which designates God as Elohim, is a version of the sacred story from the northern kingdom of Israel, written in about 900–750 bce. The P strand, so called because of its cultic interests and regulations for priests, is usually dated in the 5th century bc and is regarded as the law upon which Ezra and Nehemiah based their reform. Each of these strands preserves materials much older than the time of their incorporation into a written work. Exodus thus conserves extremely old oral and written history. (See also Torah.)