Dictionary

Old Testament Bible Dictionary Project

The book of Exodus contains a narrative and law genre. It is debated about who the author is, but evidence would point to Moses as the writer (Hindson and Towns, 2013). According to Hindson and Towns the time frame is also debated and would fall anywhere between 1504 - 1237 BC, but I am leaning toward 1446 BC because of the evidence. The story of Exodus isn’t a story where God releases people not to rest, but to be free from their harsh working conditions. The Israelites were forced into horrible working conditions by the Egyptians. Throughout the austere work environment the workers did not lose faith in God. Moses was born in a time when the Pharaoh was fearful of the Hebrews growing, so he ordered all the children be thrown into the Nile River. Moses’ mother made sure to put her baby into an ark before sending him down the river to save his life. The Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses and felt bad for him so she adopted him. Later Moses spoke to God through a burning bush and became the appointed leader to free the Israelites from Egypt. The book of Exodus contains the Ten Commandments. These are the only Commandments that came directly from God.

In the book of Joshua (chapters 2 and 6), you will find the story about Rahab who was a Canaanite. The book talks about how Rahab and her family were protected from genocide. The genocide was imposed on all inhabitants in Jericho. This happened sometime between 1399 and 1405 B.C. (Hindson and Towns, 2013). The story is important because it shows how if the reader honors God’s covenant they too will receive protection. It can be assumed that Rahab was born in Jericho as this is where her father lived. When Joshua came with the Israelites to take Jericho, Rahab assisted two men who were spies to hide and get out of harm’s way. In return for her sincere act, her family was safe and was treated with kindness when the walls came down on the city of Jericho. Rahab...