Book of Exodus: Message, Themes, Characters, and New Testament Context Anonymous

Part 1: The Book of Exodus and its Message

In his theory of forms, the philosopher Plato proposes that the objects and situations encountered in the mundane world are often indicative of a higher and fuller reality. While Plato did not have the Old Testament in mind when he wrote "The Republic", his concept of reality speaks to the relationship between the highlight of Jewish scripture, Ve-eleh Shemoth, better known as "Exodus", and the events that would eventually become the focus of Christianity. In many ways, the Exodus is the thematic well from which the rest of the Bible draws. In its pages, one finds the departure of Israel from slavery in Egypt, the revelation of the Law on Mount Sinai, the journey towards Canaan, and the beginnings of Judaic religious practice. As the cornerstone of Old Testament soteriology, Yahweh's deliverance of His people from Egypt is a pivotal event in the unfolding of God's covenant with Israel, as well as the theological archetype in which Christianity is rooted. Furthermore, the events of the Exodus precipitate the creation of the Torah, or Teaching, and thus can be viewed as the direct antecedent of later Jewish customs.

The story of the Exodus is well-known, having...