The Book of Exodus receives its English title from the Greek Septuagint (LXX), where it is called Exodos (Ἔξοδος), meaning “departure” or “exit.” This name was chosen because the central and defining event of the book is the miraculous departure of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt—the great act of redemption that stands as the supreme Old Testament type of the deliverance accomplished by Christ our true Passover.
I. Date and Authorship
Holy Tradition, affirmed by the Fathers and the liturgical usage of the Church from the earliest centuries, attributes the Book of Exodus (along with the entire Pentateuch) to the Prophet Moses. Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, composed the book during the wilderness period immediately following the events it records, approximately 1440–1400 BC (or, according to some chronologies aligned with the Septuagint, slightly earlier). As an eyewitness and divinely appointed leader, Moses wrote to preserve for Israel the mighty acts of God in delivering His people from Egyptian bondage, establishing the covenant at Sinai, and providing the pattern for true worship through the Tabernacle. Exodus therefore stands as the historical and theological heart of the Torah, showing how the God who created the world (Genesis) is the same God who redeems and sanctifies His people.
While modern scholarship proposes composite authorship or later editorial layers (the so-called Documentary Hypothesis), the Orthodox Church receives the text as a unified, divinely inspired work placed under the authorship and authority of Moses. Moses drew upon the direct experience of the Exodus generation and upon earlier patriarchal traditions, but the final form and theological shaping belong to him under divine inspiration.
II. Manuscripts and Textual Transmission
The textual history of Exodus reflects the dual streams that characterize the entire Old Testament: the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT) and the Greek Septuagint (LXX). The MT, standardized by Jewish scribes between the 7th and 10th centuries AD, represents the later Hebrew textual tradition. The LXX, translated in Alexandria by Jewish scholars in the 3rd–2nd centuries BC, is considerably older and was the version most widely used by the Apostles, the New Testament writers, and the early Church Fathers.
The EOB Old Testament follows the Septuagint tradition as the authoritative text received and preserved by the Orthodox Church. Significant differences exist between the MT and LXX in Exodus, especially in certain numerical details, the dimensions and furnishings of the Tabernacle, and occasional wording that carries deeper theological nuance (for example, in the account of the plagues or the Song of the Sea).
Other witnesses—such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and early Church citations—confirm the antiquity and stability of the LXX tradition. The EOB footnotes major variants so that the reader may appreciate the richness of the textual transmission while remaining grounded in the Orthodox liturgical text.
III. Canonicity and Scriptural Status (Orthodox Perspective)
Within the Orthodox Church, Exodus has always held undisputed canonical status as the second book of the Pentateuch and of the entire Bible. It is not merely “historical” or “cultural” literature; it is Holy Scripture, θεόπνευστος (God-breathed), and an integral part of the undivided canon of the Old Testament as received by the Church from the Apostles and confirmed by the Ecumenical Councils.
From an Orthodox viewpoint, the canonicity of Exodus is not determined by later Jewish councils ; rather, it is established above all by its authoritative use in the New Testament. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself treated the words of the Pentateuch as the very words of God. When speaking of the commandments, He declared, “For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’” (Matthew 15:4, quoting Exodus 20:12), thereby affirming the divine origin and ongoing authority of the Law given through Moses. This is further confirmed by its veneration in the Fathers and its central place in the worship of the Church.
Exodus reveals the Triune God as Redeemer, Lawgiver, and Dweller among His people, and it lays the groundwork for every major doctrine of salvation: redemption from slavery to sin, covenant relationship, the holiness of God, and the pattern of true worship fulfilled in the Church. To question its canonicity would be to undermine the entire economy of salvation as understood by the Holy Fathers and the Ecumenical Councils.
IV. Main Themes and Outline
The central themes of Exodus are God’s sovereign redemption of His people, the establishment of the covenant, and the call to holy worship. The book shows that the same God who creates also delivers, sanctifies, and dwells among His own.
- Redemption and Deliverance (chs. 1–18): Israel’s slavery, the call of Moses, the ten plagues, the Passover, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the journey to Sinai demonstrate God’s power over the gods of Egypt and His faithfulness to the Abrahamic promises.
- Covenant and Law (chs. 19–24): At Sinai God gives the Ten Commandments and the Book of the Covenant, establishing Israel as His “kingdom of priests and holy nation.”
- Tabernacle and Worship (chs. 25–40): Detailed instructions for the Tabernacle, the priesthood, and the liturgy are given; the golden calf incident shows the danger of false worship; and the book concludes with the glory of the Lord filling the completed Tabernacle.
A simple outline:
- Bondage and Deliverance (1:1–18:27)
- Covenant at Sinai (19:1–24:18)
- Tabernacle Instructions (25:1–31:18)
- The Golden Calf and Renewal (32:1–34:35)
- Tabernacle Construction and God’s Glory (35:1–40:38)
V. Use in the Rest of the Old Testament and New Testament
Exodus is the foundation upon which the rest of the Old Testament is built. The historical books, Psalms (especially Ps 78, 105, 106, 114), the Prophets, and the Wisdom literature constantly recall the Exodus as the supreme act of God’s salvation and the pattern for all future deliverance. The covenant and Tabernacle become the model for the Temple and for Israel’s worship.
In the New Testament, Exodus is quoted or alluded to more than any other Old Testament book except the Psalms and Genesis. St. Paul sees the Red Sea crossing and the manna as types of Baptism and the Eucharist (1 Cor 10:1-4); Christ is explicitly called “our Passover Lamb” (1 Cor 5:7); the Epistle to the Hebrews uses the Tabernacle and the priesthood as the supreme type of Christ’s heavenly ministry (Heb 8–10); and the Book of Revelation is filled with Exodus imagery—the plagues, the song of Moses and the Lamb, and the new exodus from bondage to sin. The New Testament never treats Exodus as mere myth or allegory detached from history; it receives it as true divine revelation fulfilled in Christ.
VI. Patristic Use and References
The Fathers of the Church wrote extensively on Exodus. Origen’s Homilies on Exodus remain foundational, offering both literal and spiritual interpretations. St. Gregory of Nyssa’s The Life of Moses is a classic Orthodox masterpiece that reads the entire book as an icon of the soul’s ascent to God. St. John Chrysostom’s Homilies on the Statues and other works draw moral and ascetical lessons from the Exodus events, while St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Ephrem the Syrian, and St. Ambrose also produced important commentaries. The Fathers consistently read Exodus both literally (as true history) and typologically/spiritually (as pointing to Christ, the Church, Baptism, the Eucharist, and the spiritual life). They saw in Moses the supreme type of Christ the Lawgiver and Deliverer, and in the Tabernacle a living image of the Church and of the human heart as the dwelling-place of God.
VII. Orthodox Liturgical Use
Exodus occupies a place of supreme importance in the liturgical life of the Orthodox Church. It is read daily at Vespers during the first weeks of Great Lent (alongside Genesis and Proverbs), calling the faithful to repentance and to the true Exodus from the slavery of sin. The Exodus narrative reaches its climax in the Paschal Vigil, where the crossing of the Red Sea and the Song of Moses are proclaimed as the supreme type of Christ’s Resurrection. The Ten Commandments, the Passover, the manna, and the Tabernacle are woven throughout the hymns, prokeimena, and troparia of the year—especially during Holy Week, Theophany (the Great Blessing of Water), and the feasts of the Theotokos. In this way, Exodus is not an ancient text but a living word that the Church hears and proclaims every year as part of her ongoing journey from slavery to freedom, from the old covenant to the new, in Christ our true Passover.
