| EXODUS |
| Explanatory Footnotes |
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| 2:10 Selective History Exodus illustrates how selective the Bible's history is. The first chapter, for example, skips over the name of the Egyptian pharaoh (leaving a riddle for scholars to argue over ever since), and yet identifies by name two Hebrew midwives (1:15). After compressing three and a half centuries into a few verses, Exodus devotes chapters 3-40 to the events of a single year. In contrast to Genesis' large cast of characters, Exodus focuses on one main character, Moses. 3:11 Who, Me? Moses had big doubs about his ability to lead. He resisted God, bringing up his unworthiness (here) and lack of authority (verse 13), his fear of the people's distrust (4:1), his speech difficulties (4:10), and sheer cowardice (4:13). The remainder of Exodus should give people with similar self-doubts great hope, for it traces Moses' personal development from this fumbling start to his emergence as one of history's most decisive, powerful leaders. 6:9 Oppressed by Egypt With Egypt at the zenith of its power, Pharaoh used slaves to build massive monuments, enforcing his rule with an army of renowned charioteers and bowmen. Egyptian hieroglyphics pictured the word for foreigner as a bound man with blood flowing from a wound in his head; the Israelites felt the full weight of such oppression. For a while, the increasing cruelty of Egyptian taskmaskers turned the Israelites against Moses and his campaign to free them. But this oppression also made them anxious to leave. 7:13 Pharaoh's Hard Heart The Bible describes Pharaoh's stubbornness in three ways. Sometimes it says Pharaoh "hardened his heart" (8:15), sometimes, "God hardened Pharaoh's heart" (10:1), and also, as here, "Pharaoh's heart became hard." This is consistent with the Old Testament view: all of history was an act of God. Beyond that, the writers did not normally make clear |