Exodus Decoded

From my perception of “The Exodus Decoded,” Simcha Jacobovici’s “facts” and “theories” are very easy to prove wrong, and quite frankly, over-reached. As an example- his theory for the first plague, the Nile turned to blood, in which he explained as gases floating above the waters, creating a chemical effect of a muddy-red hue, but if we are basing these facts off scripture, Exodus 7:20 specifically states that the waters turned to blood rather than to the color of blood. In other words, I find Jacobovici quite sceptical, especially about his plague explanations. On the other hand, some of the material covered is almost to the point of being believable. Among the believable foundings were the mass graves of only men found in Egypt- reflecting a possible outcome of the…

titled, “The Exodus in Biblical Memory.” Exodus is a huge focal point for the religion of the Israelites. Their religious rituals, laws to abide by, and ethics are grounded in the foundation of the experiences and memory of the Exodus (Hendel, 2001). This one event historically provided evidence for the tie and bond between Yahweh and the Israelites (Hendel, 2001). The historical accuracy of the great Exodus has been questioned considerably due to the oral and written passing on of the events;…

believe that the primary implication of this passage is a better understanding of the character of God and his role in the lives of his people. This is a major theme in all of Exodus, as well as specifically in the revelation of God’s name to Moses and to the people of that time. He is a God that loves all of his creation and desires for all people to come into a saving relationship with him (1 Timothy 2:3-4). To this end he voices the words: “Bring my sons out of Egypt” and “I will be with you”…

We must remember that we are in a spiritual exodus! Even though we already have “the tablets of the covenant,” we constantly and consistently fail because our nature is to “break the rules” (also called sin), but overall because we are not close to the Lord. When talking about being close to the Lord, I am not just saying being close to the Lord physically because the Lord is already always with us if we are believers; I am also talking about being close to the Lord through obedience and…

Ulysses S. Grant once said, “Hold fast to the Bible. To the influence of this Book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization and to this we must look as our guide in the future.” In his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck uses the universality of the Bible to make the account of the migrant’s plight applicable and understandable to all readers. By using Biblical references, Steinbeck is able to put the major themes and motifs of his novel into a framework to which all…

Throughout this class, I learned how to analyze cultures and compare them to what our culture is now. Going through the four different cultures, they have many similarities as well as differences. After forty years of wandering throughout Moab, the Israelites finally made it to their promise land. There were many battles to be fought to gain control over their land. They would regroup for more assaults on fortresses and cities. They established cities and made a land for themselves. But with the…

Moses delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage and led them almost to the Promised Land (via the LORD of course). Then Joshua completed Moses’ work by bringing them into the Promise Land. Then Joshua led the conquest against all the nations that occupied the land; killing everyone in their path. Now with Moses and Joshua gone, the period of the Judges begins. This was a time when Israel was governed by a series of very colorful judges as you will see. Then the period of the…

Option A 1. What event does the Jewish Passover recall and celebrate? The events that are recalled and celebrated by the Jewish people are the 10 plagues that God sent on the land of Egypt. The 10 Plagues are: the river Nile was turned into blood, Egypt was overrun by frogs, Dust turned into lice, a swarm of flies came to Egypt, All Egyptian livestock died, Egyptian got boils, The worst hailstorm in Egyptian history struck, A swarm of Locust at all the Egyptian’s crops, Egypt came into…

To complicate matters, they were absolutely in the dark as to whom they were praying. Thus God sent Moses to make the introduction (Exodus 3:13-15). It would appear that the Hebrews truly wanted to believe but faith in Yahweh proved formidable despite His many exhibitions of His power and providential care (Numbers 14:11). This paradigm of trusting and subsequent doubt, would to be a prove to be a hallmark and the fire that would forge the Israelites relationship with their God, their…

In the Bible, the stories of Exodus and Esther stand out due to the implicit parallels between the characters of Moses and Esther. Both Moses and Esther were born Jews and forced to assimilate into other cultures, both were thrust into positions of significant power over a population of people drastically different from themselves (Egyptian and Persian, respectively), and both were charged with the heavy task of freeing their people -- the Israelites / Jews -- from certain oppression and…