The Exodus Begun

Editor’s note: The Chronological Study Bible includes every word of Scripture, just in historical order. These Bibles include maps, notes, illustrations, information on artifacts, what was going on culturally during particular times, and contextual articles to help you get a fuller picture of each portion of the Bible.

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The actual date of the Exodus has been much debated. The two most frequently proposed possibilities are about 200 years apart: (1) in the 15^th century B.C. during the reign of Thutmose III (1479-1425 B.C.) and (2) in the 13^th century B.C. under Ramesses II (1279-1213 B.C.). The 15^th-century date fits the numbers give in 1 Kings 6:1, which places the Exodus 480 years before Solomon ‘s temple, which would be about 1446 B.C. The 13^th-century date, around 1275 B.C., seems to better fit other evidence (e.g., the building of the city of Rameses mentioned in Exodus 1:11) but requires understanding the 480 years of 1 Kings as a symbolic number.

Both dates place the Exodus in times of clear Egyptians supremacy, however, and this may be the essential point. The fact that the Book of Exodus does not name the Egyptian king, the very fact that so frustrates historians, is peculiarly appropriate in a book that tells how the ruler of the world’s greatest empire is humbled before the mighty arm of Israel’s God. 

Exodus 12:37-18:27

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Egypt and Its Gold (Exodus 12:35-36)

• Gold and silver were considered precious metals from the beginning of history.

In Egyptian society, the king or pharaoh (as he was called) had the power to concentrate wealth for himself. According to Egyptian custom, when kings or queens were buried, their treasure went with them into the ground. This custom sometimes allows us to see from an Egyptian tomb what kind of wealth the deceased ruled possessed, of which gold was usually included.

Such was the case when archaeologists discovered the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun with its treasure intact. The coffin of the king himself was made of solid gold about 1/8 inch thick and was over 6 feet long, weighing 243 pounds (or about 4 talents).

The wealth of Tutankhamun’s tomb is indicative of the wealth that the Hebrews must have observed while in Egypt. Tutankhamun became king in 1336 B.C., which places him about 100 years before or after the Hebrew exodus from Egypt. The date of the Exodus is debated, but scholars locate it at either 1446 B.C. or later around 1275 B.C. When the Hebrews had an opportunity to take something of Egypt with them, Egyptian gold must have been hard to resist (Exodus 12:35-36). 

Excerpted with permission from The Chronological Study Bible, copyright Thomas Nelson.

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