An Outline of Exodus

Egyptian Monuments: How one outlines a book sometimes reveals the nature of the book.  Throughout the history of Egyptian records were written to glorify the pharaohs, their "gods" and the exploits of their county in times of war. At the time of Moses the megalythic war stelas were made to commemorate the victory over Egypt's enemies.  There were two parts to the text on the monument.  In the first part there would be a description of how their gods defeated the foreign gods and of course how their armies defeated the foreign armies. There would also be a description of how a pilgrimage was taken to a holy place after the victory. On the second part of the monument there would be a discussion of how they built/rebuilt the temple at the holy place of the deity to commemorate the victory and then there would be a ceremony to enthrone the deity as king of all the gods, both foreign and domestic.

The Monument to the Exodus: The Exodus event imitates this ritual in order to humiliate the Egyptians and to teach the Israelites never to forget what Yahweh had done. The ultimate decalaration of the book is that Yahweh is the KING OF THE UNIVERSE (melek haolam).

I.    Divine Triumph: Yahweh Fought the Gods & Army of Egypt

A.    Yahweh Wages War    1-14

1.    The Cause of War (casus belli)	1:1-1
2.    The Preparation of a Leader	2:1-25
3.    The Call of the Leader	3:1-4:31
4.    Failed Negotiations	5:1-6:23
5.    The Waging of the War	7:1-14:31

B.    The "Joyful" Pilgrimage     15-18

 

1.    The Song of the Sea	15
2.    Complaining, Heavenly Food, and War	16-17
3.    The Sacrifice of Reuel/Jethro	18

II.    The Royal House

A.    The Giving of the Law    19:1-24:18

 

1.    The Mountain of Fear	19:1-25
2.    The Giving of the Law	20:1-23:33
3.    Making Covenant	24:1-8
4.    The Mountain of Fellowship	24:9-18

B.    The Plans for the House 25:1-31:18
C.    The Great Defection & Restoration 32:1-34:35
D.    The Building of the House 35:1-40:33
E.     The Enthronement of the Deity 40:34-38