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The Exodus Is Not Really about Israel Leaving Egypt

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Safwat Marzouk

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The Exodus Is Not Really about Israel Leaving Egypt

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The Exodus Is Not Really about Israel Leaving Egypt

...but about the Israelites distinguishing their identity from the Egyptians.

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The Exodus Is Not Really about Israel Leaving Egypt

The Plague of Darkness, Ryland's Haggadah,  Catalonia, Spain in the mid-14th century

Is the ultimate goal of the exodus to bring the Israelites to Canaan, or is it for them to worship YHWH in the wilderness?[1] When YHWH first commissions Moses to return to Egypt, He states:

שׁמות ג:ח וָאֵרֵד לְהַצִּילוֹ מִיַּד מִצְרַיִם וּלְהַעֲלֹתוֹ מִן הָאָרֶץ הַהִוא אֶל אֶרֶץ טוֹבָה וּרְחָבָה אֶל אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ אֶל מְקוֹם הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַחִתִּי וְהָאֱמֹרִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי וְהַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי.
Exod 3:8 “I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the region of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”[2]

This passage suggests that entering Canaan is the main objective of the exodus. Yet YHWH’s instructions regarding what Moses is to say when he confronts Pharaoh focus on freeing the people to worship Him in the wilderness:

שׁמות ג:יח ...וּבָאתָ אַתָּה וְזִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם וַאֲמַרְתֶּם אֵלָיו יְ־הוָה אֱלֹהֵי הָעִבְרִיִּים נִקְרָה עָלֵינוּ וְעַתָּה נֵלֲכָה נָּא דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים בַּמִּדְבָּר וְנִזְבְּחָה לַי־הוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ.
Exod 3:18 “...You shall go with the elders of Israel to the king of Egypt and you shall say to him, ‘YHWH, the God of the Hebrews, manifested Himself to us. Now therefore, let us go a distance of three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to YHWH our God.’”

Several approaches have been proposed to reconcile the apparent contradiction.

Interpreting the Request Literally

Abraham ibn Ezra (1089–1167) suggests that the demand to worship YHWH is fulfilled at Mount Sinai:

אבן עזרא שמות [ארוך] ה:ג וזה המרחק הוא בין מצרים והר סיני להולך בדרך ארץ ישראל. ושם זבחו, ככתוב: תעבדון את האלהים על ההר הזה (שמות ג:יב). ועוד: ויבן משה מזבח תחת ההר (שמות כד:ד).
Ibn Ezra Exod [long] 5:3 This is the distance between Egypt and Mount Sinai traveling on the way to the land of Israel. It was there that the Israelites offered sacrifices, as it is written, “you shall worship God at this mountain” (Exod 3:12). It is furthermore written, “and Moses built an altar at the foot of the mountain” (Exod 24:4).[3]

The Israelites’ trip from Egypt to Sinai in the narrative, however, takes three months, not three days (Exod 19:1). Berel Dov Lerner argues that the intended sacrifice and festival refer to the Passover, with the three days referring to the time between choosing the lamb and slaughtering it (Exod 12:3–8).[4] Yet the Passover is celebrated in Egypt, not the wilderness.

Tricking Pharaoh?

The disparity has also been explained as a manifestation of the Torah’s trickery motif, in which tricksters compensate for their weakness through deception.[5] Moses’s weakness is evident in his inability to speak (Exod 4:10). He also represents the God of the Hebrews, a class usually seen as the underdog.[6]

Yet in the plague narrative, the power of YHWH is never in question. It is manifest in YHWH’s control over which plagues to bring on Egypt, when to bring them, when to end them, and who gets affected by them. In the plague of hail, for example, Moses informs Pharaoh that YHWH is choosing not to destroy the Egyptians in one blow:

שׁמות ט:טו כִּי עַתָּה שָׁלַחְתִּי אֶת יָדִי וָאַךְ אוֹתְךָ וְאֶת עַמְּךָ בַּדָּבֶר וַתִּכָּחֵד מִן הָאָרֶץ. ט:טז וְאוּלָם בַּעֲבוּר זֹאת הֶעֱמַדְתִּיךָ בַּעֲבוּר הַרְאֹתְךָ אֶת כֹּחִי וּלְמַעַן סַפֵּר שְׁמִי בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ.
Exod 9:15 I could have stretched forth My hand and stricken you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been effaced from the earth. 9:16 Nevertheless I have spared you for this purpose: in order to show you My power, and in order that My fame may resound throughout the world.

In addition, when Pharaoh is about to let the people go, YHWH hardens his heart:

שׁמות י:כ וַיְחַזֵּק יְ־הוָה אֶת לֵב פַּרְעֹה וְלֹא שִׁלַּח אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
Exod 10:20 But YHWH stiffened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go (cf. v. 27).

In fact, while Pharaoh is suspicious of Moses’s demands, declaring to him רְאוּ כִּי רָעָה נֶגֶד פְּנֵיכֶם, “clearly, you are bent on mischief” (10:10), it is really Pharaoh who is a trickster, several times refusing to let the Israelites go as soon as a plague is lifted:

שׁמות ח:יא וַיַּרְא פַּרְעֹה כִּי הָיְתָה הָרְוָחָה וְהַכְבֵּד אֶת לִבּוֹ וְלֹא שָׁמַע אֲלֵהֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְ־הוָה.
Exod 8:11 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he became stubborn and would not heed them, as YHWH had spoken (cf. 8:29–32; 9:27–35).

Since neither the fulfillment nor the trickster theories fully explain YHWH’s demand that the Israelites be allowed to worship Him in the wilderness, I suggest looking at the request to let the Israelites worship YHWH as a motif intended to distinguish the Israelites from the Egyptians. Can Israel fully live out their identity while in close relation to Egypt? Does Israel need to leave Egypt to form a distinct identity? Can Israel forget Egypt when Israel leaves Egypt? Varying answers to these questions are present in Exodus’ traditions.[7]

Three Days’ Journey

YHWH’s desire for the Israelites to go דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים, “three days’ journey” into the wilderness to sacrifice to Him is attested three times in the plague narrative: in God’s commission to Moses (Exod 3:18); in Moses and Aaron’s confrontation with Pharaoh (5:3); and in Moses’s negotiation with Pharaoh during the plague of the flies (8:27).[8]

The journey, perhaps in the form of a pilgrimage, would create a religious and a social distance between the Israelites and the Egyptians at a time when the boundaries between them are blurred. Yet two subsequent references to a three days’ journey in the Torah highlight the Israelites’ difficulty in leaving Egypt behind.

Three Days to Marah

The Israelites travel away from the sea a three-day journey to Marah:

שׁמות טו:כב וַיַּסַּע מֹשֶׁה אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִיַּם סוּף וַיֵּצְאוּ אֶל מִדְבַּר שׁוּר וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים בַּמִּדְבָּר וְלֹא מָצְאוּ מָיִם.
Exod 15:22 Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water.[9]

Ironically, the first challenge the Israelites face after leaving Egypt is analogous to the first plague of blood (Exod 7:24), when the Egyptians could not drink the water:

שׁמות טו:כג וַיָּבֹאוּ מָרָתָה וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לִשְׁתֹּת מַיִם מִמָּרָה כִּי מָרִים הֵם עַל כֵּן קָרָא שְׁמָהּ מָרָה.
Exod 15:23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah.

The Israelites murmur about the lack of water, Moses cries out to YHWH, and YHWH has Moses throw a tree into the salty water to sweeten it. A subsequent verse clarifies that this incident is a test:

שׁמות טו:כו וַיֹּאמֶר אִם שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע לְקוֹל יְ־הוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְהַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו תַּעֲשֶׂה וְהַאֲזַנְתָּ לְמִצְוֹתָיו וְשָׁמַרְתָּ כָּל חֻקָּיו כָּל הַמַּחֲלָה אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתִּי בְמִצְרַיִם לֹא אָשִׂים עָלֶיךָ כִּי אֲנִי יְ־הוָה רֹפְאֶךָ.
Exod 15:26 He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of YHWH your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I am YHWH who heals you.”[10]

Although the Israelites are no longer in Egypt, if they fail to trust in their God to guide them and provide for them through the wilderness, they become like the Egyptians, bearing diseases, plagues, and sickness. Three days from the exodus is not enough time for the Israelites to forget Egypt!

Three Days from Sinai

Conversely, three days is enough time for the Israelites to forget the events at YHWH’s mountain:

במדבר י:לג וַיִּסְעוּ מֵהַר יְ־הוָה דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים וַאֲרוֹן בְּרִית יְ־הוָה נֹסֵעַ לִפְנֵיהֶם דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים לָתוּר לָהֶם מְנוּחָה.
Num 10:33 So they set out from the mountain of YHWH three days’ journey with the ark of the covenant of YHWH going before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them.

As they travel, the people complain about their life in the wilderness compared to their life in Egypt:

במדבר יא:ה זָכַרְנוּ אֶת הַדָּגָה אֲשֶׁר נֹאכַל בְּמִצְרַיִם חִנָּם אֵת הַקִּשֻּׁאִים וְאֵת הָאֲבַטִּחִים וְאֶת הֶחָצִיר וְאֶת הַבְּצָלִים וְאֶת הַשּׁוּמִים. יא:ו וְעַתָּה נַפְשֵׁנוּ יְבֵשָׁה אֵין כֹּל בִּלְתִּי אֶל הַמָּן עֵינֵינוּ.
Num 11:5 We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic, 11:6 but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

In response to their murmuring, YHWH provides them with quail, but while they are eating, He strikes them with a great plague:

במדבר יא:לג הַבָּשָׂר עוֹדֶנּוּ בֵּין שִׁנֵּיהֶם טֶרֶם יִכָּרֵת וְאַף יְ־הוָה חָרָה בָעָם וַיַּךְ יְ־הוָה בָּעָם מַכָּה רַבָּה מְאֹד.
Num 11:33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of YHWH was kindled against the people, and YHWH struck the people with a very great plague.

Just as YHWH struck Egypt (Exod 3:20; 12:29) and Pharaoh (9:15), so now YHWH strikes Israel. Nostalgia for Egypt has blurred the boundaries between the Israelites and the Egyptians. The persistence of the longing for Egypt among the Israelites who left Egypt highlights the difficulty of leaving Egypt behind.

A Festival to YHWH, Sacrifices, Sword, and Plague

Israel’s failure to “leave Egypt” becomes most evident in the recurring motifs between Moses initial demand to Pharaoh and the worshipping of the golden calf. Both narratives include the motifs of a festival to YHWH, sacrifices, sword, and plague.

Prior to the plagues, Moses—accompanied by Aaron[11]—confronts Pharaoh:

שׁמות ה:א וְאַחַר בָּאוּ מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל פַּרְעֹה כֹּה אָמַר יְ־הוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שַׁלַּח אֶת עַמִּי וְיָחֹגּוּ לִי בַּמִּדְבָּר.
Exod 5:1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel: Let My people go that they may celebrate a festival for Me in the wilderness.”[12]

Pharaoh rejects this request, but they persist, noting the consequences should the Israelites not be allowed to worship YHWH:[13]

שׁמות ה:ג וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֱלֹהֵי הָעִבְרִים נִקְרָא עָלֵינוּ נֵלֲכָה נָּא דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים בַּמִּדְבָּר וְנִזְבְּחָה לַי־הוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ פֶּן יִפְגָּעֵנוּ בַּדֶּבֶר אוֹ בֶחָרֶב.
Exod 5:3 They said, “The God of the Hebrews has manifested Himself to us. Let us go, we pray, a distance of three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to YHWH our God, lest He strike us with pestilence or sword.”

After molding the calf, Aaron builds an altar and declares a festival to YHWH for the next day:

שׁמות לב:ה וַיַּרְא אַהֲרֹן וַיִּבֶן מִזְבֵּחַ לְפָנָיו וַיִּקְרָא אַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמַר חַג לַי־הוָה מָחָר.
Exod 32:5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron announced: “Tomorrow shall be a festival of YHWH!”

In the next day, they rise early and offer sacrifices to YHWH:

שׁמות לב:ו וַיַּשְׁכִּימוּ מִמָּחֳרָת וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת וַיַּגִּשׁוּ שְׁלָמִים וַיֵּשֶׁב הָעָם לֶאֱכֹל וְשָׁתוֹ וַיָּקֻמוּ לְצַחֵק.
Exod 32:6 Early next day, the people offered up burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; they sat down to eat and drink, and then rose to dance.[14]

When Moses comes down from the mountain, the sons of Levi gather around him to show that they belong to YHWH, and Moses commands them to strike down the Israelites with their swords:

שׁמות לב:כז וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם כֹּה אָמַר יְ־הוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שִׂימוּ אִישׁ חַרְבּוֹ עַל יְרֵכוֹ עִבְרוּ וָשׁוּבוּ מִשַּׁעַר לָשַׁעַר בַּמַּחֲנֶה וְהִרְגוּ אִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו וְאִישׁ אֶת רֵעֵהוּ וְאִישׁ אֶת קְרֹבוֹ.
Exod 32:27 He said to them, “Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel: Put your sword on your side, each of you; go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay brother, neighbor, and kin.”

At the end of the narrative, and despite the intercessory prayer of Moses on behalf of the people who have sinned, the text reports that YHWH also strikes them with a plague:

שׁמות לב:לה וַיִּגֹּף יְ־הוָה אֶת הָעָם עַל אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ אֶת הָעֵגֶל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אַהֲרֹן.
Exod 32:35 YHWH sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf—the one that Aaron made.[15]

In Egypt, Moses demanded a festival to YHWH in order to mark a distinct Israelite identity as servants of YHWH. Here, Aaron proclaims a festival to YHWH as he drags Israel back into Egypt by melting and molding the Egyptian gold that the Israelites plundered (Exod 12:35) to make the golden calf. The entire project of separating the Israelites from Egypt fails in their very first festival outside of Egypt.

“Returning” to Egypt in Hosea

The complaint about the Israelites returning to Egypt also appears in Hosea’s judgment over Israel because they had entered a political alliance with Egypt:[16]

הושׁע ט:ג לֹא יֵשְׁבוּ בְּאֶרֶץ יְ־הוָה וְשָׁב אֶפְרַיִם מִצְרַיִם וּבְאַשּׁוּר טָמֵא יֹאכֵלוּ.
Hos 9:3 They shall not be able to remain in the land of YHWH. But Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and in Assyria they shall eat unclean food.

Here, “returning to Egypt” or being “exiled in Assyria” forbids the people from celebrating a Festival to YHWH:

הושׁע ט:ד לֹא יִסְּכוּ לַי־הוָה יַיִן וְלֹא יֶעֶרְבוּ לוֹ זִבְחֵיהֶם כְּלֶחֶם אוֹנִים לָהֶם כָּל אֹכְלָיו יִטַמָּאוּ כִּי לַחְמָם לְנַפְשָׁם לֹא יָבוֹא בֵּית יְ־הוָה. ט:ה מַה תַּעֲשׂוּ לְיוֹם מוֹעֵד וּלְיוֹם חַג יְ־הוָה.
Hos 9:4 They will offer no libations of wine to YHWH, and no sacrifices of theirs will be pleasing to Him. Such sacrifices shall be for them like the food of mourners, all who partake of which are defiled. For their food will be only for their hunger, it shall not come into the House of YHWH. 9:5 What will you do on the day of appointed festival, and on the day of the festival of YHWH?

A “festival to YHWH” which was supposed to be marked by joy, will be marked by destruction and judgment; those who will escape judgment:

הושׁע ט:ו כִּי הִנֵּה הָלְכוּ מִשֹּׁד מִצְרַיִם תְּקַבְּצֵם מֹף תְּקַבְּרֵם מַחְמַד לְכַסְפָּם קִמּוֹשׂ יִירָשֵׁם חוֹחַ בְּאָהֳלֵיהֶם.
Hos 9:6 Behold, they have gone from destruction [with] the silver they treasure. Egypt shall gather them, Memphis shall bury them. Weeds are their heirs; prickly shrubs occupy their [old] homes.

Whether in their political alliances, religious apostasy, or worshipping a Golden Calf, the people undo their own exodus from Egypt. Moses’s request to celebrate a Festival to YHWH in the wilderness is problematized by Israel’s tendency to “return to Egypt,” materialized here in the incident of the Golden Calf and in the words of the prophet Hosea.

In Egypt, the Israelites are Separated from the Egyptians

Surprisingly, the Israelites are more separated from Egypt while they are still in Egypt. Many of the plagues emphasize the distinction between Egypt and Israel. For example, before the insect plague, Moses argues that the Israelites must sacrifice in the wilderness because Israelite practices would be offensive to the Egyptians:

שׁמות ח:כב וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה לֹא נָכוֹן לַעֲשׂוֹת כֵּן כִּי תּוֹעֲבַת מִצְרַיִם נִזְבַּח לַי־הוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ הֵן נִזְבַּח אֶת תּוֹעֲבַת מִצְרַיִם לְעֵינֵיהֶם וְלֹא יִסְקְלֻנוּ.
Exod 8:22 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do this, for what we sacrifice to YHWH our God is untouchable to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice that which is untouchable to the Egyptians before their very eyes, will they not stone us!”[17]

In the pestilence plague, only the Egyptian livestock are harmed:

שׁמות ט:ד וְהִפְלָה יְ־הוָה בֵּין מִקְנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבֵין מִקְנֵה מִצְרָיִם וְלֹא יָמוּת מִכָּל לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל דָּבָר.
Exod 9:4 But YHWH will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing shall die of all that belongs to the Israelites.’”

The account of the hail plague notes that the Israelites live in the land of Goshen, which is spared:

שׁמות ט:כו רַק בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן אֲשֶׁר שָׁם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא הָיָה בָּרָד.
Exod 9:26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, was there no hail.

The land of the Israelites is also not affected by the plague of darkness (10:23). YHWH further distinguishes between the Israelites and Egyptians in the final plague. While the plague will kill the firstborn Egyptians, YHWH declares:

שׁמות יא:ז וּלְכֹל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא יֶחֱרַץ כֶּלֶב לְשֹׁנוֹ לְמֵאִישׁ וְעַד בְּהֵמָה לְמַעַן תֵּדְעוּן אֲשֶׁר יַפְלֶה יְ־הוָה בֵּין מִצְרַיִם וּבֵין יִשְׂרָאֵל.
Exod 11:7 But not a dog shall snarl at any of the Israelites, at man or beast—in order that you may know that YHWH makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

In announcing this first Passover, Moses describes the Israelites as living among the Egyptians:[18]

שׁמות יב:כו וְהָיָה כִּי יֹאמְרוּ אֲלֵיכֶם בְּנֵיכֶם מָה הָעֲבֹדָה הַזֹּאת לָכֶם. יב:כז וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח הוּא לַי־הוָה אֲשֶׁר פָּסַח עַל בָּתֵּי בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמִצְרַיִם בְּנָגְפּוֹ אֶת מִצְרַיִם וְאֶת בָּתֵּינוּ הִצִּיל....
Exod 12:26 “And when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this rite?’ 12:27 you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to YHWH, because He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but saved our houses.’”

Thus, the statement “let my people go so that they may worship me” has different layers of meaning in these passages, since it does not necessarily have a geographical location attached to it. Setting the Israelites free to worship YHWH may refer to a physical movement to the wilderness or Canaan, or it could refer to being set free to belong to YHWH even though the Israelites live in Egypt.

Speaking to the Egyptian Diaspora

The texts preserved in the Bible reflect a tension that existed among different Judean diaspora communities concerning Israelite identity and its relationship to the promised land. While some biblical authors used traditions of the exodus to encourage those in exile to return to the land,[19] the passages discussed here—which maintain a distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians in the plague narrative and present the Israelites worshipping the first Passover in Egypt—highlight the possibility of forming an Israelite identity without the necessity of leaving Egypt.

This idea may have been particularly relevant to the Second Temple Judean diaspora in Egypt, who remained in Egypt while forming a distinct identity for themselves through their rituals and pilgrimages.[20]

Published

January 29, 2025

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Last Updated

January 29, 2025

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Footnotes

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Prof. Safwat Marzouk is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary. Marzouk is the author of Egypt as a Monster in the Book of Ezekiel (Mohr Siebeck, 2015) and a number of articles including “Migration in the Joseph Narrative: Integration, Separation, and Transnationalism,” and “Interrogating Identity: A Christian Egyptian Reading of the Hagar-Ishmael Traditions.”