The Exodus is the defining event in the recollection of the Jewish people, but was it “a story—or history” (1)? Did the events narrated in the second book of the Torah actually happen? Of course, the question itself is naive. All history is interpretation. In The Exodus, Biblical scholar Richard Elliott Friedman argues that the Exodus was an historic event, although it occurred in a different way than we read in the Torah.

While the above claim may worry some, especially from fundamentalist backgrounds, it need not. Virtually all scholars recognize theological and polemic intent in the way scripture was crafted. After all, it’s the canonical form of scripture that’s inspired, not the so-called ‘objective’ reality that contributed to its creation.

Friedman displays a firm command of the archaeological and historical data that underpin these questions. Still, the thing that makes The Exodus (the book) so fascinating is Friedman’s larger thesis, in particular, two bold claims. Without an historical anchor behind the Exodus account:

1. There would be no monotheism.
2. There would be no ethic of love for neighbour

Perhaps the claims are overstated—to be sure, these two ideas could have developed elsewhere, but they find their original form in the exodus.

This book is well worth reading for pastors and lay people alike. It’s a highly readable condensation of centuries of scholarship, presented in the service of a compelling thesis. The Exodus is the moment when the Jewish people learned that their (our) one God expects a radical ethic: love for the other.

Friedman, Richard Elliott. The Exodus: How it Happened and Why it Mattered. HarperOne, 2017.