Book of Exodus
second book of the Bible
The Book of Exodus (from Ancient Greek: Ἔξοδος, romanized: Éxodos; Biblical Hebrew: שְׁמוֹת Šəmōṯ, 'Names'; Latin: Liber Exodus) is the second book of the Bible.
The book is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in biblical Egypt through the strength of God, who chose them as his people. The Israelites then journey with the prophet Moses to Mount Sinai, where God gives them the Law of Moses and enters into a covenant with them and their descendants. God promises to make them a "holy nation, and a kingdom of priests" on condition of their faithfulness. He gives them laws and instructions to build the Tabernacle, the means by which he will come from heaven and dwell with them and lead them in a holy war to conquer Canaan (the "Promised Land"), which had earlier, according to the Book of Genesis, been promised to the "seed" of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites.
Traditionally ascribed to Moses himself, the formation of the Pentateuch, including the Book of Exodus, is dated to the fifth through fourth centuries BC. Modern scholars see its initial composition as a product of the Babylonian exile (6th century BCE), based on earlier written sources and oral traditions, with final revisions in the Persian post-exilic period (5th century BCE). American biblical scholar Carol Meyers, in her commentary on Exodus, suggests that it is arguably the most important book in the Bible, as it presents the defining features of Israel's identity—memories of a past marked by hardship and escape, a binding covenant with their God, who chooses Israel, and the establishment of the life of the community and the guidelines for sustaining it.
The consensus of modern scholars is that the Pentateuch does not give an accurate account of the origins of the Israelites, who appear instead to have formed as an entity in the central highlands of Canaan in the late second millennium BCE (around the time of the Late Bronze Age collapse) from the indigenous Canaanite culture.
Title
The English name Exodus comes from the Ancient Greek: ἔξοδος, romanized: éxodos, meaning 'departure' or 'going out' (from ἐξ-, ex-, 'out' and ὁδός, hodós, 'path', 'road'), which is the name of the book in the Septuagint. It describes the main event of the book, the departure of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Book of Exodus” is second book of the Bible. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Book, Exodus and second, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “second book of the Bible” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q9190. VIAF identifies the subject as 265859281. The Library of Congress control number is n79063137. 1 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Book of Exodus”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Book of Exodus primary sources, Book of Exodus archive and Book research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Book of Exodus”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Book of Exodus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.