ex·o·dus /ˈɛksədəs, ˈɛgzə-/
 大批的離去


 Ex·o·dus n.
 1. A going out; particularly (the Exodus), the going out or journey of the Israelites from Egypt under the conduct of Moses; and hence, any large migration from a place.
 2. The second of the Old Testament, which contains the narrative of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt.

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 exodus
      n 1: a journey by a large group to escape from a hostile
           environment [syn: hegira, hejira]
      2: the second book of the Old Testament: tells of the departure
         of the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt led by Moses;
         God gave them the Ten Commandments and the rest of Mosaic
         law on Mount Sinai during the Exodus [syn: Book of Exodus]


 Exodus
    the great deliverance wrought for the children of Isreal when
    they were brought out of the land of Egypt with "a mighty hand
    and with an outstretched arm" (Ex 12:51; Deut. 26:8; Ps 114;
    136), about B.C. 1490, and four hundred and eighty years (1
    Kings 6:1) before the building of Solomon's temple.

      The time of their sojourning in Egypt was, according to Ex.
    12:40, the space of four hundred and thirty years. In the LXX.,
    the words are, "The sojourning of the children of Israel which
    they sojourned in Egypt and in the land of Canaan was four
    hundred and thirty years;" and the Samaritan version reads, "The
    sojourning of the children of Israel and of their fathers which
    they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt
    was four hundred and thirty years." In Gen. 15:13-16, the period
    is prophetically given (in round numbers) as four hundred years.
    This passage is quoted by Stephen in his defence before the
    council (Acts 7:6).

      The chronology of the "sojourning" is variously estimated.
    Those who adopt the longer term reckon thus:
    |                                                    Years
    |
    |       From the descent of Jacob into Egypt to the
    |         death of Joseph                              71
    |
    |       From the death of Joseph to the birth of
    |         Moses                                       278
    |
    |       From the birth of Moses to his flight into
    |         Midian                                       40
    |
    |       From the flight of Moses to his return into
    |         Egypt                                        40
    |
    |       From the return of Moses to the Exodus          1
    |
    |                                                     430

      Others contend for the shorter period of two hundred and
    fifteen years, holding that the period of four hundred and
    thirty years comprehends the years from the entrance of Abraham
    into Canaan (see LXX. and Samaritan) to the descent of Jacob
    into Egypt. They reckon thus:
    |                                                    Years
    |
    |       From Abraham's arrival in Canaan to Isaac's
    |         birth                                        25
    |
    |       From Isaac's birth to that of his twin sons
    |         Esau and Jacob                               60
    |
    |       From Jacob's birth to the going down into
    |         Egypt                                       130
    |
    |                                                    (215)
    |
    |       From Jacob's going down into Egypt to the
    |         death of Joseph                              71
    |
    |       From death of Joseph to the birth of Moses     64
    |
    |       From birth of Moses to the Exodus              80
    |
    |                                           In all... 430

      During the forty years of Moses' sojourn in the land of
    Midian, the Hebrews in Egypt were being gradually prepared for
    the great national crisis which was approaching. The plagues
    that successively fell upon the land loosened the bonds by which
    Pharaoh held them in slavery, and at length he was eager that
    they should depart. But the Hebrews must now also be ready to
    go. They were poor; for generations they had laboured for the
    Egyptians without wages. They asked gifts from their neighbours
    around them (Ex. 12:35), and these were readily bestowed. And
    then, as the first step towards their independent national
    organization, they observed the feast of the Passover, which was
    now instituted as a perpetual memorial. The blood of the paschal
    lamb was duly sprinkled on the door-posts and lintels of all
    their houses, and they were all within, waiting the next
    movement in the working out of God's plan. At length the last
    stroke fell on the land of Egypt. "It came to pass, that at
    midnight Jehovah smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt."
    Pharaoh rose up in the night, and called for Moses and Aaron by
    night, and said, "Rise up, and get you forth from among my
    people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve
    Jehovah, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds,
    as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also." Thus was
    Pharaoh (q.v.) completely humbled and broken down. These words
    he spoke to Moses and Aaron "seem to gleam through the tears of
    the humbled king, as he lamented his son snatched from him by so
    sudden a death, and tremble with a sense of the helplessness
    which his proud soul at last felt when the avenging hand of God
    had visited even his palace."

      The terror-stricken Egyptians now urged the instant departure
    of the Hebrews. In the midst of the Passover feast, before the
    dawn of the 15th day of the month Abib (our April nearly), which
    was to be to them henceforth the beginning of the year, as it
    was the commencement of a new epoch in their history, every
    family, with all that appertained to it, was ready for the
    march, which instantly began under the leadership of the heads
    of tribes with their various sub-divisions. They moved onward,
    increasing as they went forward from all the districts of
    Goshen, over the whole of which they were scattered, to the
    common centre. Three or four days perhaps elapsed before the
    whole body of the people were assembled at Rameses, and ready to
    set out under their leader Moses (Ex. 12:37; Num. 33:3). This
    city was at that time the residence of the Egyptian court, and
    here the interviews between Moses and Pharaoh had taken place.

      From Rameses they journeyed to Succoth (Ex. 12:37), identified
    with Tel-el-Maskhuta, about 12 miles west of Ismailia. (See PITHOM.) Their third station was Etham (q.v.), 13:20,
    "in the edge of the wilderness," and was probably a little to
    the west of the modern town of Ismailia, on the Suez Canal. Here
    they were commanded "to turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth,
    between Migdol and the sea", i.e., to change their route from
    east to due south. The Lord now assumed the direction of their
    march in the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. They
    were then led along the west shore of the Red Sea till they came
    to an extensive camping-ground "before Pi-hahiroth," about 40
    miles from Etham. This distance from Etham may have taken three
    days to traverse, for the number of camping-places by no means
    indicates the number of days spent on the journey: e.g., it took
    fully a month to travel from Rameses to the wilderness of Sin
    (Ex. 16:1), yet reference is made to only six camping-places
    during all that time. The exact spot of their encampment before
    they crossed the Red Sea cannot be determined. It was probably
    somewhere near the present site of Suez.

      Under the direction of God the children of Israel went
    "forward" from the camp "before Pi-hahiroth," and the sea opened
    a pathway for them, so that they crossed to the farther shore in
    safety. The Egyptian host pursued after them, and, attempting to
    follow through the sea, were overwhelmed in its returning
    waters, and thus the whole military force of the Egyptians
    perished. They "sank as lead in the mighty waters" (Ex. 15:1-9;
    comp. Ps. 77:16-19).

      Having reached the eastern shore of the sea, perhaps a little
    way to the north of 'Ayun Musa ("the springs of Moses"), there
    they encamped and rested probably for a day. Here Miriam and the
    other women sang the triumphal song recorded in Ex. 15:1-21.

      From 'Ayun Musa they went on for three days through a part of
    the barren "wilderness of Shur" (22), called also the
    "wilderness of Etham" (Num. 33:8; comp. Ex. 13:20), without
    finding water. On the last of these days they came to Marah
    (q.v.), where the "bitter" water was by a miracle made
    drinkable.

      Their next camping-place was Elim (q.v.), where were twelve
    springs of water and a grove of "threescore and ten" palm trees
    (Ex. 15:27).

      After a time the children of Israel "took their journey from
    Elim," and encamped by the Red Sea (Num. 33:10), and thence
    removed to the "wilderness of Sin" (to be distinguished from the
    wilderness of Zin, 20:1), where they again encamped. Here,
    probably the modern el-Markha, the supply of bread they had
    brought with them out of Egypt failed. They began to "murmur"
    for want of bread. God "heard their murmurings" and gave them
    quails and manna, "bread from heaven" (Ex. 16:4-36). Moses
    directed that an omer of manna should be put aside and preserved
    as a perpetual memorial of God's goodness. They now turned
    inland, and after three encampments came to the rich and fertile
    valley of Rephidim, in the Wady Feiran. Here they found no
    water, and again murmured against Moses. Directed by God, Moses
    procured a miraculous supply of water from the "rock in Horeb,"
    one of the hills of the Sinai group (17:1-7); and shortly
    afterwards the children of Israel here fought their first battle
    with the Amalekites, whom they smote with the edge of the sword.

      From the eastern extremity of the Wady Feiran the line of
    march now probably led through the Wady esh-Sheikh and the Wady
    Solaf, meeting in the Wady er-Rahah, "the enclosed plain in
    front of the magnificient cliffs of Ras Sufsafeh." Here they
    encamped for more than a year (Num. 1:1; 10:11) before Sinai
    (q.v.).

      The different encampments of the children of Israel, from the
    time of their leaving Egypt till they reached the Promised Land,
    are mentioned in Ex. 12:37-19; Num. 10-21; 33; Deut. 1, 2, 10.

      It is worthy of notice that there are unmistakable evidences
    that the Egyptians had a tradition of a great exodus from their
    country, which could be none other than the exodus of the
    Hebrews.



 Exodus, going out, departure