page_title: Book of Exodus
section_title: Name
hierarchical_section_title: Book of Exodus / Name
context_page_description: The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible. It describes the Israelites' deliverance from slavery in the Exodus from Egypt through the hand of Yahweh, the leadership of Moses, the revelations at the biblical Mount Sinai, and the subsequent "divine indwelling" of God with Israel.
  Exodus is traditionally ascribed to Moses himself, but modern scholars see its initial composition as a product of the Babylonian exile, based on earlier written and oral traditions, with final revisions in the Persian post-exilic period. 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 God, who chooses Israel, and the establishment of the life of the community and the guidelines for sustaining it. The consensus among scholars is that the story in the Book of Exodus is best understood as a myth, and does not accurately describe historical events.
context_section_description: The English name Exodus comes from the Ancient Greek: ἔξοδος, romanized: éxodos, lit. 'way out', from ἐξ-, ex-, 'out' and ὁδός, hodós, 'path', 'road'. 
  In Hebrew the book's title is שְׁמוֹת, shemōt, "Names", from the beginning words of the text: "These are the names of the sons of Israel" (Hebrew: וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמֹות בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל‎).
caption: Children of Israel in Egypt (1867 painting by Edward Poynter)
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