Egypt and Exodus
Epoch 36 · c. 1446 BC
The Ten Words and Covenant Code
God gives His foundational commands and seals the covenant with sacrificial blood.
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Bible references
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Scripture in full
The passages connected to this timeline moment are shown in full below.
Exodus 20:1-21
And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves. “There shall be for you no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a divine image with any form that is in the heavens above or that is in the earth below or that is in the water below the earth. You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I am Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing the guilt of the parents on the children on the third and on the fourth generations of those hating me, and showing loyal love to thousands of generations of those loving me and of those keeping my commandments. “You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, because Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses his name. “Remember the day of the Sabbath, to consecrate it. Six days you will work, and you will do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God; you will not do any work—you or your son or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your animal, or your alien who is in your gates—because in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and on the seventh day he rested. Therefore Yahweh blessed the seventh day and consecrated it. “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days can be long on the land that Yahweh your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not testify against your neighbor with a false witness. “You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; you will not covet the wife of your neighbor or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor’s.” And all the people were seeing the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the ram’s horn and the mountain smoking, and the people saw, and they trembled, and they stood at a distance. And they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will listen, but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that his fear will be before you so that you do not sin.” And the people stood at a distance, and Moses approached the very thick cloud where God was.
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Exodus 24:1-8
And to Moses he said, “Go up to Yahweh—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy from the elders of Israel—and you will worship at a distance. And Moses alone will come near to Yahweh, and they will not come near, and the people will not go up with him.” And Moses came, and he told the people all the words of Yahweh and all the regulations. And all the people answered with one voice, and they said, “All the words that Yahweh has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote all the words of Yahweh, and he rose early in the morning, and he built an altar at the base of the mountain and set up twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men from the Israelites, and they offered burnt offerings, and they sacrificed sacrifices as fellowship offerings to Yahweh using bulls. And Moses took half of the blood, and he put it in bowls, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the scroll of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will listen.” And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and he said, “Look, the blood of the covenant that Yahweh has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
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Why this moment matters
The law reveals God's character and shapes Israel's communal life. It also exposes the need for ongoing atonement and transformed hearts.
About this section
Israel grows in Egypt, Yahweh raises Moses, and redemption through Passover and the sea reveals the Lord's saving name.
Further study
Previous epoch
Epoch 35 · c. 1446 BC
Sinai Covenant Offered
Next epoch
Epoch 37 · c. 1445 BC
Tabernacle and Priesthood Instructions
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