the First Week of Advent
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Bible Commentaries
Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Sutcliffe's Commentary
Israelites Oppressed in Egypt; Population Grows.Chapter 2
Moses' Birth, Adoption, and Flight to Midian.Chapter 3
God Calls Moses from the Burning Bush.Chapter 4
Moses Returns to Egypt with Signs.Chapter 5
Pharaoh Rejects Moses; Israelites' Labor Increases.Chapter 6
God Reaffirms His Covenant with Israel.Chapter 7
Moses and Aaron Confront Pharaoh; First Plague.Chapter 8
Plagues of Frogs, Gnats, and Flies.Chapter 9
Plagues of Livestock Death, Boils, and Hail.Chapter 10
Plagues of Locusts and Darkness.Chapter 11
Final Plague Announced: Death of Firstborn.Chapter 12
Passover Instituted; Firstborn Egyptians Killed.Chapter 13
Consecration of Firstborn; Israel's Exodus Begins.Chapter 14
Parting of the Red Sea; Israelites Escape.Chapter 15
Moses' Song of Victory; Bitter Water Sweetened.Chapter 16
God Provides Manna and Quail.Chapter 17
Water from the Rock; Amalek Defeated.Chapter 18
Jethro Advises Moses on Leadership Structure.Chapter 19
Israel at Mount Sinai; God's Covenant Prepared.Chapter 20
The Ten Commandments Given by God.Chapter 21
Laws Regarding Servants, Violence, and Restitution.Chapter 22
Laws on Property, Restitution, and Social Justice.Chapter 23
Laws of Justice, Sabbaths, and Festivals.Chapter 24
Covenant Ratified; Moses Ascends Mount Sinai.Chapter 25
Instructions for the Ark and Tabernacle.Chapter 26
Detailed Plans for the Tabernacle Structure.Chapter 27
Instructions for the Altar and Courtyard.Chapter 28
Priestly Garments Designed for Aaron and Sons.Chapter 29
Consecration Ceremony for Priests Outlined.Chapter 30
Altar of Incense and Atonement Money.Chapter 31
Bezalel and Oholiab Appointed; Sabbath Rest.Chapter 32
The Golden Calf; Moses Intercedes.Chapter 33
Moses Seeks God's Presence; Sees His Glory.Chapter 34
New Tablets; Moses' Radiant Face.Chapter 35
Sabbath Regulations and Tabernacle Contributions.Chapter 36
Construction of the Tabernacle Begins.Chapter 37
Building of the Ark, Table, and Lampstand.Chapter 38
Making of the Altar and Courtyard.Chapter 39
Priestly Garments Completed; Tabernacle Finished.Chapter 40
Tabernacle Set Up; God's Glory Fills It.
- Exodus
by Joseph Sutcliffe
THE SECOND BOOK OF MOSES, CALLED EXODUS.
The title of this book in the Hebrew, is Sepher-Shemoth; or the book which begins with the names of the children of Israel, who came out of Egypt. It is not known whether it was called Exodus, that is, the going out or departing from Egypt, by the Seventy, or whether it received that title in later times. It was written by Moses, as is evident from the style. It contains the history of the Israelites from their oppression in Egypt to their emancipation; to the giving of the law, the erection of the tabernacle, and their complete establishment into a Theocracy. The whole of this period amounts to one hundred and forty four years.
Egypt is allowed to be equal in antiquity with Babylon, and its inhabitants were the first who built temples for their idols. Thébes in Upper Egypt, Zoan, (Memphis) and Hebron, seem to have been built nearly at one time. Herodotus, in Euterpe, very correctly supposes that the land of Egypt had been mainly warped up by the sea, and the mud of the river Nile. Its towns and villages were in his time almost twenty thousand; and many of the ancient cities were flourishing, notwithstanding all the devastations of war. Upper Egypt, from the time of king Meris, to the visit of this author, two hundred years before the Christian era, had been warped up eight or nine cubits; and since then the lake Meriotis has diminished two thirds. Its circumference was then seventy five miles, and now it is only twenty five.
Concerning the diversity of ceremonies in religion, this author reports farther, that in the city of Bubastis, the people celebrate annually several feasts in honour of Diana, and in the city of Busiris, situate in the middle of the Delta, in honour of Isis, or the Ceres of the Greeks. In the city of Saïs they have feasts in honour of Minerva. At Heliopolis they keep them in honour of the Sun; in the city of Butte in honour of Latona; and in the city of Paprime in honour of Mars.
The Pyramids of Egypt were built after the Ogygian Inundation, as receptacles of the dead, and as places of retreat in case of a high rising of the water, for all the exterior of these ancient monuments are full of steps; and steps which in many places remain to the present day. See Denon’s Plates.
