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Introduction
To Exodus
INTRODUCTION TO
EXODUS
This book is called by the
Jews Veelleh Shemoth
from the first words with which it begins
and sometimes
Sepher Shemoth
and sometimes only Shemoth. It is by the Septuagint called
Exodus
from whom we have the name of Exodus
which signifies "a going
out"; see Luke 9:31
because
it treats of the going of the children of Israel out of Egypt; and hence in the
Alexandrian copy it is called the Exodus of Egypt; and so the Syriac version
entitles it the second book of the law
called "the going out"; and
to the same purpose the Arabic version. The Jews sometimes give it the name of
Nezikin
as BuxtorfF1Lexic. Talmud. col. 1325. observes out of the
Masora on Genesis 24:8
because in it some account is given of losses
and the restitution of them.
That this book is of divine inspiration
and to be reckoned in the canon of the
sacred writings
is sufficiently evident to all that believe the New Testament;
since there are so many quotations out of it there by Christ
and his apostles;
particularly see Mark 12:26 and that
it was wrote by Moses is not to be doubted
but when is not certain; it must be
after the setting up of the tabernacle in the wilderness; the greatest part of
what is contained in it
he was an eye and ear witness of; it plainly points
out the accomplishment of the promises and prophecies delivered to Abraham
that his posterity would be very numerous
that they would be afflicted in a
land not theirs
and in the fourth generation come out of it with great
substance. It treats of the afflictions of the Israelites in Egypt
after the
death of Joseph
until their deliverance by Moses; of his birth
calling
and
mission to Pharaoh
to demand of him to let the children of Israel go; of the
ten plagues upon him and his people
for refusing to dismiss them; of the
departure of Israel from Egypt
and the institution of the passover on that
account; of their passage through the Red sea into the wilderness
and of the
various exercises and afflictions
supplies and supports they met with there;
of the giving of a body of laws unto them
moral
ceremonial
and judicial; and
of the building of the tabernacle
and all things appertaining to it; and
throughout the whole
as there is a figure and representation of the passage of
the people of God out of spiritual Egypt
through the wilderness of this world
to the heavenly Canaan
and of various things they must meet with in their
passage
so there are many types of Christ
his person
office
and grace
and
of his church
his word
and ordinances
which are very edifying and
instructing. The book contains a history of about one hundred and forty years
from the death of Joseph
to the erection of the tabernacle.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version Bible
NKJV
The NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas
Nelson Publishers. One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars
church
leaders
and lay Christians worked for seven years with the goal of updating
the vocabulary and grammar of the King James Version
while preserving the
classic style of the of the 1611 version.
The task of updating the English of the KJV
involved many changes in word order
grammar
vocabulary
and spelling. One of
the most significant features of the NKJV was its removal of the second person
pronouns "thou"
"thee"
"ye
" "thy
"
and "thine." Verb forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example
"speaks" rather than "speaketh").
Young’s Literal
Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young
who also compiled Young’s
Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that attempts to
preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek and Hebrew
writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as published by
Baker Book House
Grand Rapids
Michigan. Obvious errors in spelling or
inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the online edition of
the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.
Commentator
John Gill (November 23
1697-October 14
1771) was an English Baptist
a biblical scholar
and a staunch Calvinist.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.
He was born in Kettering
Northamptonshire.
In his youth
he attended Kettering Grammar School
mastering the Latin
classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued
self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow
Gill throughout his life.
At the age of about twelve
Gill heard a
sermon from his pastor
William Wallis
on the text
"And the Lord called
unto Adam
and said unto him
where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message
stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven
years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost
nineteen years of age.
His first pastoral work was as an intern
assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was
subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel
Horsleydown
Southwark in 1719. In 1757
his congregation needed larger
premises and moved to a Carter Lane
St. Olave's Street
Southwark. His
pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin
Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the
Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.
During Gill's ministry the church strongly supported
the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.
In 1748
Gill was awarded the honorary degree
of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar
and a prolific author. His most important works are:
John Gill is the first major writing Baptist
theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of
debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist
which
would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued
that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself
which would make him merely a
precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.