The Exodus

By: Richard Elliott Friedman

Narrated by: Richard Elliott Friedman

Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Biblical scholars, Egyptologists, archaeologists, historians, literary scholars, anthropologists, and filmmakers are drawn to the mystery of the exodus. Unable to find physical evidence until now, many archaeologists and scholars claim this mass migration is just a story, not history. Others oppose this conclusion, defending the biblical account.

Like a detective on an intricate case no one has yet solved, pioneering Bible scholar and best-selling author of Who Wrote the Bible? Richard Elliott Friedman cuts through the noise - the serious studies and the wild theories - merging new findings with new insight. From a spectrum of disciplines, state-of-the-art archaeological breakthroughs, and fresh discoveries within scripture, he brings real evidence of a historical basis for the exodus - the history behind the story. The biblical account of millions fleeing Egypt may be an exaggeration, but the exodus itself is not a myth.

Friedman does not stop there. Known for his ability to make Bible scholarship accessible to audiences, Friedman proceeds to reveal how much is at stake when we explore the historicity of the exodus. The implications, he writes, are monumental. We learn that it became the starting point of the formation of monotheism, the defining concept of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Moreover, we learn that it precipitated the foundational ethic of loving one's neighbors - including strangers - as oneself. He concludes, the actual exodus was the cradle of global values of compassion and equal rights today.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Richard Elliott Friedman (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Outstanding!!!!

This book is a fair and well balanced source of information. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in religious studies.

Worth the time and even a second

He presents new ideas that are well supported and worth considering. He is trained in subjects that can be very dry but he makes it all very interesting and fun. I include his sarcasm as fun. My favorite quote, "The Bible is the only successful book written by a committee. That is probably because they never met."

Requires Reading (or listening)!

If you’re serious about understanding the exodus beyond what you hear each Sunday (for me) morning; then you just have to read Friedman’s The Exodus. Also, please, please, please, take Dr. Friedman’s $1 course on Old Testament to go even further! 10 stars out of 5.

A masterpiece of historical research distillation

Dr. Friedman does justice to one of the greatest mysteries of all time. He carefully presents as much of the available evidence as humanly possible to lay out before readers, and presents his opinion only after all of the facts have been explained objectively.
My hope after reading this eye opening and mind bending book, is that scholars and lay people of all backgrounds rethink their bias about historical evidence, and allow all fields of science and research on the ancient world to tell their own story. Even if the story is a familiar one from a library of scriptures that have been brutally molested and misused over the last 3 millennia.
Friedman’s writing style keeps readers engaged and has you (well, me at least) hanging on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next shred of history to be uncovered.
Regardless of what one may believe about the Exodus, religiously, historically, scholastically, or personally, it has compelling and interpersonal importance that is expressly relevant in today’s global culture.
Thank you Dr. Friedman for your hard work, and thank you to anyone who decides to read this fantastic work of scholarship.

every bit is fascinating and approachable.

even a lay person will find this book easy to listen to. while academic in nature, it is written in a tone and style that everyone can understand. also, the narator/author is great on tape!

Artiiculate, Suggestive Interpretation

This is really two very short books wedded together to form one moderately short book. The first half consists of a proposed reconstruction of the historical kernel behind the Bible's story of the Exodus. Friedman utilizes critical textual analysis of the Bible, linguistic evidence, and logic, without bringing archeology into the picture. Overall, his theory seems quite plausible.

It's worth noting that I recently listened to "The Bible Unearthed", and while it did not lend positive support for Friedman's theory, the distinct accounts of Israelite history do not seem incompatible with each other.

The second half of the book concerns the origin and development of Jewish monotheism. The discussion is interesting; but despite Friedman's effort to tie together the two halves, they seem rather weakly related to one another.

I should add that I rather like it when authors "perform" their own books. Friedman's narration is a plus.

Loved it!!!

This book is amazing, just like his other book, Who Wrote The Bible. Absolutely brilliant!!!

Deep,Insightful and Expansive Journey

What did you love best about The Exodus?

From a laypersons perspective.......Friedman did a great job of providing some well needed context for this specific amd critical section of the Torah in the Old Testament.[WARNING: potential spoiler alert].He handles some very hard passages about gods and queens in a very meaningful way. I have seen fellow monotheists ignore this section or scratch their head and think, “why is this here?” or question the relevance.

For me personally, I thought this pulled in other deities (i.e. gods) and displayed why the plagues occurred and that the ”specific plagues” was God showing he is the one true God.

Yes, the above is probably highly debated but found this a good listen and piqued my latent understanding to dig further dig (no pun intended around archeology).....but he also did address the intersection and or conflict between letting scripture interpret scripture and/or the struggles with archeology being the substamtiating body of scripture

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Exodus?

Monotheist and aetheists

Which scene was your favorite?

Oh and I must say ...... I really enjoy when the author reads their work as tone and inflection add true meaning to conveying their pursuit. Humbly this was so good I will probably actually buy the book amd read it as I have found this approach a strong reinforcememt to my lifelong adult learning.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me think,reason amd actually want to dialogue more about the Old Testament.

Amazing! (but should have been two books)

The first part is a fantastic and convincing analysis of the Exodus narrative as a semi-historical text. The second part goes all over the place and is also really interesting but was out of the scope of the book.

Trey the Explainer recommended this and I was not disappointed.

I watched a 28 minute YouTube video that got some of its info from this book so I just had to read the whole book because of how interested I was.