The book of Exodus in Hebrew is called "Sh’mot”—which means “Names”—because this word is in the first sentence of the book and encapsulates the book’s theme: “God naming a nation to reach the nations of the world.” In Genesis, God chose Abram and renamed him Abraham and chose Jacob and renamed him Israel. At Mt. Sinai, God entered into covenant with Jacob’s descendants to pursue Relational Depth and restore His Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven!! The overall structure is pictured below.

The book is divided into four themes whereby God delivers His people for a purpose - to enter into covenant relationship because He wants relational depth with us. This first half of the book comprises six portions and corresponds to the first 24 chapters. The second half of the book describes the instructions God gave to build the Tabernacle so God could dwell among us and corresponds to the final five portions. This second half can be further divided to illustrate the disobedience of the golden calf incident in between God’s instructions to build His house and the record of obedience before the culminating chapter in which God’s holy and fiery Presence descends to dwell among His people!

The Bible Project divides the book somewhat differently. The videos below, however, offer great visual commentaries to reinforce your understanding of the story of God’s covenant making with Israel so you can enter more deeply into God’s covenant story that He’s writing in your life!