Exodus 1
1. Who was Joseph? Answer
2. Why was Israel enslaved? Answer
3. Why did the Hebrew midwives refuse to kill newborn males as Pharaoh commanded? Answer
Exodus 2
4. Why did Moses' mother place him on the Nile in a reed basket? Answer
5. What does Moses' name mean? Who were his parents? Answer
6. Did Moses have brothers and sisters? Answer
7. Was Moses, as he grew up in Pharaoh's house, aware he was an Israelite? Answer
8. What got Moses in trouble such that he had to flee Egypt? Answer
9. How old was Moses when he fled to Midian? Answer
10. How did Moses meet his future wife? Answer
11. What was the name of Moses' first son? Answer
Exodus 3
12. What was Moses' occupation in Midian? Answer
13. How and where did God first manifest himself to Moses? Answer
14. How old was Moses when God appeared to him? Answer
15. Why did God finally decide to save the Israelites? Answer
16. What was Moses tasked to do? Answer
17. What are the events God predicted would happen to Moses and his people? Answer
Exodus 4
18. How was Moses to prove to the Israelites that God spoke to him? Answer
19. Why did God get frustrated with Moses? Answer
20. How did God solve Moses' reluctance to speak? Answer
21. Why did God want to kill Moses? Answer
Exodus 5
22. What was the outcome of Moses and Aaron's first meeting with Pharaoh? Answer
Exodus 6
23. How old was Moses' father when he died? Answer
24. How many sons did Aaron produce? Answer
Exodus 7
25. How old were Moses and Aaron when they confronted Pharaoh? Answer
26. What was the first miracle Aaron performed? Answer
27. What was the first plague to come on Egypt? Answer
28. When did the first plague occur? Answer
Exodus 8
29. What was the second plague? Were Pharaoh's magicians able to mimic it? Answer
30. What was the third plague? Answer
31. What was the fourth plague? Answer
32. What do plagues 2, 3 and 4 have in common? Answer
Exodus 9
33. What was the fifth plague God unleashed on Egypt? Answer
34. What was the sixth plague and what made it unique? Answer
35. What reasons did God give Pharaoh for the plagues coming upon Egypt? Answer
36. What was the seventh plague to befall Egypt? Answer
Exodus 10
37. What was the eighth plague that came upon Egypt? Answer
38. How bad was the plague of locust? Answer
39. What was the ninth plague? Answer
40. What makes the ninth plague especially unique? Answer
Exodus 1 Answers
1. Joseph was Jacob's eleventh of twelve sons. He was his father's favorite, in part, because he was the first child born through Jacob's beloved wife Rachel.
[What Was Joseph's Coat of Many Colors?]
Joseph, after various trials and troubles, ends up becoming the second most powerful person in Egypt (Genesis 41). His authority makes possible the migration of Jacob's entire family to an area of Egypt known as Goshen (Genesis 46).
Joseph's long and peaceful eighty years of rule also allows the Israelites sojourning in the land to increase their population by leaps and bounds! Joseph dies at the ripe old age of 110 in 1599 B.C.
2. The Pharaoh who ruled sometime after Joseph's death was greatly concerned about the Israelites in Egypt. Not only had they grown prosperous, their population had come to exceed that of the Egyptians (Exodus 1:9)! Pharaoh worried that the Israelites could align with one of Egypt's enemies, in a time of war, which then could lead to them leaving the country.
[Where Did the Israelites Live in Egypt?]
Pharaoh's solution to his worries was to enslave the Israelites and keep them under state control. Turning them into one huge pool of forced labor not only insured Egypt's future prosperity, it also greatly reduced the risk that they could adversely affect the country.
3. Pharaoh, in order to further hinder Israel's ability to grow more powerful, dictated all Hebrew midwives were to kill all newborn Israelite males (Exodus 1:15 - 16). The midwives, because they feared and obeyed God, refused to carry out the clearly sinful slaughter of innocent children.
Exodus 2 Answers
[Where Is the Nile in Scripture?]
4. Pharaoh, when he saw his efforts to slow Israel's growth through midwives failed, ordered all Egyptians to toss newly born Israelite males into the Nile (Exodus 1:22). Moses' mother feared, three months after his birth, that she would no longer be able to hide her son and save him from death. She placed baby Moses in a basket and placed it on the Nile in the hope that he would somehow survive.
5. Moses' name means "drawn" or "drawing out" (Strong's Concordance #H4872). He was born to a couple named Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi (Exodus 2:1, 6:20, Numbers 26:59).
6. Moses came into a family where the oldest child, Miriam, was 10 to 12 years old when he was born. Aaron at the time of his birth was three.
7. Although Moses lived in Pharaoh's household since he was a baby, he was aware he was an Israelite as he grew into manhood. The Bible states he knew it was his brethren who were being enslaved an badly treated by the Egyptians.
And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren (Exodus 2:11).
8. When Moses witnessed an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave he stopped the abuse by killing the man. His belief that his act went unnoticed was proven wrong when a fellow Israelite proclaimed he knew Moses killed an Egyptian. Knowing he would soon be a wanted man, Moses fled the country before Pharaoh could find and kill him.
9. Moses was forty years old when he killed an Egyptian and then fled the country to the land of Midian (Acts 7:23 - 24).
10. Moses, after he fled to Midian, stood up for the daughters of a Midianite priest who were being harassed at a well.
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock (Exodus 2:16 - 17).
Moses' kind act drew the attention of the priest who, in gratitude, invited him to dine. Sometime after their first meeting the priest offers his daughter Zipporah in marriage to Moses (Exodus 2:21).
11. The name of Moses' first child is Gershom which means "a stranger in a strange land" (Exodus 2:22). Interestingly, the meaning of his name is used as the title of a best-selling science fiction book called Stranger in a Strange Land written in 1961 by Robert Heinlein.
[Meaning of Names in the Bible]
Exodus 3 Answers
12. Moses was a shepherd his entire time in Midian (Exodus 3:1).
13. Moses, while tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro near Mount Sinai (Horeb), sees a bush burning but not being consumed (Exodus 3:1 - 2). As he approaches he is warned to take off his sandals since he is standing on holy ground (verse 5). He is then commissioned directly by God (Exodus 3:6 - 7, 10).
[Miracles in the Old Testament]
14. Moses was 40 when he fled Egypt and spent another 40 years in Midian until God called him at the age of 80 (see Acts 7:30).
15. God was fulfilling a prophecy made to Abraham when he decided to save the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.
And he (God) said unto Abram (Abraham), Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance (Genesis 15:13 - 14).
16. Moses was tasked by God to free His people from Egyptian bondage. He first needed, however, to reveal to Israel's elders that God decided the time was right for them to be freed (Exodus 3:7 - 10). Moses then was to inform the Israelites that they would be led to an amazing land flowing with milk and honey they would inherit!
[Why Was it Called the Promised Land?]
And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey . . . (Exodus 3:8).
17. God revealed to Moses that Israel's elders would not only believe what he had to say but also would seek with him the freedom of the people (Exodus 3:18). Pharaoh, however, would initially reject their demand to free Israel (verse 19).
The Lord additionally stated it would be only after Egypt suffered from the many miracles performed against them that the Israelites would be let go (Exouds 3:20). Upon their departure the Israelites would receive clothes, jewelry and other valuables as payment for their years of slavery (verses 21 - 22).
Exodus 4 Answers
18. Moses was given several ways he could prove to the Israelites that God spoke to him. He could cast his rod on the ground and have it become a snake. He could then grab it by the tail and it would turn back into a rod (Exodus 4:2 - 4)! Moses was also given the ability to turn his hand leprous and then have it return to its previous state.
The third sign Moses could perform to prove God sent him was to pour Nile river water on dry ground which would turn into blood (Exodus 4:8 - 9)!
19. Moses protested to God that he felt he was verbally inadequate to carry out the deliverance of Israel.
And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue (Exodus 4:10).
It is a bit unclear exactly what was Moses' complaint regarding his ability to speak. Did he have a speech impediment and felt he couldn't speak fluently? Did he feel the years spent as a shepherd would cause him difficulty in speaking the Egyptian language? Or was he a bit self-conscious and doubted his speaking abilities?
Moses' reasons for not wanting to speak frustrated God as the Lord was more than capable of ensuring his will would be carried out (Exodus 4:11 - 12).
20. God's mercy triumphed over Moses' hard-headed resistance to be the main speaker to Pharaoh. The Lord decided to have his brother Aaron accompany him and be the main spokesman (Exodus 4:14 - 16).
21. Moses was traveling to Egypt with his wife Zipporah and two sons (Exodus 4:20). The Lord, however, sought his life while he stayed at an inn during the journey. Moses had failed to circumcise one of his two sons on the eighth day, a commanded ritual all Israelites were to perform as a sign of God's covenant relationship with them (see Genesis 17).
[What Was the Race of Moses' Wife?]
Zipporah understood the threat to her husband and circumcised her son herself thus saving Moses' life (Exodus 4:25 - 26).
Exodus 5 Answers
22. Pharaoh, at his first meeting with Moses and Aaron, flatly refused to free the Israelites. In fact, he was so offended at their request that he ordered his taskmasters to make the Israelites find for themselves the straw necessary to construct the bricks they had to make. He also ordered the brick quota they had to fulfill not be changed even though it was now much harder to reach this target (Exodus 5:2 - 21).
Exodus 6 Answers
23. Moses' father Amram was 137 years old when he died (Exodus 6:20).
24. Aaron, through his wife Elisheba, produced four sons named Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar (Exodus 6:23).
Exodus 7 Answers
25. Moses was eighty (fourscore) years old while Aaron was eighty-three (fourscore and three) when they first confronted Pharaoh.
26. The first miracle performed by Aaron in front of Pharaoh was to have his rod, when cast on the ground, turn into a snake. This unusual miracle was able to be mimicked by Egypt's pagan magicians (Exodus 7:10 - 11).
27. The first of Egypt's ten plagues was the turning of Nile River water into literal blood (Exodus 7:14 - 25)! The Nile was worshipped as a god since it provided water for growing food, drinking and bathing. This act by God turned the pagan deity Egypt worshipped against them! This plague lasted for seven days.
28. The Bible does not place an exact time the first plague took place. That said, it is highly likely the first plague began around September or October after the yearly overflow of the Nile in 1446 B.C.
[Where is the Nile Located in Egypt?]
"And if we suppose that there was a similar interval in the case of all the others, the first plague would take place in September or October - that is to say, after the yearly overflow of the Nile, which lasts from June to September." (Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament).
Exodus 8 Answers
29. The second of ten plagues Egypt experienced were frogs that swarmed out of the Nile River (Exodus 8:1 - 15). This event, like the first one, was mimicked by Pharaoh's magicians (see Exodus 7:22, 8:7).
30. The third plague was a trial of lice (gnats) upon both men and animals (Exodus 8:16 - 18), a supernatural event that the enchanters of Egypt could not duplicate (verses 18 - 19).
31. The fourth plague that came upon Egypt was of a noisome onslaught of biting flies (Exodus 8:20 - 32).
32. The frogs, gnats and flies (as well as beetles, etc.) of these miracles were all focused on the animals worshipped by the Egyptians. In a twist of ironic (and somewhat humorous) fate, their own false gods were made to turn against and attack them!
Exodus 9 Answers
33. The fifth of ten plagues God brought upon Pharaoh and Egypt was a destructive pestilence among the cattle (Exodus 9:1 - 7). The contagious disease was so severe that it caused all the cattle to die (verse 6)!
34. The sixth plague upon Egypt was painful boils and sores that came upon all Egypt (Exodus 9:8 - 11). This one is different from the previous five as it struck the flesh of both cattle and humans!
And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh: and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven: and it became a boil breaking forth with blains [sores] upon man, and upon beast. (Exodus 9:10, KJV).
35. God, through Moses, told Pharaoh why he was experiencing various calamites.
For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people: that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth . . .
And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power: and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth (Exodus 9:14, 16).
36. The seventh of the plagues against the Egyptians was thunder and hail. The hail was so severe that it could not only destroy crops but also kill either man or beast struck by it (Exodus 9:18 - 19, 24 - 25)! God also caused a devouring fire to run on the ground.
The hail and fire brought historic destruction to the land of Egypt.
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation (Exodus 9:23 - 24).
[Lightning in Biblical Prophecy!]
The seventh plague's destruction came upon the nation's flax and barley, but not to its wheat and rie (spelt) as it had not yet grown up (Exodus 9:31 - 32). This seemingly minor agricultural fact means we can date this plague to occurring sometime in February.
Exodus 10 Answers
37. The eighth plague was a massive swarm of locust which devoured any plant or tree in the nation (Exodus 10:1 - 20).
38. God promised the massive number of locusts he sent had not only never been seen before in Egypt but would never be matched! The locust absolutely decimated the plants and trees such that there was nothing left that was green!
And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they: before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such (Exodus 10:14).
39. Pharaoh's heart, even after eight devasting plagues, had not softened to allow Israel to leave the country. The nation (except for Goshen where Israel lived) therefore received a ninth plague that caused complete darkness over the land for three whole days (Exodus 10:21 - 23). The darkness was so profound that people couldn't see one another!
40. Pharaoh, after the ninth plague, tried to bargain with Moses by allowing the people to leave Egypt if they only left all their animals behind. This was, of course, unacceptable as animals were needed for sacrificing to God (Exodus 10:24 - 25).
Pharaoh, angered that his "generous" offer was not good enough, then resorted to threatening Moses' life!
And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more: for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. (Exodus 10:28).
Moses responded to the threat thrown at him with a unique promise.
And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more (Exodus 10:29).
Ex. 1 to 10 Outline - Ex. 11 to 20 Outline
Ex. 21 to 30 Outline - Ex. 31 to 40 Outline
Ex. 11 to 20 Q's - Ex. 21 to 30 Q's
Ex. 31 to 40 Q's - Amazing Exodus Facts!