Exodus, the second book in the Hebrew Bible, is foundational to Israel's creed, poetry and narrative, and to western civilization. Exodus also  inspired enslaved Africans in the United States and gave them hope.

This SDG proposes to approach this ancient document on numerous levels: first, as a beautiful work of literature; second, we will attempt to understand who is the god of Exodus; third, we will compare the code of law in Exodus with other ancient Near Eastern Codes; finally, we will discuss its revolutionary aspects.  

Additionally, when appropriate, we will discuss art associated with some of the topics in the book and the artist's understanding of the topic.

Our text will be Robert Alter's translation and commentary of Exodus as well as a few chapters in the Book of Numbers.