Previous
Quotes
God/the LORD
God is the sovereign, omnipotent deity whom the book of Exodus presents as the people of Israel’s exclusive object of worship. God’s name is often written as “the LORD” to represent the traditional Jewish convention…
read analysis of God/the LORD
Moses
Moses, a descendant of the tribe of Levi, is born to Hebrew parents in Egypt. Because of Pharaoh’s decree that newborn Hebrew boys be killed, Moses’s mother hides him beside the Nile, where Pharaoh’s…
read analysis of Moses
The Israelites
The Israelites are the descendants of Jacob who settled in Egypt for several centuries after the time of Jacob’s son Joseph. For hundreds of years after the time of Joseph, the Israelites thrive in…
read analysis of The Israelites
Aaron
Aaron is Moses’s brother. Because Moses is reluctant to speak to Pharaoh and the Israelites, God appoints Aaron to serve as Moses’s spokesman, or prophet. Aaron performs many of the signs and wonders…
read analysis of Aaron
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is the king of Egypt. Pharaoh mistrusts the thriving Israelites in his nation and determines to enslave and oppress them. When Moses first confronts Pharaoh, Pharaoh doubles down, making the Israelites’ work harder and…
read analysis of Pharaoh
Get the entire Exodus LitChart as a printable PDF.
Jethro (Reuel)
Jethro, the priest of Midian, is Moses’s father-in-law. (In his first appearance in Exodus, he is called Reuel.) After Moses sets out for Canaan, he sends his wife Zipporah and his sons Gershom and…
read analysis of Jethro (Reuel)
Jacob
Jacob is an ancestor of the Israelites, and the son of Isaac. In Genesis, the book of the Bible preceding Exodus, God gave Jacob the name “Israel”; the Israelites are named after their…
read analysis of Jacob
Joseph
Joseph was the son of Jacob, and he was the Israelite who originally settled in Egypt. Later, Jacob and all Joseph’s brothers and their families settled in Egypt to escape a famine, and the…
read analysis of Joseph
Moses’s sister
After the infant Moses is left in a basket beside the Nile, Moses’s older sister keeps an eye on him. When Pharaoh’s daughter decides to adopt the baby, Moses’s sister offers to bring a Hebrew…
read analysis of Moses’s sister
Minor Characters
Zipporah
Zipporah is Moses’s wife and the daughter of Jethro. She bears sons named Gershom and Eliezer. When God threatens to kill Moses in the wilderness, she circumcises her son and touches Moses’s feet with the foreskin in order to get God spare Moses’s life.
Eliezer
Moses’s and Zipporah’s son.
Abraham
Ancestor of the Israelites whose story is told in the book of Genesis. Throughout Exodus, God often refers to the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Isaac
Ancestor of the Israelites, and son of Abraham, whose story is told in the book of Genesis. Throughout Exodus, God often refers to the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Shiphrah
A courageous Hebrew midwife who defies Pharaoh’s order to kill newborn Hebrew boys.
Puah
A courageous Hebrew midwife who defies Pharaoh’s order to kill newborn Hebrew boys.
Miriam
Miriam is Moses and Aaron’s sister. After the people of Israel escape Egypt by passing through the Red Sea, she leads other Israelite women in a song praising God’s triumph.
Abihu
A son of Aaron, who is ordained as a priest of Israel.
Eleazar
A son of Aaron, who is ordained as a priest of Israel.
Ithamar
A son of Aaron, who is ordained as a priest of Israel.
Joshua
Early in Israel’s journey out of Egypt, on Moses’s command, Joshua chooses some men and fights and defeats the army of Amalek.
Hur
Hur helps support Moses during the battle with Amalek.
Bezalel
A specially skilled and knowledgeable Israelite who’s tasked with building the items for the tabernacle.
Oholiab
A specially skilled and knowledgeable Israelite who’s tasked with building the items for the tabernacle. Oholiab focuses on engraving and embroidering.
Pharaoh’s daughter
She finds baby Moses in a basket beside the Nile and adopts him, hiring Moses’s mother to nurse him.
