Biblical Sense: The Book of Exodus

In this second installment of the "Biblical Sense" series, we follow the Israelites out of Egypt and into forty years of sun-drenched famine. The sequel's always a bit darker than the original, and Exodus is no exception - it's the Empire Strikes Back of the Pentateuch, if you will, except instead of Imperial Forces and the Dark Side of the Force we have Egyptian chariots and a golden cow. Aside from that it's pretty much the same thing. They had manna on Hoth, didn't they?

The "Biblical Sense" series is for people who want to have read the Bible but don't want to have to read it. We don't blame you. But the fact is, a lot of people seem to live their lives according to what they think the Bible says, and we think a well-read and culturally literate person should be familiar with culturally and historically significant texts - no matter how mind-numbingly dull Leviticus might be.

Whether you believe the Bible or not, we hope this makes reading it a little more palatable. In any case, you'll come away from this book with a genuine appreciation for exactly how deeply intertwined communal religious devotion is with rampant animal slaughter.