"The title says it all—this is a wonderful introduction to the text, themes, and meaning of the Bible’s second book for normal people—those who are curious about the Bible, but never dove deeply into the text. In a clever, chatty, and casual style, Pete Enns interprets Exodus as “mythicized history,” written in “the religious language of a tribalistic, Iron Age society,” making contemporary biblical scholarship, based on archeology and study of the ancient Near East, interesting and accessible."
Marc Brettler
Professor in Judaic Studies, Duke University; Author of How to Read the Bible
"Once again, Peter Enns uses his unique combination of candor and humor to make biblical scholarship accessible to “normal people”. In The Exodus for Normal People Enns draws on his academic expertise to introduce the reader to the biblical book Exodus, highlighting its important connections to other biblical texts. Readers who want more scholarship but in a non-academic (dare I say, boring!) manner will find that this book scratches that itch."
Cynthia Shafer-Elliott
Author of The 5 Minute Archaeologist in the Southern Levant
"Entertaining and informative! A seasoned biblical pro - Pete Enns - knows Exodus as well as anyone. Enns communicates one of the most important biblical stories in such a manner that even “normal” people can enter its pages and wrestle with the challenges critical biblical scholarship poses. Moreover, he does so with humor and grace. This is a gift!"
Emerson Powery
Professor of Biblical Studies, Messiah University
"Pete Enns does it again! In Exodus for Normal People, he provides us with a roadmap for understanding the book of Exodus through the lens of what concerned ancient people. He makes accessible the best of biblical scholarship with humor and insight, reminding us to respect Scripture in all its complexities. A hard task that Pete makes look simple."
Richard Rohr
Author of Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality
"Pete Enns is a real scholar who doesn’t write like one — thank heavens. He writes with knowledge of the scholarship but in the language of a thoughtful layperson. Reading Enns one feels like the author is having a personal chat with his reader. He is smart, leaned, and witty. In a word: normal."
Richard Elliott Friedman
Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Georgia; Author of The Exodus and Who Wrote the Bible?
"Reading the Bible as more interested in preserving multiple and sometimes contradictory voices than in silencing them, as showing how salvation is a type of re-creation, and as often weird (it is an ancient text!), Enns helps readers to understand Exodus as responding to ancient Israel’s questions of identity, theology, and history, to raise their own questions, and frequently to laugh out loud."
AJ Levine, Ph.D.
Professor of New Testament Studies, Vanderbilt University; Co-author of The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us
"Enns is a gem! And actually quite abnormal: he’s equal parts brilliant and witty, wise and humorous. He’s exactly the kind of guide the rest of us, far more “normal people” need when it comes to the Bible, the Book of Exodus included. I mean, Exodus has it all: enslavement and escape, religion and violence, history and story, amidst a vast cast of additional supporting characters. Who needs Cecil B. DeMille or Ridley Scott? Thank Horus—er, I mean the Lord—that we have Enns and Exodus (not necessarily in that order)."
Brent Strawn
Professor of Old Testament and Professor of Law, Duke Divinity
"With a style at turns cheeky and self-deprecating, Pete Enns’s Exodus for Normal People is an impressive guide to the confusing text that is Exodus. Enns has a knack for giving voice to honest questions that too often go unexpressed; he then answers them with insight, clarity, and wit. The result is a learned and entertaining walk through Exodus that injects new life into this influential biblical book."
Jeffrey Stackert
Professor of Hebrew Bible, University of Chicago
"Pete Enns is the master of saying complicated things in easy-to-understand words. And there are plenty of complicated things that need explaining in the Book of Exodus. In this deeply learned, yet highly accessible book, Enns guides the reader expertly through the book of Exodus section by section with enviable ease. Enns’s reading of the biblical text is at once scholarly in that it is informed by generations of historical research, and faithful in that it realizes that the primary importance of the Bible as Scripture lies in the importance it has had, and continues to have, for the faith communities that live by it. A Must Read for all who want to learn more about the book of Exodus."
Matthias Henze, Ph.D.
Professor of Biblical Studies, Rice University; Author of Mind the Gap: How the Jewish Writings Between the Old and New Testament Help Us Understand Jesus
About the Author
© Peter Enns. All Rights Reserved.
