Editing Book of Exodus (section)

=== Covenant ===
[[File:The Crossing of The Red Sea.jpg|thumb|300px|''Crossing of the Red Sea'', [[Nicolas Poussin]]]]
The heart of Exodus is the [[Mosaic covenant|Sinaitic covenant]].<ref>Wenham, p. 29.</ref> A covenant is a legal document binding two parties to take on certain obligations towards each other.<ref>Meyers, p. 148.</ref> There are several covenants in the Bible, and in each case, they exhibit at least some of the elements in real-life treaties of the ancient Middle East: a preamble, historical prologue, stipulations, deposition and reading, list of witnesses, blessings, and curses, and ratification by animal sacrifice.<ref>Meyers, pp. 149–150.</ref> Biblical covenants, in contrast to Eastern covenants in general, are between a god, Yahweh, and a people, Israel, instead of between a strong ruler and a weaker vassal.<ref>Meyers, p. 150.</ref>