Exodus (poem)

Exodus
The first page of Exodus in MS Junius 11.
Author(s)	Unknown
Language	Old English
Manuscript(s)	Junius manuscript (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Junius 11)
Genre	Heroic poetry
Verse form	Alliterative
Length	590 lines
Subject	Israelite's escape from Egypt
Setting	Egypt/Red Sea
Period covered	From the tenth Egyptian plague to the defeat of Pharaoh by the Red Sea
Sources	Book of Exodus, Easter liturgy

Exodus is the title given to an Old English alliterative poem in the 10th century Junius manuscript (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Junius 11). Exodus is not a paraphrase of the biblical book, but rather a re-telling of the story of the Israelites' flight from Egyptian captivity and the Crossing of the Red Sea in the manner of a "heroic epic", much like Old English poems Andreas, Judith, or even Beowulf. It is one of the densest, most allusive and complex poems in Old English, and is the focus of much critical debate.^{[citation needed]}