when was the book of exodus written

Scholars do not agree on a single exact date for when the Book of Exodus was written, but there are two main answers, depending on whether you follow traditional religious views or modern critical scholarship.

Traditional view: Moses in the 2nd millennium BCE

In Jewish and Christian tradition, Exodus is attributed to Moses , who is said to have written it during or shortly after the events it records.

Many evangelical and conservative scholars narrow this to around the 15th century BCE , often between about 1446–1400 BCE.

They argue that:

• Biblical passages link the Exodus to a date about 480 years before Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:1), which points to a mid‑15th‑century BCE Exodus and composition.

• Exodus itself portrays Moses as writing laws and historical records during Israel’s wilderness period.

• Some archaeological and chronological arguments are used to support a mid‑2nd‑millennium BCE setting.

In this view, the Book of Exodus was written shortly after the Exodus events , in the mid‑2nd millennium BCE, as part of the Pentateuch authored by Moses.

Modern critical view: Exile and post‑exile editing

Most contemporary critical scholars see Exodus as a composite work that reached its final form much later.

They typically argue that:

• The stories draw on earlier traditions and sources, passed down orally and in smaller written units.

• The main literary shaping happened during the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE , when Judah’s elites were exiled to Mesopotamia.

• Final editing and compilation of the Pentateuch, including Exodus, likely occurred in the Persian period in the 5th–4th centuries BCE.

In this view, the traditions behind Exodus are much older, but the book as we have it took shape between roughly the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.

Forum and “trending” angle

In online forum discussions today, you’ll see these main positions repeated in different ways:

• Religious forums (Christian, Jewish) often defend a Mosaic authorship in the 15th–13th century BCE range, tying the text closely to the historical Moses and the wilderness period.

• Academic or mixed forums tend to reference the exilic/post‑exilic composition model and stress that Exodus is a theologically shaped narrative rather than a simple eyewitness report.

A typical thread will have someone asking “When was Exodus written?” and getting answers ranging from “around 1446 BCE by Moses” to “compiled during or after the Babylonian exile from older sources,” often with debate over how much of the story is historical versus symbolic.

Simple takeaway

If you want a one‑line answer:

• Traditional religious view: Written by Moses soon after the Exodus, around the 15th–13th century BCE.

• Modern scholarly view: Final form compiled from older traditions during the 6th–4th centuries BCE (exilic and Persian periods).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.