This volume continues from Graham I. Davies commentary on Exodus 1-10 and takes the reader up to the end of Exodus chapter 18, covering the flight of the Israelites from Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea. The commentary focuses on all the linguistic, philological, historical and literary aspects of this core text in the Pentateuch and examines the history of secondary scholarship on these chapters in the immense level of depth expected of an ICC volume.

Davies brings together all the relevant aids to exegesis - linguistic, textual, archaeological, historical, literary, and theological - to help the reader understand the texts at hand. In addition to the parting of the waters and the defeat of Pharoah's army the chapters commented upon also include the so-called 'Song of the Sea' in Exodus 15, a complex hymn that Davies studies in depth and the provision of manna in the desert. The textual issues are varied and Davies navigates them deftly, providing close commentary and profound insights into these well-known texts.