Based on biblical tradition of obfuscation through metaphors, parables, fables, proverbs, allegories and other “dark sayings,” this article contends that the highly histrionic narrative of mass movement of Israelites from Egypt to the Land of Canaan as contained in the Book of Exodus is an allegory. Yes, it is another symbolic representation, which abundantly yields to critical analysis and interpretations that arrive at a deeply hidden spiritual meaning; a meaning that contains moral and behavioral codes that hold the key to the age-old mystery of man’s purpose on earth and the path to atonement (at-one-ment) with God.
To understand the essence of this paper, the reader is implored to approach the enterprise with a thawed mind: consciousness that has transcended the inhibitions as ininely acquired over the years from the creeds and dogmas of institutional religion; a mind that realizes that God cannot implant the mysterious instrument of unimaginable potency called the human brain in man’s head yet give humanity religions that discourage critical intelligent thought; and a mind that has come to know that institutional religion, as practised, is a human fabrication for the purposes of anesthetizing, subjugating and politically and economically exploiting humanity.Do not get the author wrong, the Bible is a highly spiritual roadmap to oneness with God; however, to appreciate the plentiful spiritual lessons contained therein requires reading between the lines, burrowing beneath the dark sayings and going beyond the spiritually infantile act of drinking the milk or the adult chewing the meat to cracking the bones and savoring the marrow of the knowledge contained therein. The reader should note that reliance on biblical references here is only a reflection of the author’s background; this presentation is universal, it is beyond the bounds of any one religion.
Given the lack of archeological evidence of the mass movement that lasted for forty years as chronicled in the Book of Exodus, it is natural to conjecture that Egypt, in the narrative, is not the geographical location in the North-East of Africa. Rather, it is metaphor for a state of mental enslavement from which man is expected to liberate himself and journey to the Promised Land of Canaan, which is also a metaphor for a state of global harmony, based on sharing the abundance of nature by all. Both Israeli and Egyptian researchers of various academic disciplines agree that at the time of the exodus, the Province of Canaan was firmly under Egyptian control; so, it could not have been the land of freedom for the Israelites; this further emphasizes the metaphoric essence of the narrative.
In the same vein of dark sayings, Manna from heaven is metaphor for a spiritual, mental and physical state when man is able to utilize the unimaginable powers of his brain to generate the Sacred Manna, which has nutrients that nourish the body “without waste.”Also,heaven is metaphor for the human head wherein the human brain is contained. Given this biological state of existence, man will have no need for animal protein with its health hazards; he becomes herbivore. At this point, man will live in harmony with his other neighbours in this animal kingdom and will then learn to communicate with the animals and avail himself of the boundless knowledge and wisdom they harbour.The Book of Job (12:7&8) enjoins man to “ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you…speak to the earth, and it will teach you and the fish of the sea will explain to you.”For instance, from the avocation of agriculture, the earth has taught the discerning mind that you reap what you sow; (Gal 6:7) this means that vicarious remission of sin is ludicrous. Again, give watermelon cut for more than twenty-four hours to a rabbit and it will reject it because it knows that the watermelon has lost its nutritional value. Observe the maneuvers of a bird in flight and watch it apply the breaks and land on the ground; then observe an airplane in flight and land and you would realize that Wilbur and Orville Wright took Introduction to Flying tutored by the birds. Further, the calisthenics of assault planes in battle are mimicry of the hawk hunting for food; watch a wale surface from the deep of the ocean and note the uncanny similarity with a submarine in the same act. With this consciousness, man will also learn the language of his innumerable green neighbours (herbs, plants and trees) and therefore benefit from their incredible medicinal properties and propensity to cure all ailments, including those that are yet to manifest. Lao and Walter Russell, Tibetan monks and other highly evolved humans in history including herbalists across the world before the advent of Western civilization achieved this capacity. This harmonious coexistence with the elements is akin to what obtained in the equally metaphoric Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with the animals and the environment until the transgression.
At the above point of interrelatedness, planet earth morphs into a land of abundance in which its yields are made available to all according to individual needs irrespective of colour, creed, station or location; this is the symbolism of Land of Canaan. It is this state of consciousness that inspired Mahatma Gandhi’s concise yet comprehensive poetic and sociopolitical classic: “there are enough resources for every one’s need; but not enough for one man’s greed.” This philosophy is also at the roots of the “from each according to his abilities and to each according his needs” ethos of communism.
In an incisive assessment of the essence of the various books of the Bible, Genesis was referred to as “The Beginning of ALL things” while Exodus was referred to as “Redemption of Human Race.” In the same assessment, Leviticus was referred to as “Holiness/Atonement” while Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua were referred to as “Wandering,” “Covenant” and “Conquering Land of Canaan,” respectively. A deep thought into the sequence of these books vis-à-vis the labels, shows that they contain the spiritual essence of the Bible, which is exiting from mental slavery and arriving at Canaan; This is the big picture. The rest of the Bible expatiates on the precepts for arriving at Canaan, the Kingdom of God here on earth; this is what Plato referred to as the Ideal State and St. Augustine of Hippo called it the City of God.
Restated, exit from the mental and spiritual slavery in which humanity is neck deep requires learning the lessons and abiding by the precepts in the other sixty-four books of the Bible and other books of life and adhering to the relevant attitudinal and behavioural prescriptions for man to arrive at the metaphoric Land of Canaan. Here, the issues of absolute faith in God as exemplified by various dramatis personae in numerous dark sayings and the universality of religion as repeatedly preached by Jesus Christ, St. Paul and the other Apostles in the New Testament, constitute the guide to the actualization of oneness with God. Here again, the essence of the acronym ASK, which is obfuscated in the Biblical injunction “Ask and it shall be given unto you; Seek and ye shall find, Knock and it shall be opened unto you” (Matt 7:7) comes alive along with the essence of the lamentation “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea, 4:6).
Dr Osai is an Associate Professor in the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.

These and many other portions of the Holy Books emphasize the need for man to seek the pristine knowledge of the Divine, which wells from within each individual; knowledge untainted by ossified creeds and dogmas of institutional religion. Further, the emphasis is on Gnosticism; of vital note in this regard is Jesus’ averment that “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot hear them now.”(John 16:12) More than two thousand years after Jesus, man should be ready for the gospel truth and spiritual essence of his being.
In this eternal spiritual journey from slavery to the point God’s “will is done on earth as it is in heaven,” every individual is on hisher own; “be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth; that shall he reap also” so said St. Paul (Gal 6:7) and the Man from Galilee says “I come quickly with my rewards to give each man according to his works.” (Rev 22:12)Eternally, there are all sorts of guides that cut across every religious persuasion and belief; they roam planet earth and other corporealities and dimensions in the Divine anatomy seeking for souls to either save or destroy depending on what sort of guide they are. The decision to accept and follow a particular guide or otherwise is an individual thing and so is responsibility for the outcome of that singular and personal decision. The golden rule and the greatest law of all is “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Mark, 12:31) In its disarming and, perhaps, deceitful simplicity, this commandment, like most Biblical sayings, has deeper meaning than meets the eyes. The depth of the statement is in the essence and import of the word “neighbor.” While this belongs in another narrative, suffice it to say that by “neighbor,” the Bible refers to a wider,more intellectually, spiritually and cosmically tasking field of relationships than family, relatives and those living next door.
Where does humanity belong in this journey? Accepting the spirituality of the Bible, man should come to terms with the fact that from”Redemption of the Human Race” to “Conquering Land of Canaan” is all about arriving at the Grand Design of God for man, which is living harmoniously in His abundance. As an introduction to the Book of Exodus, this article calls for the narrative to be subjected to greater studies from multidisciplinary perspective to uncover the hidden meanings and as they apply to human existence. A spirited attempt has been made in the book titled From Rule of Law to Rule of Love: The End of Western Thought and the Death of Leviathanto present, in contemporary terms, the material and spiritual requirements of this journey from enslavement to universal oneness and the abundance of God.
What is the significance of the repeated use of the number forty in the Bible? What is Shakespeare doing deep inside Psalm 46? What other hidden codes are there in the Bible and what is their meaning? Where are the Book of Jasher and the other books excised by King James? This call for further studies on the essence of the Book of Exodus is so that man may be appropriately guided in his search for oneness with God.The multiplicity of religions in humanity now constitutes a source of protracted bitter conflict and spiritual confusion unto man. Here, Gnosticism and the essence of Huist Thought are imperative. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
Dr Osai is an Associate Professor in the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.

Jason Osai