Exploring the Meaning of Exodos in Greek

ἔξοδος means “departure” and appears in three New Testament passages: one describing what Jesus was about to accomplish in Jerusalem, one recalling the Israelites leaving Egypt as Joseph spoke of it, and one referring to Peter’s own departure.

Root and Related Words

ἔξοδος is formed from ek (ἐκ), “out from,” and hodos (ὁδός), “road.” The combination evokes movement outward along a road: an “out-going” or “way out” expressed as a departure.

Occurrences

“who appeared in glory, and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:31)

Here ἔξοδος is placed inside a moment of revealed glory: Jesus is the topic of conversation as two figures “appeared in glory” and “spoke of his departure.” The verse frames that departure as something Jesus “was about to accomplish at Jerusalem,” so the word does not stand as a vague exit or an accidental leaving. In this line, “departure” is treated as an event with a definite location and an approaching time, and it is described with the language of accomplishment. The scene therefore gives ἔξοδος a strong sense of purposeful movement toward an appointed end-point (“at Jerusalem”), with the emphasis falling on what is about to happen rather than on what has already happened.

“By faith, Joseph, when his end was near, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.” (Hebrews 11:22)

In Hebrews, ἔξοδος belongs to a remembered act of faith near the close of Joseph’s life: “when his end was near,” he “made mention of the departure of the children of Israel.” The word is attached not to an individual’s leaving but to a people’s leaving—“the children of Israel”—so “departure” carries a collective scope. It is also set in the context of forward-looking speech: Joseph “made mention” of this departure and then “gave instructions concerning his bones.” The verse links the expectation of departure to concrete arrangements made in advance; ἔξοδος functions as the anticipated movement that gives sense to those instructions. Within this sentence, “departure” is not merely a historical recollection but the future-oriented horizon that shapes Joseph’s final concerns.

“Yes, I will make every effort that you may always be able to remember these things even after my departure.” (2 Peter 1:15)

In 2 Peter, ἔξοδος is explicitly personal and temporal: “my departure.” The writer’s concern is the community’s ongoing memory—“that you may always be able to remember these things”—and the departure marks the boundary after which that remembrance must continue. The word therefore serves as a turning point in the sentence: before the departure, the writer can act directly; after it, the readers must be able to recall what has been taught without that immediate presence. ἔξοδος here carries the weight of an impending absence that motivates deliberate effort in the present (“I will make every effort”), so the word highlights both the inevitability of leaving and the pastoral urgency it creates.

Sense and Usage

Across these three passages, “departure” is consistently more than a bare change of location; it is treated as a significant transition that structures how the moment is understood. In Luke 9:31 it is a departure that can be spoken of in glory and located in Jerusalem, described in a way that underscores intention and completion (“about to accomplish”). In Hebrews 11:22 it is a departure of a whole people, one that can be anticipated by faith and spoken of near the end of life, with practical instructions oriented toward that coming movement. In 2 Peter 1:15 it becomes a personal departure that the writer expects, using it as the point after which the community must still be equipped to “remember these things.”

Because ἔξοδος is built from “out from” and “road,” the word naturally fits contexts where departure is not treated as a random vanishing but as a movement with direction and consequences. Each occurrence connects departure with purpose: a departure to be accomplished at a particular place, a departure that is mentioned as a faith-filled expectation guiding final requests, and a departure that triggers careful preparation so teaching will remain effective beyond the speaker’s presence. The word’s force in these verses is therefore not merely that someone leaves, but that the leaving matters—defining a before-and-after and calling for interpretation, expectation, or preparation within the narrative or argument.

Imagery

The passages give ἔξοδος an implied picture of a “way out” that reshapes what surrounds it. In Luke 9:31 the departure stands against the backdrop of glory and the destination of Jerusalem. In Hebrews 11:22 it is the envisioned movement of “the children of Israel,” a departure substantial enough to anchor instructions about bones. In 2 Peter 1:15 it is the approaching threshold after which remembrance must still endure, making the departure itself a silent marker of transition that presses the writer to act decisively while time remains.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).