The Old English Exodus
The Old English Exodus is a book collecting J.R.R. Tolkien's text and prose translation of the Old English poem Exodus, accompanied by a commentary which was organized from a series of Tolkien's lecture notes from the 1930-40s. The published edition was edited by Joan Turville-Petre, a former pupil of Tolkien's.
Exodus does not refer to the second book of the Bible, but an Old English retelling in the form of an alliterative poem; it contains 590 lines. It re-tells the story of the Israelites' flight from Egyptian captivity and the Crossing of the Red Sea in the manner of a "heroic epic", similar in style to Beowulf.
The book was published in 1982 (though dated 1981), with only 3000 copies printed.
New edition
After being out of print for more that 40 years, the book is receiving a new edition, this time published by HarperCollins, and to be released in May of 2026 as part of a boxed set of Tolkien's "Myths and Legends" (along with Finn and Hengest, The Story of Kullervo, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, and The Battle of Maldon). The book will not be sold separately. It will include a preface by Thorlac Turville-Petre, the original editor's son.
Contents
- Editor's Preface
- Select Bibliography
- Text
- Translation
- Commentary
- Index to Commentary
From the editor
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Publication history and gallery
- Oxford University Press hardcover (1982), pp. 95 ISBN 0198111770
- HarperCollins hardcover (2026), pp.
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Referencias
1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 30/05/2026.
