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Background
Background
Israel and the rest of the family came to join Joseph in Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan. Over time, the Israelites had many many descendents.
Eventually, the Egyptians got scared of the Israelites because there were so many of them and so the Egyptians forced the Israelites into slavery.
The Pharaoh ordered that all Israelite boys would be killed. One woman was afraid that her baby son would be killed to, and so his mother left him in a basket and he was found by members of the royal family and brought up by them. The baby was called Moses.
The second book of the Bible is called Exodus, and it is all about how the Israelites escaped from Egypt, led by Moses.
Moses is called by God
Moses is called by God
One day, a voice from a burning bush spoke to Moses, asking him to free the Israelites from slavery. Moses had some questions:
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you’, and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘YHWH the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
—Exodus, Chapter 3The name of God, YHWH, or יהוה in Hebrew, is and was considered so holy that it was only allowed to be said out loud once a year on the Day of Atonement (which we will look at later), by the High Priest, in the Temple. But, as we shall find out, the Temple was destroyed, and so we no longer know how the name was pronounced.
People aren’t exactly sure what the name of God YHWH means, but it seems to be related to the verb to be, and connected to the phrase ‘I am who I am’ that God says to Moses earlier. Perhaps it means something like that which is, or that which causes to be.
The Exodus
The Exodus
Moses agreed to help free the Israelites from slavery. He spoke to the Pharaoh and God inflicted many plagues on the Egyptians:
The river turned into blood
A plague of frogs
A plague of lice
A plague of flies
Disease of the animals
The Egyptian humans and animals got Boils
Thunderstorm of hail and fire
Locusts
Darkness covered the land for three days
Death of every Egyptian firstborn son
Eventually the Pharaoh had had enough and let the Israelites go. The Israelites ate a simple and quick meal - they didn’t have enough time to let the bread rise, for example, so they made bread without yeast. Every year, Jews recreate this meal at Passover.
However, just as the Israelites were leaving, The Pharaoh changed his mind and chased them. He appeared to have the Israelites trapped between his army and the sea. But suddenly, the sea pulled back and the Israelites were able to cross to safety. The Egyptians chased them across the dry seabed but the sea came crashing down upon them, drowning them.
Discussion - What was the God of the Israelites like?
Discussion - What was the God of the Israelites like?
What is God like in the books of Genesis and Exodus? Think about everything that the God of the Israelites has done so far:
First God created everything and then spent six days ordering it. God then needed a rest.
God makes a lovely garden, makes two people to live in the garden, makes a rule, the two people break it, God kicks them out of the garden.
God warns Noah that a flood is coming and says that he has to save the animals, and then kills everyone else.
God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son.
God has a fight with Jacob and changes his name to Israel.
God meets with Moses in the guise of a burning bush, and when Moses asks who God is, God replies, ‘I am what I am’.
God causes plagues on the Egyptians (including killing their firstborn sons) and parts the sea for the Israelites to cross. God kills the Egyptians who were chasing them in the sea.
Why do you think they describe God in this way? What do you think of this concept God?
Discussion - Miracles or Natural events or both?
Discussion - Miracles or Natural events or both?
The book of Exodus is thousands of years old, so we can’t know for certain what is true and what isn’t. Lots of people think that the events described above can be explained naturally. One theory, for example, is that the rivers of blood were caused by a toxic plant called red algae. This would kill the fish. It would also mean that the frogs would leave the rivers and lakes, and since frogs eat insects that eat lice, the lice population would explode. A plague of flies like the stable fly would cause the disease of the animals and the boils. Another theory is that they are all related to the eruption of Santorini about 3,500 years ago. The eruption would have been massive and it would explain the thunderstorm of hail and fire, the darkness and perhaps even the locusts (since they favour humid conditions).
The parting of the sea might even be explained by a Tsunami.
The question is this: if all these events can be explained, does this mean that they aren’t miracles? Were the Israelites wrong to think that they were caused by God?
Tasks
Tasks
Explain how the Israelites ended up in slavery in Egypt.
Explain why the Pharaoh eventually agreed to let them leave.
What was God like in the book of Genesis and Exodus? Why do you think they describe God in this way? Why might others think differently to you?
There may be scientific explanations for the events described in the book of Exodus - the plagues and the parting of the sea etc. Does this mean that they are not miracles?
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