The Story

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Joseph and his brothers and their families came to Egypt, and over the generations there became more and more and more Hebrew people in Egypt. The Egyptians enslaved the Children of Israel with back-breaking labour, and embittered their lives with hard labour, with clay and with bricks and with all kinds of labour in the fields.

But still there were so many Hebrews! So the Pharaoh commanded two Egyptian midwives, called Shifts and Puah, to GET RID OF all of the boy Hebrew babies as they were born! But these good women did not listen to Pharaoh, they helped the Hebrew women save and hide their babies then lied to Pharaoh about it. G-d rewarded these brave midwives.

Still many Egyptain soldiers were finding and getting rid of Hebrew babies. One woman, named Yocheved, had a baby boy and managed to hide him for three months. But when she couldn't hide him any longer she made a basket out of reeds and hid the baby in the bushes by the Nile. She told her daughter, Miriam, the baby's sister, to hide as well and see what would happen to the baby.

Before long, Pharaoh's daughter came down to the river with her ladies-in-waiting for a swim. She spotted the basket in the bushes, and asked a maidservant to fetch it. When the princess saw the crying baby inside, she exclaimed "This must be one of the Hebrew babies!" Clever Miriam saw the opportunity to jump out of the bushes and offer "Shall I get a Hebrew woman to come and feed the baby milk for you?" The princess agreed so Miriam brought her own mother, the baby's mother, to the palace to feed and care for the baby. The princess adopted the baby and named him Moses "Because I drew him from the water."

One day when Moses was a grown up man he saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew slave very badly. Moses hit the Egyptian and killed him! So Moses knew he had to run away from Egypt.

He ran far away, through the desert, and came to a well. Seven sisters came to the well to get water for their sheep,but some horrible shepherd men wouldn't let them get water and chased their sheep away. Moses helped them with their sheep, chased away the horrible men, and helped them get water. Moses then stayed with them, and married one of the sisters named Zipporah. They had a son named Gershom, and another one.

Moses lived for many years with Zipporah and his new family, but meanwhile the Hebrew slaves in Egypt were being forced to work harder than ever. They cried out, and G-d heard their cry.

One day Moses was out looking after the sheep, when he saw a bush that was on fire but not burning! Moses couldn't believe his eyes.

Then the voice of G-d called to Moses from the fire, "Moses! Moses!"
And Moses replied "Here I am." G-d told Moses to take off his shoes, because he was standing on holy ground. Moses covered his face because he was so scared to look at G-d.

G-d said "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their slave drivers, for I know their pains. I have descended to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land, to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression that the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and take My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

"Who am I to go to Pharaoh? To lead the people?"

"You are the one I have chosen," replied G-d

"How will I get the Hebrew people to believe me? What shall I say your name is?"

" I was and I am and i will be what I will be."

Moses was very reluctant. He didn't think anyone would listen. So G-d showed Moses how he could turn his sodden staff into a snake. G-d said he would send many terrible miracles to Egypt before the Hebrew slaves would be released. Moses said he doesn't speak clearly, couldn't someone else go? G-d said he could take Aaron, his brother the Hebrew slave, to speak for him.

Moses, Zipporah and their sons left for Egypt. One night an angel came to kill Moses, but Zipporah woke up, saw the angel, and quickly picked up a sharp stone and circumcised her son. She wiped the blood on the feet of an angel, saying "Now you are a bridegroom of blood to me."

They were met outside Egypt by Aaron, and they went to ask Pharaoh to felt the Hebrews go. Pharaoh did not believe in G-d and he gave the Hebrew people even more work to do, and they were beaten even more. The Hebrew people were angry with Moses, and Moses complained to G-d. But G-d said that soon, the terrible plagues would cause Pharaoh to positively chase the Hebrews out of Egypt!