Jacobs sons were fruitful in Egypt, and fearing this rapidly-growing tribe, the Pharaoh levied a tax on them and then decided to make them slaves.

Later, the Pharaoh decided to kill all Israelite sons, but Shifrah and Puah, two Hebrew midwives, sided with God rather than Pharaoh and helped to hide one baby boy for three months, until his mother finally had to get rid of him, which she did by placing him in a basket and floating it down the river.

The Pharaoh’s daughter found the basket and the child, named him Moses, and cared for him.

When Moses was older, he assaulted an Egyptian for beating an Israelite slave, and then fled from Egypt when he found out that others had witnessed it.

Moses went on to marry Tzipporah and have a son, Gershom, and while tending sheep for his father-in-law, he saw a bush that was burning but was not consumed by the fire.

Moses heard the voice of God in this bush, and was told to go to Egypt and free the Israelite slaves and take them to a land flowing with milk and honey.

Moses questioned why he was selected, citing his speech problems, and saying that the Israelites and the Pharaoh would not listen to him.

God told him to take his brother, Aaron, to speak for him, and demonstrated some of the miracles that Moses would perform to show God’s power.

Finally, Moses agreed to go, and after confronting Pharaoh for the first time, asking him for a few days off for the Israelites to pray, Pharaoh punished the Israelites for being lazy, by no longer providing them with straw for the bricks they were making.

With the people of Israel angry at Moses, God told him that he would do things to Pharaoh that would not only encourage him to let the slaves go, but would cause him to drive them out of his land.