Moses, on the other hand, insists that Israelites must be permitted to take their livestock because the religious retreat involves animal sacrifice (10:24- 26). In response, Pharaoh makes more concessions, insisting only that the Israelites leave behind their “flocks and herds” during their desert pilgrimage. He stiffens his heart once more (10:20), setting up the ninth plague of darkness. This is not good enough for Moses, who follows through with the eighth plague. However, Pharaoh will only allow the men to depart. Yet in the very next line, God tells Moses that “I have hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” In response to Moses’ threat to inflict the plague of the locusts, Pharaoh partially agrees to Moses’ demand, which, strange as it may sound, continues to be limited to a three-day religious retreat. It is “to show you My power and in order that My fame may resound throughout the world” (9:16).Īfter the plague of hail, Pharaoh appears to give up, but his own stubbornness gains the better of him again. Now it is God who “stiffens Pharaoh’s heart ” (9:12) to stop him from agreeing to Moses demand. He is “stubborn” (8:11, 14). The pattern is repeated after the plague of the lice - Pharaoh promises to give in, then changes his mind.Ī new pattern begins to emerge with the sixth plague of boils. At this point, it is clear that Pharaoh himself is to blame. After the plague of the frogs, however, Pharaoh first agrees to Moses’ demand, and then reneges. Moses attempts to impress Pharaoh with some miracles, but Pharaoh’s magicians successfully duplicate the first few. And after that? From Pharaoh’s refusal, it might appear that he fears that they would not return, but if this is the case, why doesn’t Moses come right out and say, “Let my people go?” That exact phrase is actually never used in the Torah as a demand for liberation from slavery. Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh, but their demand is not to the let the Israelite slaves go free, only to let them go on a religious retreat for three days in the desert. In a particularly barbaric passage, his wife Zipporah saves Moses’ life by performing the circumcision with a sharp stone. It also becomes clear that God will not let Pharaoh off easily. God “will stiffen his heart, so he will not let the people go” (4:21, 7:3).Īfter appointing Moses as his messenger on a mission crucial to the fulfillment of His divine plan, God switches gears and threatens to kill Moses, apparently for failing to circumcise his son, Gershon. This is the first hint that God’s punishments will be collective and indiscriminate. What princess would have dreamed to taking a dip there, especially in her birthday suit?ĮARLY ON, God promises Moses that Pharaoh will let the Israelites go free, but only after God inflicts certain punishments on Egypt (Exodus 3:19-20). The Nile was no doubt contaminated by raw sewage and possibly by baby corpses. This is madness.Īs the story continues, Moses is rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter when she comes to the Nile to bathe. Of all the stories told about Jews trying to save their children from the Nazis, not one involves floating them down a body of water.
#Baby sent down river bible full
Nevertheless, to save baby Moses’ life, his mother, Yokheved, sends him down the same Nile River that could be full of the bodies of drowned Hebrew baby boys, not to mention crocodiles. As terrible as this sounds, there is nothing in the text to indicate whether the order was carried out. He does, however, issue an order that all newborn Hebrew males be drowned in the Nile river. In any event, Pharaoh apparently accepts the unbelievable excuse that the Hebrew women gave birth before the midwives arrived, and does not punish them. In the American south prior to the Civil War, the slave masters always encouraged their slaves to reproduce. If fact, why would Pharaoh want to reduce the number of slaves under his authority, anyway? Slave labor was the foundation for his wealth. Assuming they obeyed, how could two midwives, on their own, diminish the Israelite population? Its source document is the Book of Exodus - which on this holiday deserves a closer look.īecause Pharaoh fears that the burgeoning Israelite population will become a threat to his rule, he summons two Hebrew midwives and orders them to kill the newborn boys that they deliver from Hebrew women.
THE PASSOVER HAGODE celebrates the liberation of the ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt, but provides few details.
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