The Story of Passover

In celebration of the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover, here is the story of Moses taken from the book of Exodus in the Easy-To-Read Version of the Holy Bible.

 Then a new king began to rule Egypt... This king said to his people, “Look at the Israelites. There are too many of them, and they are stronger than we are! We must make plans to stop them from growing stronger. If there is a war, they might join our enemies, defeat us, and escape from the land!”

 The Egyptians decided to make life hard for the Israelites, so they put slave masters over the people. These masters forced the Israelites to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses for the king. The king used these cities to store grain and other things.

The Egyptians forced the Israelites to work harder and harder. But the harder they worked, the more they grew and spread, and the more the Egyptians became afraid of them. So the Egyptians made them work even harder.

They made life hard for the Israelites. They forced the Israelites to work hard at making bricks and mortar and to work hard in the fields. The Egyptians showed no mercy in all the hard work they made the Israelites do!

There were two Hebrew nurses who helped the Israelite women give birth. They were named Shiphrah and Puah. The king of Egypt said to the nurses, “You will continue to help the Hebrew women give birth to their children. If a girl baby is born, let the baby live. But if the baby is a boy, you must kill him!”

 But the nurses trusted God, so they did not obey the king’s command. They let all the baby boys live.

 The king of Egypt called for the nurses and asked them, “Why did you do this? Why did you let the baby boys live?”

The nurses said to the king, “The Hebrew women are much stronger than the Egyptian women. They give birth to their babies before we can go to help them.” The nurses trusted God, so he was good to them and allowed them to have their own families.

The Hebrews continued to have more children, and they became very strong. So Pharaoh gave this command to his own people: “If the Hebrew women give birth to a baby girl, let it live. But if they have a baby boy, you must throw it into the Nile River.”

There was a man from the family of Levi who decided to marry a woman from the tribe of Levi. She became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy. The mother saw how beautiful the baby was and hid him for three months. She hid him for as long as she could. After three months she made a basket and covered it with tar so that it would float. Then she put the baby in the basket and put the basket in the river in the tall grass. The baby’s sister stayed and watched to see what would happen to the baby.

Just then, Pharaoh’s daughter went to the river to bathe. She saw the basket in the tall grass. Her servants were walking beside the river, so she told one of them to go get the basket. The king’s daughter opened the basket and saw a baby boy. The baby was crying and she felt sorry for him. Then she noticed that it was one of the Hebrew babies.

The baby’s sister was still hiding. She stood and asked the king’s daughter, “Do you want me to go find a Hebrew woman who can nurse the baby and help you care for it?” The king’s daughter said, “Yes, please.”

So the girl went and brought the baby’s own mother.

 The king’s daughter said to the mother, “Take this baby and feed him for me. I’ll pay you to take care of him.”

So the woman took her baby and cared for him.  The baby grew, and after some time, the woman gave the baby to the king’s daughter. The king’s daughter accepted the baby as her own son. She named him Moses because she had pulled him from the water.

Moses grew and became a man. He saw that his own people, the Hebrews, were forced to work very hard. One day he saw an Egyptian man beating a Hebrew man. Moses looked around and saw that no one was watching, so he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.

 The next day Moses saw two Hebrew men fighting each other. He saw that one man was wrong and said to him, “Why are you hurting your neighbor?”

 The man answered, “Did anyone say you could be our ruler and judge? Tell me, will you kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?”

Then Moses was afraid. He thought to himself, “Now everyone knows what I did.”

 Pharaoh heard about what Moses did, so he decided to kill him. But Moses ran away from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian.

Moses stopped near a well in Midian.  There was a priest there who had seven daughters. These girls came to that well to get water for their father’s sheep. They were trying to fill the water trough with water. But there were some shepherds there who chased the girls away and would not let them get water. So Moses helped the girls and gave water to their animals.

 Then they went back to their father, Reuel. He asked them, “Why have you come home early today?”

 The girls answered, “The shepherds chased us away, but an Egyptian rescued us. He got water for us and gave it to our animals.”

 So Reuel said to his daughters, “Where is this man? Why did you leave him? Go invite him to eat with us.”

 Moses was happy to stay with that man. Reuel let Moses marry his daughter, Zipporah. Zipporah became pregnant and had a son. Moses named him Gershom because Moses was a stranger in a land that was not his own.

A long time passed and that king of Egypt died. But the Israelites were still forced to work very hard. They cried for help, and God heard them. God heard their painful cries and remembered the agreement he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the troubles of the Israelites, and he knew that he would soon help them.

Moses’ father-in-law was named Jethro. Jethro was a priest of Midian. Moses took care of Jethro’s sheep. One day Moses led the sheep to the west side of the desert. He went to a mountain called Horeb, the mountain of God. On that mountain, Moses saw the angel of the Lord in a burning bush.

Moses saw a bush that was burning without being destroyed. So he decided to go closer to the bush and see how a bush could continue burning without being burned up.

 The Lord saw Moses was coming to look at the bush. So he called to him from the bush. He said, “Moses, Moses!”

Moses said, “Yes, Lord.”

 Then God said, “Don’t come any closer. Take off your sandals. You are standing on holy ground.  I am the God of your ancestors. I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Moses covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

 Then the Lord said, “I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt, and I have heard their cries when the Egyptians hurt them. I know about their pain. Now I will go down and save my people from the Egyptians. I will take them from that land and lead them to a good land where they can be free from these troubles.c]" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; top: 0px;">[c] It is a land filled with many good things. Many different people live in that land: the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. I have heard the cries of the Israelites, and I have seen the way the Egyptians have made life hard for them.  So now I am sending you to Pharaoh. Go! Lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “I am not a great man! How can I be the one to go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?”

 God said, “You can do it because I will be with you. This will be proof that I am sending you: After you lead the people out of Egypt, you will come and worship me on this mountain.”

 Then Moses said to God, “But if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me,’ then the people will ask, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?”

Then God said to Moses, “Tell them, ‘I Am Who I Am.’ When you go to the Israelites, tell them, ‘I Am’ sent me to you.” And God said, “Tell the Israelites that you were sent by Yahweh, the God of your ancestors�"the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. This will always be my name. It is how I want the people to remember me from now on.

 “Now go and call together the elders of the people. Tell them that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors�"the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob�"appeared to you. Give them this message from me: ‘I have been watching over you and have seen what people in Egypt have done to you. And I have decided that I will take you away from the troubles you are suffering in Egypt. I will lead you to the land that now belongs to others�"the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. I will lead you to a land filled with many good things.’

 “The elders will listen to you. And then you and the elders will go to the Pharaoh. You will tell him, ‘Yahweh is the God of the Hebrews. He came to us and told us to travel three days into the desert. There we must offer sacrifices to Yahweh our God.’

“But I know that the Pharaoh will not let you go. Only a great power will force him to let you go, so I will use my great power against Egypt. I will cause amazing things to happen in that land. After I do this, he will let you go. And I will cause the Egyptians to be kind to the Israelites. They will give many gifts to your people when they leave Egypt.  “All the Hebrew women will ask their Egyptian neighbors and the Egyptian women living in their houses for gifts. And those Egyptian women will give them gifts of silver, gold, and fine clothing. Then you will put those gifts on your children. In this way you will take away the wealth of the Egyptians.”

Then Moses said to God, “But the Israelites will not believe me when I tell them that you sent me. They will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’”

 But the Lord said to Moses, “What is that you have in your hand?”

Moses answered, “It is my walking stick.”

 Then God said, “Throw your walking stick on the ground.”

So Moses threw his walking stick on the ground, and it became a snake. Moses ran from it, but the Lord said to him, “Reach out and grab the snake by its tail.”

When Moses reached out and caught the snake’s tail, the snake became a walking stick again. Then God said, “Use your stick in this way, and the people will believe that you saw the Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will give you another proof. Put your hand under your robe.”

So Moses opened his robe and put his hand inside. Then he brought his hand out of the robe and it was changed. His hand was covered with spots that were white like snow.

Then God said, “Now put your hand into your robe again.” So Moses put his hand into his robe again. Then he brought his hand out, and his hand was changed. Now his hand was good again, as it was before.

 Then God said, “If the people don’t believe you when you use your walking stick, then they will believe you when you show them this sign. If they still refuse to believe after you show them both of these signs, then take some water from the Nile River. Pour the water on the ground, and as soon as it touches the ground, it will become blood.”

 Then Moses said to the Lord, “But, Lord, I am telling you, I am not a good speaker. I have never been able to speak well. And that hasn’t changed since you started talking to me. I am still not a good speaker. You know that I speak slowly and don’t use the best words.”

Then the Lord said to him, “Who made a person’s mouth? And who can make someone deaf or not able to speak? Who can make a person blind? Who can make a person able to see? I am the one. I am the Lord. So go. I will be with you when you speak. I will give you the words to say.”

 But Moses said, “My Lord, I beg you to send someone else, not me.” Then the Lord became angry with Moses and said, “All right! I’ll give you someone to help you. Aaron the Levite is your brother, isn’t he? He is a good speaker. In fact, Aaron is already coming to meet you, and he will be happy to see you. I will tell you what to say. Then you will tell Aaron, and I will help him say it well. I will tell both of you what to do. So Aaron will speak for you. Like God, you will speak to him, and he will tell the people what you say. So go and carry your walking stick with you. Use it and the other miracles to show the people that I am with you.”

 Then Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law. Moses said to him, “Please let me go back to Egypt. I want to see if my people are still alive.”

Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” Then, while Moses was still in Midian, the Lord said to him, “It is safe for you to go back to Egypt now. The men who wanted to kill you are now dead.” So Moses put his wife and children on the donkey and returned to Egypt. He carried his walking stick with him�"the walking stick with the power of God.

 While Moses was traveling back to Egypt, the Lord spoke to him, “When you talk to Pharaoh remember to show him all the miracles that I have given you the power to do. But I will cause Pharaoh to be very stubborn. He will not let the people go. Then you should say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son. And I am telling you to let my son go and worship me. If you refuse to let Israel go, then I will kill your firstborn son.’”...

 The Lord had spoken to Aaron and told him, “Go out into the desert and meet Moses.” So Aaron went and met Moses at the Mountain of God. He saw Moses and kissed him. Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had commanded him to say and all the miracles he must do to prove that God had sent him. So Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the Israelites.  Then Aaron spoke to the people and told them everything the Lord had told Moses. Then Moses did the miracles for all the people to see, 31 and they believed what they had heard. Then the Israelites understood that the Lord had seen their troubles and had come to help them. So they bowed down and worshiped God.

After Moses and Aaron talked to the people, they went to Pharaoh and said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go into the desert so that they can have a festival to honor me.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord? Why should I obey him? Why should I let Israel go? I don’t even know who this Lord is, so I refuse to let Israel go.”

Then Aaron and Moses said, “The God of the Hebrews has talked with us. So we beg you to let us travel three days into the desert. There we will offer a sacrifice to the Lord our God. If we don’t do this, he might become angry and destroy us. He might make us die from sickness or war.” But Pharaoh said to them, “Moses and Aaron, you are bothering the workers. Let them do their work. Go back to your own work! There are very many workers, and you are keeping them from doing their jobs.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. I will use my great power against him, and he will let my people go. He will be so ready for them to leave that he will force them to go.”

Then God said to Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They called me God All-Powerful. They did not know my name, the Lord.  I made an agreement with them. I promised to give them the land of Canaan. They lived in that land, but it was not their own. Now, I have heard their painful cries. I know that they are slaves in Egypt. And I remember my agreement.  So tell the Israelites that I say to them, ‘I am the Lord. I will save you. You will no longer be slaves of the Egyptians. I will use my great power to make you free, and I will bring terrible punishment to the Egyptians. You will be my people and I will be your God. I am the Lord your God, and you will know that I made you free from Egypt. I made a great promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I promised to give them a special land. So I will lead you to that land. I will give you that land. It will be yours. I am the Lord.’”

 So Moses told this to the Israelites, but the people would not listen to him. They were working so hard that they were not patient with Moses. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go tell Pharaoh that he must let the Israelites leave his land.”

But Moses answered, “Lord, the Israelites refuse to listen to me. So surely Pharaoh will also refuse to listen. I am a very bad speaker.” 

 But the Lord talked with Moses and Aaron and commanded them to go and talk to the Israelites and to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He commanded them to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt...

The Lord said to Moses, “See how important I have made you? In speaking to Pharaoh, you will be like God, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You will tell Aaron everything that I command you. Then he will tell the king what I say. And Pharaoh will let the Israelites leave this country. But I will make Pharaoh stubborn so that he will not do what you tell him. Then I will do many miracles in Egypt to prove who I am. But he will still refuse to listen. So then I will punish Egypt very much. And I will lead my army, my people, out of that land. I will punish the people of Egypt, and they will learn that I am the Lord. Then I will lead my people out of their country.”

 Moses and Aaron did what the Lord told them. Moses was 80 years old at the time, and Aaron was 83.

 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,  “Pharaoh will ask you to prove your power. He will ask you to do a miracle. Tell Aaron to throw his walking stick on the ground. While Pharaoh is watching, the stick will become a snake.” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and obeyed the Lord. Aaron threw his walking stick down. While Pharaoh and his officers watched, the stick became a snake. So Pharaoh called for his wise men and magicians. These men used their magic, and they were able to do the same thing as Aaron. They threw their walking sticks on the ground, and their sticks became snakes. But then Aaron’s walking stick ate theirs. Pharaoh still refused to let the people go, just as the Lord had said. Pharaoh refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh is being stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.  In the morning Pharaoh will go out to the river. Go to him by the edge of the Nile River. Take the walking stick that became a snake. Tell him this: ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you. He told me to tell you to let his people go worship him in the desert. Until now you have not listened to the Lord.  So the Lordsays that he will do something to show you that he is the Lord. I will hit the water of the Nile River with this walking stick in my hand, and the river will turn into blood. The fish in the river will die, and the river will begin to stink. Then the Egyptians will not be able to drink the water from the river.’”

 The Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron to hold the walking stick in his hand over the rivers, canals, lakes, and every place where they store water. When he does this, all the water will turn into blood. All the water, even the water stored in wood and stone jars, will turn into blood.”

 So Moses and Aaron did what the Lord commanded. Aaron raised the walking stick and hit the water in the Nile River. He did this in front of Pharaoh and his officials. So all the water in the river changed into blood. The fish in the river died, and the river began to stink. So the Egyptians could not drink water from the river. The blood was everywhere in Egypt. The magicians used their magic to do the same thing. So Pharaoh refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. This happened just as the Lordsaid. Pharaoh ignored what Moses and Aaron had done. He turned and went into his house.

 The Egyptians could not drink the water from the river, so they dug wells around the river for water to drink.

 Seven days passed after the Lord changed the Nile River.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to hold the walking stick in his hand over the canals, rivers, and lakes. Then the frogs will come out onto the land of Egypt.” So Aaron raised his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs began coming out of the water and covered the land of Egypt...

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron to raise his stick and hit the dust on the ground, and everywhere in Egypt dust will become lice.”

They did this. Aaron raised the stick in his hand and hit the dust on the ground, and everywhere in Egypt the dust became lice. The lice got on the animals and the people.

 The magicians used their magic and tried to do the same thing. But the magicians could not make lice come from the dust. The lice remained on the animals and the people. So the magicians told Pharaoh that the power of God did this. But Pharaoh refused to listen to them. This happened just as the Lord had said.

The Lord said to Moses, “Get up in the morning and go to Pharaoh. He will go out to the river. Tell him that the Lord says, ‘Let my people go and worship me! 21 If you don’t let my people go, then flies will come into your houses. The flies will be on you and your officials. The houses of Egypt will be full of flies. They will be all over the ground too! But I will not treat the Israelites the same as the Egyptians. There will not be any flies in Goshen, where my people live. In this way you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. So tomorrow I will treat my people differently from your people. This will be my proof.’”

 So the Lord did just what he said. Millions of flies came into Egypt. The flies were in Pharaoh’s house, and they were in all his officials’ houses. They were all over Egypt. The flies were ruining the country. So Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and told them, “Offer sacrifices to your God here in this country.” But Moses said, “It would not be right to do that. The Egyptians think it is terrible to kill animals as sacrifices for the Lord our God. If we do this here, the Egyptians will see us and throw stones at us and kill us. Let us go three days into the desert and offer sacrifices to the Lordour God. This is what he told us to do.”So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go and offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert, but you must not go very far. Now, go and pray for me.”

 Moses said, “Look, I will leave and ask the Lord to remove the flies from you, your people, and your officials tomorrow. But you must not stop the people from offering sacrifices to the Lord.”

 So Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. And the Lord did what Moses asked... But Pharaoh again became stubborn and did not let the people go.

And then the LORD caused all of the farm animals in Egypt to become sick with a terrible disease, and then he caused everyone in Egypt to suffer terrible boils and then bring hail to rain down on Egypt, but not before he also brought locusts to sting the Egyptians...

Then the Lord told Moses, “Raise your hand into the air and darkness will cover Egypt. It will be so dark you can feel it!”

 So Moses raised his hand into the air and a cloud of darkness covered Egypt. The darkness stayed in Egypt for three days. None of the people could see each other, and no one got up to go any place for three days. But there was light in all the places where the Israelites lived.

Again Pharaoh called for Moses. He said, “Go and worship the Lord! You can take your children with you. But you must leave your sheep and cattle here.” Moses said, “No, we will take them all. In fact, you will give us offerings and sacrifices for us to use in worshiping the Lord our God. Yes, we will take our animals with us to worship the Lord our God. Not one hoof will be left behind. We don’t know yet exactly what we will need to worship the Lord. We will learn that only when we get there.”

The Lord made Pharaoh stubborn again, so he refused to let them go. Then Pharaoh told Moses, “Get out of here. I don’t want you to come here again. The next time you come to see me, you will die!" Then Moses told Pharaoh, “You are right about one thing. I will not come to see you again.”

Then the Lord told Moses, “I have one more disaster to bring against Pharaoh and Egypt. After this, he will ask you to leave Egypt. In fact, he will force you to leave this country. You must give this message to the Israelites: ‘Men and women, you must ask your neighbors to give you things made of silver and gold.’” The Lord caused the Egyptians to be kind to the Israelites. The Egyptians, even Pharaoh’s own officials, already considered Moses to be a great man. Moses said to the king, “The Lord says, ‘At midnight tonight, I will go through Egypt, and every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, to the firstborn son of the slave girl grinding grain. Even the firstborn animals will die. The crying in Egypt will be worse than at any time in the past or any time in the future. But none of the Israelites or their animals will be hurt�"not even a dog will bark at them.’ Then you will know that the Lord has treated Israel differently from Egypt. All these officials of yours will come down and bow to me. They will say, ‘Leave and take all your people with you.’ Only then will I leave!” Then in anger, Moses left the meeting with Pharaoh.

 Then the Lord told Moses, “The reason Pharaoh did not listen to you is so that I could show my great power in Egypt.” That is why Moses and Aaron did all these great miracles in front of Pharaoh. And that is why the Lord made Pharaoh so stubborn that he would not let the Israelites leave his country.

 So Moses called all the elders together and told them, “Get the lambs for your families. Kill the lambs for the Passover. Take bunches of hyssop and dip them in the bowls filled with blood. Paint the blood on the sides and top of each doorframe. No one must leave their house until morning. At the time the Lord goes through Egypt to kill the firstborn, he will see the blood on the sides and top of each doorframe. Then he will protect that house and not let the Destroyer come into any of your houses and hurt you. You must remember this command. This law is for you and your descendants forever. You must remember to do this even when you go to the land the Lord is giving you. When your children ask you, ‘Why are we doing this ceremony?’  you will say, ‘This Passover is to honor the Lord, because when we were in Egypt, he passed over the houses of Israel. He killed the Egyptians, but he saved the people in our houses.’”

Then the people bowed down and worshiped the Lord. The Lord had given this command to Moses and Aaron, so the Israelites did what the Lord commanded.

 At midnight the Lord killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh (who ruled Egypt) to the firstborn son of the prisoner sitting in jail. Also all the firstborn animals died. That night someone died in every house in Egypt. Pharaoh, his officials, and all the people of Egypt began to cry loudly.

 So that night Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “Get up and leave my people. You and your people can do as you say. Go and worship the Lord. Take all of your sheep and cattle with you, just as you said you would. Go! And say a blessing for me too.” The people of Egypt also asked them to hurry and leave. They said, “If you don’t leave, we will all die!”

 The Israelites did not have time to put the yeast in their bread. They just wrapped the bowls of dough with cloth and carried them on their shoulders. Then the Israelites did what Moses asked them to do. They went to their Egyptian neighbors and asked for clothing and things made from silver and gold. The Lord caused the Egyptians to be kind to the Israelites, so the Egyptians gave their riches to the Israelites.

The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth. There were about 600,000 men, not counting the small boys. A great number of people who were not Israelites went with them, along with many sheep, cattle, and other livestock. The people did not have time to put yeast in their bread or make any special food for their journey. So they had to bake their bread without yeast.

 The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years.  After 430 years, to the very day, all the armies of the Lord left Egypt. The night they left, the Lord watched over them to bring them safely out of Egypt. So the Israelites will always celebrate this night each year to remember what the Lord did.

 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day. You were slaves in Egypt, but on this day the Lord used his great power and made you free. You must not eat bread with yeast. Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving Egypt. The Lord made a special promise to your ancestors. He promised to give you the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. After the Lord leads you to the land filled with many good things, then you must remember this day. You must have a special day of worship on this day during the first month of every year.

 “For seven days, you must eat only bread without yeast. On the seventh day there will be a great festival to show honor to the Lord. So for seven days, you must not eat any bread made with yeast. There must be no bread with yeast any place in your land. On this day you should tell your children, ‘We are having this festival because the Lordtook me out of Egypt.’

 “This festival will help you remember; it will be like a string tied on your hand. It will be like a sign before your eyes. This festival will help you remember the Lord’s teachings. It will help you remember that the Lord used his great power to take you out of Egypt. So remember this festival every year at the right time."

 "Israel never had another prophet like Moses: The Lord knew Moses face to face."(Deuteronomy 34:10, ERV)
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a shortened version of the Passover story; It can be found in the book of Exodus in any version of the Holy Bible.-JW)

 

Author's Note

Please tell me if you can what your thoughts are of this special presentation! Thank you-JW

Reviews

[Planet x]

I actually enjoyed it , I don't care about the History like the other review , this is Art , shouldn't stick to the facts , just enjoy writing !

I love Passover (or Pesah :) )

[Spamalot]

What are my thoughts?

This story isn't supported by either logic or physical record. The Egyptians were very careful record keepers but there is not one single mention of either the events reported or, there being so many Jewish people living there that "the Egyptians were afraid of them." You say there were 600,000 men, plus women and children. In over 400 years no one noticed them, and included them in a census? Seriously?

Text says there was plague after plague of impossible things. It rained frogs. On one night every family in the country lost their first born son—but only them—and no one thought write that down? In one night there were hundreds of thousands of widows and no one noticed anbd reported it to the central government? It rained BLOOD and no one thought that worth recording? 600,000 people, plus women, children, animals, plus supplies, gathered and marched off, and no one NOTICED?

Added to that: not a single Jewish artifact of the period has been found in Egypt. Not one. You'd think that after 400 years someone would have noticed them living there, or that they might have sold jewelry or dropped things. And since slaves aren't paid, and must be fed, you'd think the government that recorded such things would have recorded their payment for enough food to handle hundreds of thousands of people—and recorded them as working on projects to justify the food expense. But not one word.

Added to that, though the text clearly says that when The Exodus began, the Jews went into the homes of their neighbors (slaves have neighbors who aren't slaves? Really?) and took the best of the best, not one single Egyptian artifact of that period has been found in Israel or the desert where they supposedly lived for forty years. You would think that after forty years of wandering, someone would have dropped a piece of the finery they were hauling.

And, given how dry it is in that desert, and the number of people involved, you would think they would have found the remains of (and contents of) the latrines the people used. They find places where a half dozen people camped overnight, but not where 600,000 men, plus women, children and animals crapped after being in the same spot for weeks, or even years? Forty years should generate a fairly large pile of crap, but not a t**d has been found.

And, the biblical record says that on reaching the promised land the first thing they did was slaughter every man, woman, and child living there (seems a bit cruel). Not only is that not recorded in the records of the people living there, in the next chapter they seem to have recovered from death and all those people are back.

And did I forget to mention that some of the places the record says they traveled through didn't exist at that time? And if you move the time-line forward till they do exist, some that were there, no longer exist.

And you have to wonder, given that it was a desert, how they melted and formed the gold to make that golden idol with. desert sand makes a lousy pouring mold, even if they had water, and camel crap makes lousy furnace fuel.

Bottom line: Like the Jericho story (the walls didn't fall, they were burned a century or so later) it's a morality story. Not to be taken as literal.

And as a final observation: The publisher for that story has a really lousy fact-check department.