ABSTRACT
Exodus begins by naming the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, a total of seventy persons. God hears the Israelites' cries of affliction and decides to have Moses lead them to their deliverance. Moses sees a burning bush near Mount Horeb, but the bush is not consumed. Moses and Aaron speak to Pharaoh and demand that he allow Israel to worship God in the wilderness. Jethro, the priest of Midian and Moses' father-in-law, has heard of the great events in Egypt. Just before Moses ascends Mount Sinai to receive God's commandments, God tells him he wants to establish a covenant with the Israelites. Aaron melts the gold and makes a golden calf, proclaims a festival, and the people celebrate. Michael Walzer analyzes the political implications of the episode. The midwives who defied Pharaoh are rewarded, and their names are recorded, whereas the Bible does not report the name of the Pharaoh.
