1:1-15:21 Review · From Bondage to Freedom:The events in Exodus must be read against the backdrop of Joseph’s words to his brothers: “But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance” (Gen. 45:7). Initially Israel had flourished in Egypt, but ruthless oppression by a new dynasty was the crucible in which their suffering prepared them for deliverance. God visited them in that suffering, using a fearful Moses to confront the systemic evil of polytheistic Egypt, represented by Pharaoh.

1:1-22 · The explicit naming of the sons of Jacob echoes the words of Genesis 46:8, “These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt,” and abbreviates what follows there. Likewise, the reference to seventy descendants echoes Genesis …