So Joseph died in Egypt. 

Having saved the family from famine, this great-grandson of Abraham dies in hope of the day when they will return to the Promised Land, the land of Abraham's sojourn and God's covenant. And as he requested, the people pack his bones in a coffin, promising to carry them along when the time comes.

Decades pass; the people of Israel grow in influence and power. Like many immigrant groups which establish themselves in a new land, they become a threat to the powers that be. (There are still those who are threatened by immigrants and newcomers to the land. Some things never change.) So the Bible says that, eventually, "a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph" oppresses them in bondage and slavery.

Four hundred years pass...bitter years of oppression and hopes deferred. All the…