Covenant and mitzvot - EduqasThe covenant with Moses

Over a thousand years after Abraham’s death, the Jews were enslaved in Egypt. Jews believe that God chose the prophetMoses to lead them out of slavery and to the Promised Land. The escape of the Jews from Egypt is recounted in the Book of Exodus and is remembered by Jews every year in the festival of Passover.

Moses leads the enslaved Hebrews to freedom

Moses was born to an enslaved Hebrew mother in Egypt but was brought up in the Pharaoh’s household. He was expelled from Egypt after murdering an Egyptian who was being cruel to an enslaved Hebrew, but returned when commanded by God to lead the enslaved Hebrew people to freedom in the Promised Land.

God sent Moses to try to convince the Pharaoh to let the enslaved Jewish people go. However, the Pharaoh continued to refuse so God sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians.

After the loss of his first-born son, the Pharaoh finally agreed to let the Jewish people go. But he soon changed his mind, sending his army after the fleeing Jews. It was then that God parted the Red Sea allowing the Jews to pass before bringing the water back down onto the Pharaoh’s men. God, who had promised Abraham that he would look after the Jewish people, is believed to have fulfilled his covenant by helping the Jews to escape from slavery in Egypt in this way.

When Moses and his people reached Mount Sinai on the way to the Promised Land, God spoke to Moses. It was there that God made a covenant with Moses and the Jewish people that renewed the one he had made with Abraham. At the same time, God gave the Jews the Ten Commandments - a set of rules by which they should live.