Study Desk

Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will take care of you. He will lead you out of this land to the land he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Joseph died when he was one hundred ten years old. Doctors prepared his body for burial, and then they put him in a coffin in Egypt.

When Jacob went to Egypt, he took his sons, and each son took his own family with him. These are the names of the sons of Israel:

Some time later, Joseph and his brothers died, along with all the people who had lived at that same time.

This king said to his people, "Look! The people of Israel are too many and too strong for us to handle!

So the king commanded all his people, "Every time a boy is born to the Hebrews, you must throw him into the Nile River, but let all the girl babies live."

Moses grew and became a man. One day he visited his people and saw that they were forced to work very hard. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man, one of Moses' own people.

Moses looked all around and saw that no one was watching, so he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.

There was a priest in Midian who had seven daughters. His daughters went to that well to get water to fill the water troughs for their father's flock.

He asked his daughters, "Where is this man? Why did you leave him? Invite him to eat with us."

Moses agreed to stay with Jethro, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to be his wife.

Zipporah gave birth to a son. Moses named him Gershom, because Moses was a stranger in a land that was not his own.

I am the God of your ancestors—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.

Moses said to God, "When I go to the Israelites, I will say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you.' What if the people say, ‘What is his name?' What should I tell them?"

but the Lord said to him, "Reach out and grab the snake by its tail." When Moses reached out and took hold of the snake, it again became a stick in his hand.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Put your hand inside your coat." So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took it out, it was white with a skin disease.

Then he said, "Now put your hand inside your coat again." So Moses put his hand inside his coat again. When he took it out, his hand was healthy again, like the rest of his skin.

Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, "Let me go back to my people in Egypt. I want to see if they are still alive." Jethro said to Moses, "Go! I wish you well."

So Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and started back to Egypt. He took with him the walking stick of God.

As Moses was on his way to Egypt, he stopped at a resting place for the night. The Lord met him there and tried to kill him.