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The Exodus
And Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, "Leave us; please go away, all of you; go and serve Jehovah as you said. Take your flocks and herds and be gone; and oh, give me a blessing as you go." And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people of Israel, to get them out of the land as quickly as possible. For they said, "We are as good as dead."
The Israelis took with them their bread dough without yeast, and bound their kneading troughs into their spare clothes, and carried them on their shoulders. And the people of Israel did as Moses said and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. And the Lord gave the Israelis favor with the Egyptians, so that they gave them whatever they wanted. And the Egyptians were practically stripped of everything they owned!
That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started out for Succoth; there were six hundred thousand of them, besides all the women and children, going on foot. People of various sorts went with them; and there were flocks and herds--a vast exodus of cattle. When they stopped to eat, they baked bread from the yeastless dough they had brought along. It was yeastless because the people were pushed out of Egypt and didn't have time to wait for bread to rise to take with them on their trip.
The sons of Jacob and their descendants had lived in Egypt 430 years, and it was on the last day of the 430th year that all of Jehovah's people left the land. This night was selected by the Lord to bring his people out from the land of Egypt; so the same night was selected as the date of the annual celebration of God's deliverance.
TEXT SOURCE:
(Exodus 12:31-42) The Children's Living Bible, ©1970 Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187
TITLE SOURCE: The New Student Bible, ©1992 Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids Michigan
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