Study Desk

"Is this true?"^[a] the high priest asked.

"Brothers and fathers," he said, "listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,^(a)

and said to him: Get out of your country and away from your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you. ^(b)[b]

"Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this land you now live in.^(c)

He didn't give him an inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, but He promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him,^(d) even though he was childless.

God spoke in this way: His descendants would be strangers in a foreign country, and they would enslave and oppress them 400 years.

I will judge the nation that they will serve as slaves, God said. After this, they will come out and worship Me in this place. ^(e)[c]

Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision. After this, he fathered Isaac and circumcised^(f) him on the eighth day; Isaac did the same with Jacob, and Jacob with the 12 patriarchs.^(g)

"The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt, but God was with him^(h)

and rescued him out of all his troubles. He gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole household.⁽ⁱ⁾

Then a famine and great suffering came over all of Egypt and Canaan,^(j) and our ancestors could find no food.

When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors the first time.

The second time, Joseph was revealed to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.

Joseph then invited his father Jacob and all his relatives, 75 people in all,^(k)

and Jacob went down to Egypt. He and our ancestors died there,^(l)

were carried back to Shechem, and were placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.^(m)

"As the time was drawing near to fulfill the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people flourished and multiplied in Egypt⁽ⁿ⁾

until a different king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt.^[d]

He dealt deceitfully with our race and oppressed our ancestors by making them leave their infants outside, so they wouldn't survive.^[e](o)

At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God's sight. He was cared for in his father's home three months,

and when he was left outside, Pharaoh's daughter adopted and raised him as her own son.^(p)