Wow. After reading exodus I realized how little I really know about the bible and the stories themselves. These chapters narrate the story of Moses, one that I practically grew up with. However it took me some time to really understand that I had heard this same story before.
As a matter of fact, hundreds of adaptations from bible stories exist. One that I would like to mention is the movie of Moses. As it tells, Moses was abandoned by his mother in a river, in her desperation to save his child form death. As he travels through the river, the pharaoh’s wife spots him and generously takes him in. As time goes by, Moses is told by God that he must free the people of Egypt, and do so in the name of God. However, it is no surprise that the pharaoh opposes Moses and refuses to set his people, his slaves, the Hebrew people free. Obviously angered, God sends unto his land a series of unfortunate plagues to amuse him with his power and make him finally give.
Thus, Moses and his people leave, having to undergo extreme circumstances. All these events lead to the final delivery of the Ten Commandments; Catholicism’s set of rules. But as I said before, having an idea of what the story was about and having it heard before, I was surprised by the tons of details and parts I had missed. For example:
“ And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.” Exodus 7
I’m not sure exactly why but I was never aware of the fact that God had actually granted Moses these supernatural powers, making him somehow a God. Besides, the entire concept of Moses obtaining these powers from God in order to perform such a difficult task was invisible to me.
Something I have also noted throughout the entire bible itself is the peculiar style in which it has been written. I just found out in class that it is actually a poem, which explains the awkward and unnecessary repetition of phrases, complex word choice, etc. I understand as well that a huge time has elapsed since it was first written, what might also explain these phenomenon.
Anyways. I enjoyed finally reading something that is easier for me to understand and relate to.
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