Moses and the Law
c1300 BC
-1300 -1300
34.00E28.30N
MISC

MT SINAI, SINAI PENINSULA
	It was not a good time for a Hebrew boy to be born.  According to the Bible, the Egyptian pharaoh had ordered all male Hebrew babies be thrown in the Nile River.
	So, obeying the letter of the law if not its spirit, Moses' mother placed him in a basket among the reeds in the Nile and had his sister keep watch.  Ironically, Pharaoh's daughter came to bathe, found Moses and adopted him.  Then Moses' sister appeared and suggested a nurse for him, which was, of course, Moses' own mother.
	As an adult, Moses killed an Egyptian for abusing a Hebrew, then fled the country. Later he was called by God to return to Egypt and lead the Jews to Canaan (now Israel).
	The Bible says that after 10 God-initiated plagues that persuaded the Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt, and after the parting of the Red Sea, Moses led the Israelites toward their new home.  While they were wandering in the Sinai desert, God told Moses to climb Mt. Sinai, where he was given two stone tablets inscribed with Ten Commandments.
	Though there were additional commands given later, these commands -- which deal with man's duties toward God and his fellow man -- are at the heart of the Jewish religion. Today, there are about 17.3 million Jews in the world.