NOTES for Exo 1:1-22

Exodus is a book about salvation, about deliverance from slavery and death in all its manifestations. The main character in this book, as in the other books of the Bible, will be God, but this time He will act through one of the most famous people in history - the Israelite prophet and lawgiver Moses. He does not appear in today's narrative; this chapter serves only as an introduction and describes the situation of the Israelites in Egypt before the exodus. But already here we see the world into which the future leader of the exodus is to be born: a world of suffering, slavery, and genocide.

We see that only someone who has himself experienced every manifestation of slavery can save the people. Salvation is carried out from within: here God works together with a human being, not by Himself, and at times it will not be easy for us to understand where God is acting and where the human being is acting. But this is the plan of action God chose: to do everything with our participation and consent. For now, a mortal threat hangs over Israel: it is time for God to intervene in the situation...