evidence for the actual eventualities proclaimed by the Old Testament or the intentional extraction of ‘the history of the Israelites’ from the Pharaonic texts. In this study we consider the second assumption as more plausible.
The message of the Torah
In Exodus, we are informed of the content of the message sent in terms of the particular to the Israelites and in the absolute general to mankind. The Ten Commandments constitute the content-essence of the divine message, according to the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, and ultimately in the Qur’an. In Exodus we are told about the first and foremost important Commandment:
‘Then God instructed the people as follows: “I am the Eternal your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. “Do not worship any other gods beside me. “Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish. You must never worship or bow down to them.”‘ Exodus 20: 1-5
The choice
The principle thesis of the Torah is ‘God is’. The notion of the choice is to believe or disbelieve and to obey or disobey the word of God. The consequences of such a choice are clearly marked in terms of reward and punishment. The following Biblical text concludes the conditions of such a choice:
‘I, the Eternal your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god! I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me, but I punish the children of sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations. But I lavish my love on those who love me and obey my commands, even for a thousand generations.’ Ex. 20: 5-6 These above texts constitute the first commandment and the Beginning of conditions of the