Egypt: ‘”Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Eternal that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Eternal, and I will not let Israel go.”‘ Ex. 5: 2
The Old Testament informs us of the attitude of Pharaoh of Egypt of continuing his rejection of belief and refusing to let the Israelites depart from Egypt. The Pharaoh and the Egyptians were subjugated to many plagues and afflictions until the Pharaoh decided to let the Israelites leave from Egypt. It informs us of the Exodus of the Israelites and the following change of attitude of the Pharaoh who pursuit the Israelites in the attempt to bring them back to Egypt, but his attempt failed and he was faced with drowning in the Red Sea along side his army:
‘When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and charioteers rushed into the sea, the Lord brought the water crashing down on them.’ Ex. 15: 19
All along the encounter between Moses and the Pharaoh of Egypt we have ample evidence in the Torah of the free choice given to Pharaoh and his court to believe or not to believe in God, and the freedom to act in the way they chose.
The choice of the Israelites between belief and disbelief in God:
The choice to believe or disbelieve was advanced in the divine message of Moses to the Israelites, according to the Torah. This choice, expressed in terms of an ‘Alliance with God’, was administered after the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt (about 1172 B.C.):
‘The people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry land, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides. This was how the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians that day. And the Israelites could see the bodies of the Egyptians washed on