Moses and the Ten Commandments

Born of Hebrew slaves and raised in the Pharaoh’s courts, Moses performed some of the Old Testament’s greatest miracles. Yet the man who freed his people from 2,000 years of bondage and received the Ten Commandments from God was often beset by self-doubt. How did Moses manage to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness of Sinai? This episode of Biography tells the story of the Exodus in all its majesty, using abundant location footage, rare paintings and artifacts, and interviews with biblical experts. Moses and the Ten Commandments would be useful for classes on Religion, Ancient History, Western Civilization and Culture, and Ethics. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

• assertive
• cesspool
• covenant
• desolate
• diverge
• emissary
• havoc
• idyllic
• immortalized
• impediment
• impending
• intervenes
• migrate
• omnipotent
• patriarch
• pestilence
• saga
• sanctuary
• shrouded
• trepidation
• tyrannical
• usurp
• viable
• visionary

1. According to the Old Testament, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments atop Mount Sinai. How have the Ten Commandments been the guidelines of morality for western civilization?

2. How did Egypt acquire Israelite slaves? How did these slaves enable Egyptians to live a life of ease and leisure? What did these slaves contribute to the cultural and art treasures Egypt produced?

3. Moses’ mother set Moses adrift on the Nile when the Pharaoh decreed that all newborn male Israelites be drowned. Why did Pharaoh demand that these helpless children be thrown into the Nile?

4. Why did the Hebrews resist the efforts made by Moses to liberate them?

5. Why did God choose Moses to free the children of Israel, according to rabbinical tradition?

6. Discuss the ways in which God tries to convince the Pharaoh to free the Israelites? What are some of the modern-day explanations for these phenomena? What is the role of faith in understanding and believing this biblical story?

7. Discuss the origins of the Jewish holiday of Passover. What does the feast commemorate?

8. Why did the Israelites turn away from Moses and God after Moses led them into the desert?

1. Using the medium of your choice, create a replica of the tablet of the Ten Commandments.

2. Create a picture or poster that illustrates the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea.

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