Here they obtained leave from Pharaoh to dwell in the land of Goshen,
where their continued adherence to their own customs and pastoral life
led them to be accounted barbarians by the cultured Egyptians. In Egypt
a time of great oppression came upon the Hebrews, and they were
subjected to the harshest treatment and repressive measures, induced by
a fear lest they should ally themselves with Egypt’s foes. Then there
arose the figure of Moses, the great founder of both the religion and
the law of Israel.