Brief Overview of Important Events in Hebrew History from Abraham to Moses

As time goes on, evil spreads across the world. God decides to send a great flood to cleanse it, but He tells Noah—the one righteous man—to build an ark. Noah and his family survive, and afterward God makes a covenant, promising never to destroy the world with a flood again.

Generations later, we meet Jacob. Jacob has many sons, but his favorite is Joseph, the son of his second wife, Rachel. Joseph has dreams that show he will rise above his brothers, which makes them jealous. Out of envy, they sell him into slavery. Joseph ends up in Egypt, sold to Potiphar. There, he’s falsely accused of pursuing Potiphar’s wife and thrown in prison.

While in prison, Joseph interprets dreams. Eventually, Pharaoh himself has troubling dreams, and Joseph is summoned. Joseph explains that the dreams warn of an upcoming famine, and Pharaoh elevates him to second-in-command over Egypt. When the famine strikes, Joseph’s brothers come seeking food. In a dramatic reunion, Joseph forgives them, and his family is saved.

Time passes, and a new Pharaoh arises who does not remember Joseph. Fearing the growing Hebrew people, he enslaves them and orders all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed. One mother hides her baby in a basket and sets him afloat in the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter finds him and raises him as her own. The baby’s name is Moses.

As an adult, Moses sees an Egyptian overseer beating a Hebrew slave. In anger, Moses kills the overseer and flees into the wilderness. There, God speaks to him through a burning bush, telling him to return to Egypt and demand that Pharaoh release the Hebrews and lead them to the Promised Land.

Pharaoh refuses, so God sends ten plagues upon Egypt. At last, Pharaoh relents and lets the Hebrews go, but then he changes his mind and pursues them. God parts the Red Sea for His people, and the Egyptians are defeated.

Afterward, Moses goes up Mount Sinai, where God gives him the Ten Commandments. But when Moses returns, he finds the people worshipping a golden calf. In anger, he destroys the idol and calls the people back to faithfulness. With God’s guidance, they continue their journey toward the Promised Land.