This week we enter the nineteenth weekly Torah portion, Terumah, which in Hebrew means “offering.” At this point in the Exodus story, the Israelites have just witnessed the dramatic crossing of the Red Sea and stood at the base of Mount Sinai to receive the covenant. They have been given the foundational instructions for living as set-apart people. Now, God has a plan for a communal building project.

This leads us to wonder: Why did God need the Tabernacle? Why did the creator of the universe even allow for himself to be limited to a tent? Doesn’t that mean God was condescending to the imagination of men and allowing himself to seem like all of Israel’s neighbors’ gods with their temples and altars? The truth is, God didn’t need the Tabernacle. Man did. God used the Tabernacle to invite his people back through the gates of Eden. He desired to once again be in their midst, to be known by them and worshiped.

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This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim, Hebrew for “laws.” The portion covers Exodus 21:1 to 24:18. At this point in the Exodus chronology, the Israelites are entering their seventh week of freedom. In the previous portion, Yitro, they heard for the first time the Ten Commandments, the Big Ten.

If the Ten Commandments are the constitution of this new nation, Mishpatim is the civil and criminal code. This section provides a detailed look at the full covenant. It takes the moral heights of the mountain and applies them to the grit of daily life.

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In this episode of Bible Fiber, we explore the Torah portion Yitro (Exodus 18:1–20:23). While most weekly readings have titles that describe actions, this portion is one of only five named after a person: Jethro, the Midianite priest and father-in-law of Moses.

We look at how Jethro served as an "executive consultant" to Moses. He identified a major flaw in Moses’ leadership and provided the recipe for its correction. By advising Moses to delegate authority, Jethro helped build the foundation for the Israelite judicial system. Jethro is more than a biblical figure; he is the chief prophet and spiritual ancestor of the Druze community. About 140,000 Druze live in Israel today, with over one million across the Levant.

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This week’s portion is Beshalach, which translates to “when he sent.” The name comes from the opening verse: “When Pharaoh let the people go...” (13:17). After ten rounds of increasingly destructive plagues, Pharaoh finally agreed to release the Israelites.

Exodus 14 first provides a list of place names describing the winding journey of the escape. This was not a direct march from Egypt to Canaan; it was a zigzagging, circuitous route. For modern scholars and archaeologists, this path is almost impossible to retrace with certainty, since many place names have faded from historical memory. Therefore, the exact route of the Exodus journey remains a mystery.

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This week’s Torah portion, Bo, covers Exodus 10:1 to 13:16. The narrative intensity hits its peak here. The last three of the ten plagues descend on Egypt: locusts devour the crops, impenetrable darkness shrouds the land, and finally, the firstborns of every Egyptian family are killed during the night.

The portion begins with a command from God to Moses: “Go to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his officials, so that I may show these signs of mine among them” (10:1).

There is a fascinating linguistic twist here. The word translated as “Go” is actually Bo in Hebrew, which means “Come.” So a more accurate translation is “Come to Pharaoh” and not “Go to Pharaoh. God was telling Moses, “Come with me to Pharaoh.” The Pharaoh’s palace was the heart of the beast, the center of Egyptian idolatry. But by saying “come with me to Pharaoh,” God was reassuring Moses that he would not be walking into that throne room alone. God was already there, waiting.

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This week’s Torah portion covers Exodus 6:2-9:35. It is called Va’era, which means “and I appeared,” the first words spoken to Moses in the text. In Va’era, the story of the Exodus begins. Plagues hit the Egyptians in full force. Pharaoh knew the names of many false gods, but the one true God, the God of the Israelites, was a mystery to him. Through a series of pestilence, blood, darkness, death, and disease, Yahweh shows himself greater than any other imaginable power.

Exodus is the most supernatural book in the Hebrew Bible. But it is also the climax, the pinnacle of Israel’s story. Until now, the patriarchs learned of God’s covenant promises through quiet acts like nighttime wrestling, angelic visitations at the door of a tent, or through firm convictions of conscience and clear revelations. But now the birth pangs are growing sharp. The Egyptians require unprecedented signs and punishments that go beyond the explainable.

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Genesis closed with the descendants of Jacob living in the land of Egypt, waiting out the period of famine that had overtaken the region. What started as a temporary move turned into a centuries-long stay. We do not know the exact time interval separating Joseph from Moses. The Bible says a Pharaoh arose who “did not know Joseph” (1:8). The new Pharaoh was not beholden to the Israelites. The history of Joseph’s service was long forgotten, which meant the Israelites lost their protected status as the relatives of a national hero.

Goshen no longer hosted just Jacob and his descendants. That original generation of 70 refugees passed away. But they were an “exceedingly fruitful” people, fanning out over the Nile Delta. They grew so large that the native Egyptians felt threatened by their size. The first words out of the new Pharaoh’s mouth were: “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land” (1:9–10).

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This week’s Torah portion Vayechi covers Genesis 47:28–50:26. These are the last chapters of Genesis and the final moments of the era of the patriarchs. It is a biblical pivot point. While Genesis covered the personal lives and divine encounters of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Exodus will launch into the national history of the twelve tribes.

A Heart Anchored in the Promise

After Joseph brought his family to Goshen, Jacob lived there with his extended family for the last seventeen years of his life. These were likely his most peaceful years. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. Yet, as his strength begins to fail, his mind does not dwell on the comforts of Egypt. He calls Joseph to his side for a final request. He says: “Deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt” (Gen. 47:29).

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