Egypt's Oppression

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen people. 00:00:04 Speaker 2: Lord Pharaoh, I present to you five of my brothers. They represent my father's nation and their families. My eleven brothers, my father, their flocks, and all they possess have come from Canaan. I have them in the land of Goshen, on the grassy plains outside the city. If it pleases you, I will have them remain there. 00:00:28 Speaker 1: The people are out of money. The famine has stalled the economy. Since no new money is flowing back to the people, they can't afford to buy green from the storehouses. 00:00:37 Speaker 2: Ah. I feared this would happen bartering. Bartering has dwindled month after month. 00:00:43 Speaker 1: Do we open up ledgures of credit for them? 00:00:46 Speaker 2: No, under no circumstances can we let that happen. We have years of famine left. The debt would crush them. 00:00:53 Speaker 3: If the silver runs out, they have no other option but to give it away for free. 00:00:58 Speaker 1: Joseph thought for a long while. An idea took root in his mind, but he could see where its branches would lead. He had to choose between the people's lives and the people's freedom. 00:01:13 Speaker 2: People will no longer be their own. They will be pharaohs. Aren't they all ready in devotion? Yes, but not in property. But I see all the options. Desperate times go for desperate measures. 00:01:27 Speaker 1: As the twelve sons of Jacob departed from this life and new generations sprouted from their branches, so did the line of Pharaoh. The king who once considered Joseph a brother and the Hebrews his kin passed. His son took the throne vaguely remembering the promises made to Israel. But when his son came after him, the promises eroded into whispers. Soon the name of Joseph was forgotten. In its place the legacy of pharaohs, the image of Ra, the might of the Nile. The storehouses were replaced with monuments to their greatness, and the children of Israel were no longer favored in the land. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issaca, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, gad Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. These were the sons of Israel, the heirs of a covenant forged in the fires of a divine promise. They bore the legacy of their forefather, Abraham, who had once been told that his progeny would outnumber the stars in the heavens. Abraham believed with a faith that defied reason, a belief that was as unyielding as the desert sun. And so God most High blessed him and the generations that came after him. For theirs was a destiny written in the very stones of the earth and the stars of the heavens. The land of Canaan was promised to them, a land flowing with milk and honey, where hills rolled like the waves of a verdant sea, and plains stretched wide under the watchful eye of the creator. It was their birthright, a cradle of destiny where a nation would be forged, a beacon to all other nations. Abraham had wandered its breadth, Isaac had thrived in its bounty, and Jacob, who was named Israel, had claimed it as his inheritance. But famine drove the children of Israel to seek refuge in the distant lands of Egypt. Guided by the hand of their brother Joseph, a man of dreams and visions, the families of Israel found sainctuary in the region of Goshen. There, on the fringes of Egyptian grandeur, they multiplied sons Begat sons, and daughters Begat daughters, until their numbers swelled like a river, breaking its banks. The land of Gosh and teemed with life, stretching ever closer to the very heart of Egypt. In those days, Joseph's favor was a shield around them. His name held weight in the halls of Pharaoh, a legacy of salvation that bound the children of Israel to the land. But time is a merciless tide, and all men, even those as great as Joseph, are swept away by its current. Joseph was laid to rest, and the memory of his deeds began to fade with him. His legacy was no more than an echo in the corridors of power. Pharaohs rose and fell, like the sun across the sky, each further removed from joseph memory. Over two centuries, the story of Israel's deliverance from famine was reduced to myth, overshadowed by the growing might of Egypt's rulers. The legend of Pharaoh's power became the story told in every corner of the land, and among these rulers was Rameses, the first pharaoh of his name. Egypt's ambitions grew, and its influence spread like the shadow of a great beast across the earth. Under the iron hand of Pharaoh, the Empire reached out to conquer, subdue, and claim dominion over all who dared stand in its path. But conquest breaths enemies, and fear grows where power takes root. From the heights of his palace, Rameses the First looked down upon the multitudes of Israel with a heart gripped by suspicion and rage. He stood upon the balcony, the greats of Egypt unfurling before him like a scroll. He looked down upon the Israelite's encampment, a sprawling sea of life. Beneath his gaze, they had prospered in his land, grown strong under the shadow of his throne, and in their strength he saw the seeds of rebellion. 00:06:19 Speaker 4: Ah, I will not rest until Egypt reaches the feet of Ra. It is my destiny, It is the destiny of my sons and their sounds. 00:06:33 Speaker 1: He gripped the stone balustrade, his knuckles white with the force of his ambition. His eyes cold and calculating, turned towards the land of Goshen, where the torches of Israel burned like stars in a night sky, but Rameses cared nothing for their light. His mind was consumed by visions of his own greatness, his name etched into the very heavens. Turned to his generals, who stood in silent, obedient formation. 00:07:05 Speaker 4: These Hebrews are contributing nothing and taking everything. They grow crops on my land, heard on my hills, and drink from my rivers, and what do I get in return? 00:07:21 Speaker 2: Nothing? 00:07:24 Speaker 4: Even worse, they are so great in number that they can be trusted. If our enemies choose to invade. What's to stop them from joining their side? What are your commands? Lord Pharaoh. 00:07:37 Speaker 1: Ramsay's lips curled into a sneer, and in that moment, something ancient and malevolence seemed to stir within him. It was as if the dark heart of the Nile itself had taken root in his chest. He stood taller, drawing in a breath as he gave the command that would seal Israel's fate. 00:08:01 Speaker 4: Send troops to Goshen, surround them with swords, whips and spears, seize their property, melt their weapons, and make a decree. The Israelites are no longer guests in my land. From this day forth, they shall be bricks laid at the foundation of my empire. I am Pharaoh, the image of Rah. I am the Nile, the Serpent, the King. If any oppose my decree, they shall feel the scorch of my burning fury. For I am the Sun, and they are the fields that grow or burn at my will. 00:08:52 Speaker 1: The soldiers marched into Goshen, their armor clinking with the cold efficiency of death. They claimed the fields drove the herds into Pharaoh's barns, and stripped the people of their tools. Egyptian commanders were appointed over the Hebrews, each flanked by battalions of soldiers, eager to enforce their lord's decree. Panics spread like wildfire, followed closely by the flames of anger and rebellion. 00:09:22 Speaker 3: What are you doing? These are our fields and flocks. You are no longer guests in this land, but subjects of Pharaoh. Failure to cooperate will end in death. 00:09:36 Speaker 1: The people fought back, but their courage was no match for the might of Egypt's legions. They were beaten down with brutal swiftness, crushed beneath the iron fist of Pharaoh's will you. 00:09:49 Speaker 2: Are no longer shepherds or farmers. 00:09:52 Speaker 3: You are backs and shoulders, born to bear the weight of Pharaoh's greatness. Heal and mind your master, or face the lictors. 00:10:06 Speaker 1: The air was filled with the sound of whips and chains, the cries of the broken and the damned. Men were torn from their homes, organized by height and strength, while women were bound and taken away, some to toil as weavers and cooks, others to serve as maids, or to suffer even darker fates. Each group was placed under the watchful eyes of taskmasters trained in the arts of pain and submission. The heel of Egypt was pressed down upon the necks of Israel, a weight that could not be lifted. Pharaoh's will was made manifest through the cruel hands of his enforces. The lash, the fists, the rod. All were extensions of his desire for power, his insatiable hunger for control. He demanded violence, and violence delivered unto him. 00:11:01 Speaker 4: You have taken from my land for too many generations. Now it is time to pay back what you've stolen. 00:11:11 Speaker 1: Ah. 00:11:13 Speaker 4: I shall sacrifice your blood, tears, and sweat at the altar of Rah. He shall bless this nation with great cities of commerce, pivoon rameses, cities hewn on the backs of Israelites, monuments to My eternal greatness. 00:11:34 Speaker 1: And so the children of Israel were bound in chains, their lives consumed by the relentless toil of Pharaoh's ambitions. Day after day, the sun rose and set, casting its unforgiving light upon a land where time itself seemed to stretch into eternity. Under the lash, beneath the weight of stones and mortar, the people of the Israel cried out to the God of their fathers. 00:12:03 Speaker 4: Sh deliver us, rescue your people. More mortar, more tar, more. 00:12:16 Speaker 3: Straw, Make those bricks until your hands are gone, pull those stones until your backstive way. 00:12:27 Speaker 1: Yet, for all the cruelty heaped upon them, the children of Israel did not wither. The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied, their numbers, swelling like the tide against the shore. Pharaoh's tyranny could not quench the blessing that had been promised to them, for it was a blessing from the hand of the Almighty himself. Thus began the Great Struggle, a battle not of swords, but of wills. Deceived by his own Pride believed himself to be a God, but he was a man at war with the True God, the creator of all things. He did not yet know the name of the Lord he opposed, but he soon would, and when the time came, every oppressor in Egypt would tremble at the revelation that the children of Israel were chosen by the One True God. This Prey dog comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Gattina, Max Bard, Zach Slabager, and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People. Narrated by Paul Caltafianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland, Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Leshinsky. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvato, bre Rosalie and Chris bag You can hear more Prey dot Com productions on the Prey dot Com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People, please rate and leave a review.