2No other book of the Bible has captured the hearts, minds, and imaginations of people through three millennia as vividly as Exodus. With stories of a prophet rescued from a basket on the river, the parting of a sea, and an entire nation wandering in the desert, this book seems made for the movies. Appropriately, some theologians have called the book of Exodus "the most important book in the Bible." It presents the foundation story of Israel as a people and provides the background for much of the New Testament presentation of Jesus. It is a story of liberation and victory over oppression. In this series of fifteen lectures, Father Guinan will address the oppression of Israelites in Egypt, their lament to God, and Moses's role as hero. Next, he will guide you through the years the Israelites spent in the desert, their covenant with God, and the Ten Commandments. Then you will examine the account of the building and furnishings of the tabernacle, to which a third of Exodus is dedicated. After exploring the book, the course concludes with an examination of the historical nature of the text and how the foundational elements of Exodus reverberate throughout the rest of the Bible.