In the opening chapters of Exodus, the Israelites, once welcomed in Egypt due to Joseph's influence, have grown in number and are now seen as a threat. The new Pharaoh, who does not remember Joseph, enslaves them, imposing harsh labor conditions. To further control their population, he orders the death of all newborn Hebrew males. In this dire context, Moses is born. To save him, his mother places him in a basket on the Nile, where he is found and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. Moses grows up in the Egyptian royal court, but after killing an Egyptian overseer for beating a Hebrew slave, he flees to Midian. There, he becomes a shepherd and marries Zipporah. At Mount Horeb, Moses encounters a burning bush that is not consumed by fire. God speaks to him from the bush, revealing His name as "I AM" and commissions Moses to return to Egypt to lead the Israelites to freedom.