Big Ideas · 17 · Moses and Joshua
'A wandering Aramean was my ancestor'
Deuteronomy instructs every Israelite bringing first fruits to recite the exodus story in the first person: my ancestor, I bring, you gave me.
A nation is a story you make your own.
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Like a citizenship test, but recited as personal memory. At Passover, Jews still say that in every generation each person must see themselves as if they left Egypt, and embellish the story, just as the scribes did.
Bible reference: Deuteronomy 26:4–9
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 282–284
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