Courtesy of Pucker Gallery, Boston

“Troop by troop” (Exodus 13:51) the Israelites march out of Egypt, bringing only what they can carry themselves or on the backs of a few pack animals. From the drowning of the Egyptians (upper right) to Miriam’s dance of celebration (fourth row), to the receiving of the Tablets of the Law (lower left), nearly all of the Exodus from Egypt is captured in “Exodus,” a 1967 oil painting, now in a private collection, by Israeli artist David Sharir. At lower left Moses and Aaron approach their destination, labeled in Hebrew eretz zevat halav udevash—“the land flowing with milk and honey.”

As author Ronald S. Hendel writes, the Book of Exodus is not only a conflation of history and myth, but also of history remembered. It is a record of the collective experiences of generations of Israelites.