BECAUSE of Israel’s repeated contact with Egypt, the Bible contains many details regarding that land. By events in Egypt, Jehovah’s own name was magnified in a wonderful way.

Egypt was a land where many gods were worshiped. Certain animals were viewed as gods; others were considered to be sacred to specific ones of the Egyptian gods. Is it any wonder that Moses said that if Israel was to offer animal sacrifices to Jehovah in Egypt, this would bring violence at the hands of the people? (Ex 8:26) We can understand, too, why, when the hearts of Israel in the wilderness turned back to Egypt, they would use a molten statue of a calf in what they referred to as “a festival to Jehovah.”​—Ex 32:1-5.

Another prominent feature of Egyptian worship was belief in an afterlife. This belief found expression in the practice of embalming the dead and in the erection of huge tombs to honor them.

Despite the fact that Moses was “instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,” the commandments regarding worship of Jehovah recorded by him were in no way tainted by Egyptian beliefs. (Ac 7:22) What he wrote was not of human origin but was divinely inspired.