“As the Israelites in the Land of Egypt, So are We in Nigeria”: The Significance of the Exodus Event for Biafra Secessionist Movement

Abstract

The story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt, which is recorded in the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible, holds great significance for ancient Israel and Jewish identity.1 Virtually every kind of religious literature in the Hebrew Bible—prose narrative, liturgical poetry, didactic prose, and prophecy—celebrates the Exodus as a foundational event.2 The story is about the revolutionary birth of both a people and a religion.3 It has a political and a religious aspect, and both aspects are inseparably linked. It is a story of liberation (from Egypt) and commitment to “the Law,” covenant and divine service. It also involves a great amount of violence that is both of a political nature (Egyptian oppression of the Israelites) and a religious one (the massacre after the cult of the Golden Calf). Beyond the Israelites, the Exodus event holds enormous significance for Christianity, Islam, Western thought, and deeply impacts the formation of academic disciplines studying the ancient Near East.4