Ancient Israel Escape Game

Scenario:
You and your group are living in Ancient Egypt. Your days are spent as a slave, building giant pyramids
out of stone, day and night. It takes about 20 years to build one pyramid. Your family members, young
and old, are also enslaved. You ended up in this situation due to droughts and famine in your homeland,
Canaan. You long for the days of freedom and peace.
Finally, a miracle happens. A man named Moses was chosen by God to help you and your people escape
from slavery and harsh treatment in Egypt. The plan is to return to Canaan, which means crossing
through the scorching hot desert on the border of Egypt and Canaan. Some say this could take years to
accomplish, but at this point, you are desperate.

Your task: you must swiftly and quietly make your way out of Egypt without Pharaoh knowing. Once out
of view from Pharaoh and his officials, your exodus begins. Are you willing to risk it all for freedom? Your
quest begins now!

Task #1: Before you begin your escape, you must FIRST complete the following task. Once you have
finished, start your next task.
Directions: Match the words to their meanings (you may use online and your notes!)
1.) Exile a.) a Jewish spiritual leader and teacher
2.) Tribe b.) The belief in only one God
3.) Monotheism c.) A place where Jews assemble to worship
4.) Covenant d.) An extended family unit
5.) Rabbi e.) A period of forced absence from one's homeland or native country
6.) Synagogue f.) a religious agreement with God
7.) Abraham g.) Abraham's grandson, all Israelites are descendants of him
8.) Jacob h.) the father of the Jewish people

Task #2: You have successfully managed to sneak out of sight of any officials. Now, you must meet the
group and Moses at the designated site to start you trek to Canaan. You heard from others that Pharaoh
and his officials are out on horses looking for any Israelites out of their houses past curfew. You fear that
you will all be caught and suffer dire consequences. You remember that Moses instructed you to give
him a code word to signal danger of any kind. Your next task is to quickly reach Moses and give him the
code word. But what is the code word? Solve the puzzle below to remember what the code word is.
Once you have each letter needed for the code word, you must UNSCRAMBLE the letters to create the
code word to deliver to Moses!

1.) The Israelites first lived here, before moving to Canaan (MESOPOTAMIA)
2.) The belief in only one God (MONOTHEISM)
3.) Moses climbed this mountain to receive the 10 Commandments from God (MOUNT SINAI)
4.) A special religious agreement that Abraham's descendants would have with God (COVENANT)
5.) The migration of Jews around the world, beginning with the Babylonian Exile (DIASPORA)
6.) Caused the Israelites to leave Canaan for Egypt (DROUGHT)
7.) These codes inspired many of the laws we have today (COMMANDMENTS or 10 COMMANDMENTS)
8.) Jacob's descendants formed twelve of these (TRIBES)
9.) Building where Jews gather to worship God (SYNOGOGUES)
10.) The name of the book that contains the five books of Moses (TORAH)
For each number, find the letter that is part of the code word. Unscramble the letters to form the code
word to deliver to Moses!
1.) First answer, third letter
2.) Ninth answer, ninth letter
3.) Third answer, ninth letter
4.) First answer, fifth letter
5.) Eight answer, fifth letter
6.) Fourth answer, first letter

The code word is: _ _ _ _ _ _

Task #3: You run as fast as you can to Moses. You yell, "ESCAPE!" Moses quickly gathers everyone
together to start the journey to the Promised Land! Far off in the distance, you hear horse hoofs and
men screaming. It is clear that the voices are none other than Pharaoh and his officials. The voices are
coming closer and closer, and the group decides to start running. You look behind and can now see
Pharaoh and his men! As you turn back, you are quickly stopped by the person in front of you, as they
have come to a halt. "The Red Sea! How are we going to escape now?!" you hear someone cry. Just as
Pharaoh and his men have arrived, Moses lifts up his arms and performs a miracle….he PARTS the sea!
You do not ask questions, you just follow the line of Israelites in front of you. After a few moments of
walking, you have reached the other side of the Red Sea. You look back and suddenly, all hope seems
lost. Pharaoh and his men are also crossing the Red Sea! You see Moses out of the corner of your eye
lift up his staff towards the water and suddenly, Pharaoh and his men are drowned in the water. Now,
you are all ready for freedom in the Promised Land! Before going any further, Moses has asked you and
your group to help him map out a path to take to Canaan. Write out the how the Israelites made it to
the promise land.
Task #4: Now that you know which way to go, it's time to set off! Before you know it, it has been days
since you have started your journey. Moses has decided to for everyone to stop and rest for the night.
As you and your group make a camp site and start settling for the night, you see him wander off into the
night. You think nothing of it and drift off to sleep. You then wake up to a crowd of people nearby
talking loudly and wonder what is going on. You get up and walk closer to the crowd and see Moses
holding two large stone tablets. "I have received these laws from God!" he exclaims. "Last night, I
climbed up Mount Sinai and once at the top, God spoke to me!" Moses then began to read the laws that
God gave to him. As Moses begins to speak you try to remember every single detail that he is saying for
each of the laws. You quickly realize that trying to remember them word for word is VERY DIFFICULT,
and try to paraphrase what Moses is explaining. Your task is to paraphrase the Ten Commandments
(attached).

Task #5: FINAL TASK!!! Moses has been leading the group in the desert for about 40 years. You think
that you'll never find your way back to Canaan. Finally, hope arrives and you are officially entering into
the city! You are so relieved to see something other than a vast and empty desert and feel the need to
reflect on what a great accomplishment this is. Imagine the promised land, write about what it looked
like when you arrived.

Escape From Egypt!

Name:

Class Period:

Task #1 Task #4
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
7. 7.
8. 8.
9.
Task #2 10.
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Code Word:

Task #3 (MAP)
Task #5 (PORTRAIT)