When the people of Israel left Egypt to go to Canaan, the land which the Lord had promised to Abraham for his descendants as an eternal inheritance, they were pursued by the mighty Egyptian army.  The Israelite departure from Egypt was a hurried one.  When Moses approached the King of Egypt asking permission to let the people go to worship Yahweh in the wilderness, the Pharaoh denied Moses' request and increased his oppression of the Israelites (Exodus 5:4-9).