Questions on Exodus

Hello all. Just wondering if I could get some help understanding Exodus. But firstly, some Genesis.

PART 1

• 17:20 – As for Ishmael, I have heard you; I will bless him and make him fruitful and exceedingly numerous; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.

What is this “great” nation? Yes the Arabs are descendants of Ishmael, but having descendants doesn’t make it a “great” nation. Remember, earlier in the Bible, God apparently says:

121-2 – Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

There is significance to the word. Which great nation came out of the Arabs?

PART 2

Who found Joseph in the well and sold him into slavery?

• 37:25-28 – Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

First it’s Ishmaelites, then it’s Midianites. Isn’t there a difference between these two peoples?

PART 3

Did the Israelites sell themselves into slavery due to the droughts in Egypt? This is towards the end of the book when the famine forces people to sell almost everything. I forgot the verses of references.

Now for Exodus.

PART 4

• 10:28-29 – Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take care that you do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” Moses said, “Just as you say! I will never see your face again.”

So Moses can no longer see Pharaoh due to the threat of capital punishment, and he agrees to this.

• 11:4-8 – Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: About midnight I will go out through Egypt. Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the female slave who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the livestock. Then there will be a loud cry throughout the whole land of Egypt, such as has never been or will ever be again. But not a dog shall growl at any of the Israelites—not at people, not at animals—so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. Then all these officials of yours shall come down to me, and bow low to me, saying, ‘Leave us, you and all the people who follow you.’ After that I will leave.” And in hot anger he left Pharaoh.

Has the threat been rescinded? Was Moses forgiven in whatever short interim took place between the occurrences of these sets of verses?

PART 5

• 32:20 – He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.

Why did Moses make them drink it? I’ve read that it was a trial by ordeal (those affected negatively by drinking are divinely outed as guilty). Where does this notion come from?

Thanks for your time.