Why did the Hebrews view the Exodus as a crucial event?

A:The Hebrew people needed an explanation of where they came from and why they were in the land they occupied. They had early legends of how Yahweh, their God, came to them from the land of the Midianites, and these fitted in well with the concept of an Exodus of the Israelite people from Egypt. They began to believe their ancestors escaped in a grand Exodus from Egypt, to found a new nation under the guidance of their God.

The Hebrews began to see the Exodus as crucial not only in founding their nation but also in the founding of their religion.

A:It marked the transition of the Children of Israel from a clan to a nation.