The lives of Joseph and Moses began and ended during the centuries in which the Hebrews dwelled in Egypt. Volume Two collects legends about that long stay and its descent from refuge to slavery.

"Nothing better illustrates the odd intimacy of the Bible and interpretation than Legends of the Jews, a seven volume set of biblical interpretations that was compiled by the famous Judaic scholar Louis Ginzburg nine decades ago, and that remains unsurpassed and indispensable today."