This occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt — the beginning of the theological explanation for exile: Israel's sin against the LORD. The phrase "sinned against the LORD their God" (חָטְאוּ לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם, *chotau la-YHWH Elohehem*) invokes the covenant relationship: Israel is the LORD's people, brought out of Egypt through divine intervention. This foundational act of deliverance—the Exodus (יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, *yatza mi-Mitzrayim*)—establishes the basis for covenant obligation. Israel's exile represents not merely military defeat but covenant violation, the breaking of the relationship initiated by the Exodus.

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