This is the first fresco in the series of 3 Botticelli painted for Pope Sixtus IV for the Sistine Chapel. It is directly opposite the 3rd frescoe, the Temptation of Christ and itself deals with the theme of temptation.

Reading the painting from right to left it depicts Moses in a shining yellow garment striking an Egyptian overseer, his flight to the Midianites, the dispersal of shepherds who were preventing the daughters of Jethro form drawing water at the well. Following the devine revelation in the burning bush (top left) Moses leads the people of Israel in procession from slavery.