[8] In the right foreground, Moses, near the end of his life, is depicted laying his hand on Joshua and commissioning him to lead the Israelites (Numbers 27:18–23).

[10] The semi-nude youth on the left with his back to the viewer contorts his body to grip the arm of a seated female while holding a bundle of unleavened bread on his head.

His exaggerated thrust of the hip and raised arm are common mannerist motifs and one leg crossed behind the other is a signature pose of Bronzino's.

[13] Reflecting on these idealized yet emotionally detached figures taking their inspiration from previous work, art historian Arthur McComb wrote:[14] It is hard to believe that we are here in a company of harassed Jews fleeing from slavery.

The sea to which these creatures of a marble formality have come is icy and still, and the arctic impression is borne out by color of a boreal coolness.The damage to the fresco has obliterated much of the scene portraying the Hebrews preparing to leave Egypt.

An anonymous engraving based on Bronzino's work that was published by Hieronymus Cock shortly after the fresco was completed includes the missing details.

If these details accurately represent Bronzino's work, the scene depicts the standing youth encouraging two nursing mothers to rise up and begin the exodus.

[15] Based on this evidence, art historian Janet Cox-Rearick has suggested that the ornate silver urn and gold basin in the foreground represent the Egyptian treasure the Hebrews took with them as they hastily prepared to leave.

A red Egyptian banner in the left background shows a portion of the coat of arms of the Strozzi family, one of the principal factions opposed to Medici rule.

[22] It has also been posited that the man kneeling in front of Moses in the right foreground is Eleanor's father, Don Pedro de Toledo.