In his 2022 "Theory of Liberation", Christoph Menke develops the idea that the connection between freedom and self-consciousness, which is particularly powerful in modern thought, results in a complex relationship between freedom and bondage. On the one hand, liberation is the movement that enables a critique of bondage; on the other hand, freedom in its unity with self-consciousness is the starting point for the development of domination. Menke sees an alternative to this dilemma of liberation in the exodus. In the desert as a "place where one cannot act" and prompted by the confrontation with the burning bush as a moment of extreme fascination, freedom is detached from its connection with consciousness and is instead tied to experience. Based on this figure of thought, Menke's reading of the exodus narrative ultimately develops an account of the relationship between heteronomy and autonomy that is stimulating in many respects. Based on Menke's reflections, the paper shows how the examination of a biblical narrative provokes the socio-philosophical reconceptualization of freedom as liberation and equips it with thought figures.