The Haggadah has long been in development the since initial concept originated in the Bible. The purpose of the Haggadah is based on the biblical requirement that, "Thou shall tell thy son on that day, saying: It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth from Egypt." (Ex. 13:8, in Goodman, 71)). It is derived from this that one must therefore recount the exodus from Egypt every year on its anniversary. The oldest part of the Haggadah is Psalms 113 and 114, believed to have been sung by the Leviim in the Passover rites observed before the Ptolemaic period, while under Persian rule. Most of the Haggadah that is used today was formed around 200 C.E., and is detailed in the Mishna, though substantial additions were made in the following centuries (Goodman, 70-72). The text of the Haggadah was compiled based on attitudes of the times. New items were added to reflect the Jews attitudes towards their current situation and their relationships with themselves and others at various times. As a result, while the entire Haggadah tells one story, the process by which it came together tells another.
             Originally, the Haggadah was a thanksgiving to G-d for redemption from Egypt. In Temple times the focus became a thanks for acquiring Israel. After the destruction of the second Temple, it became a prayer for ultimate redemption ("Haggadah, Passover"). During the third century B.C.E. Palestine was under the rule of Egypt, and the feelings of the Jews towards this situation is reflected in the opening phrase of the Maggid section of the Haggadah, "We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt..." About 175 B.C.E., when High Priest Jason saw that this could be interpreted to imply that the Jews originated in Egypt, he composed an alternate opening, "In the beginning out ancestors were idolaters..." This affirmed that the Jews were from Mesopotamia and not a p
             ...