Exodus 1
1
The Israelites Multiply in Egypt
(Genesis 46:7–27)
1These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family:
2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4Dan and Naphtali;
Gad and Asher.
5The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy #1:5 MT (see also Genesis 46:27); DSS and LXX (see also Acts 7:14) seventy-five in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt.
6Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.
Oppression by a New King
(Acts 7:15–19)
8Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9“Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us. 10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.#1:10 Or and take the country”
11So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.
13They worked the Israelites ruthlessly 14and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.
15Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16“When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”
17The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live. 18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
19The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”
20So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous. 21And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.
22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews #1:22 SP, LXX, and Targum Yonaton; Hebrew does not include to the Hebrews. you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”
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Exodus 1: BSB
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.
Exodus 1
1
Chapter 1
Israel's family go to Egypt
1Here are the names of the Israelites who went to Egypt with Jacob. #1:1 God gave Jacob a new name, ‘Israel’. See Genesis 32:28; 35:10. So Jacob's descendants were called Israelites. Each one went there with his family.
2Jacob's sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin, 4Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5Jacob himself had 70 descendants. His other son, Joseph, was already in Egypt.
6After some time, Joseph died. Joseph's brothers and all his generation also died. 7But the Israelites had many children, so they grew into a very large family. They became very powerful. They were everywhere in the whole country.
8Later, a new king began to rule in Egypt. He did not know anything about Joseph. #1:8 The new king did not know what had happened before. He did not know that Joseph had given food to the Egyptians in a time of famine. See Genesis 37—50. 9He said to his people, ‘Look! The Israelites have become too many for us. They are more powerful than we are. 10We must find a clever way to stop them. If we do nothing, their families will become even bigger. Then, if there is a war, they will join our enemies and they will fight against us. That will give the Israelites a chance to leave our country.’
11So the Egyptians made the Israelites work as their slaves. The Egyptian masters made the Israelites do very hard work. They had to build cities for the king, Pharaoh, where he could store food for his people. The names of the cities were Pithom and Rameses.
12The Egyptians made the Israelites work more and more. But the Israelites still became more in number. They had many children and they lived in every part of the country. Because of this, the Egyptians began to be afraid of them. 13So the Egyptians made the Israelites work without any rest. 14The Israelites became very upset because of all the difficult work. They had to build houses with bricks and mortar. #1:14 ‘mortar’ is a mixture of sand and other materials used to fix bricks together. They also did many different kinds of work in the fields. The Egyptians made the Israelites do all this difficult work.
15There were two Israelite women who helped the other women when they were giving birth. These two women were called Shiphrah and Puah. The king of Egypt said to them, 16‘When you help the Israelite women at the birth of their children, this is what you must do. If she gives birth to a son, kill him. But if the child is a daughter, you may let her live.’
17But the two women respected God. So they did not do what the king of Egypt had told them. They obeyed God and they let the boys live.
18Then the king of Egypt called the two women to come to him. He asked them, ‘Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?’ 19The two women said to Pharaoh, ‘Israelite women are not like Egyptian women. Israelite women are very strong. They give birth to their babies very quickly, before we arrive at the house.’
20Because the two women respected God, he was kind to them. The Israelite people continued to grow in number. They became very strong. 21Because the two women obeyed God, he gave them families of their own.
22Then Pharaoh spoke to all the Egyptian people. He said, ‘When an Israelite boy is born, you must throw him in the river Nile. But you can let the baby girls live.’
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