Exodus 1
1
Jacob’s Family in Egypt
1When Jacob (Israel) went to Egypt, his sons and their families went with him. Here are the names of those sons: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, 4Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5Another son, Joseph, was already in Egypt. So Jacob’s whole family was with him in Egypt—70 descendants in all.
6Later, Joseph, his brothers, and all the people of that generation died. 7But the Israelites had many children, and their number grew until the country of Egypt was filled with them.
Trouble for the Israelites
8Then a new king began to rule Egypt. He did not know Joseph. 9This king said to his people, “Look at the Israelites. There are too many of them, and they are stronger than we are! 10We must make plans to stop them from growing stronger. If there is a war, they might join our enemies, defeat us, and escape from the land!”
11The Egyptians decided to make life hard for the Israelites, so they put slave masters over the people. These masters forced the Israelites to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses for the king. The king used these cities to store grain and other things.
12The Egyptians forced the Israelites to work harder and harder. But the harder they worked, the more they grew and spread, and the more the Egyptians became afraid of them. 13So the Egyptians made them work even harder.
14They made life hard for the Israelites. They forced the Israelites to work hard at making bricks and mortar and to work hard in the fields. The Egyptians showed no mercy in all the hard work they made the Israelites do!
The Nurses Who Followed God
15There were two Hebrew#1:15 Hebrew Or “Israelite.” This name might also mean “descendants of Eber” (read Gen. 10:25–31) or “people from beyond the Euphrates River.” Also in verse 19. nurses who helped the Israelite women give birth. They were named Shiphrah and Puah. The king of Egypt said to the nurses, 16“You will continue to help the Hebrew women give birth to their children. If a girl baby is born, let the baby live. But if the baby is a boy, you must kill him!”
17But the nurses trusted#1:17 trusted Literally, “feared” or “respected.” Also in verses 20-21. God, so they did not obey the king’s command. They let all the baby boys live.
18The king of Egypt called for the nurses and asked them, “Why did you do this? Why did you let the baby boys live?”
19The nurses said to the king, “The Hebrew women are much stronger than the Egyptian women. They give birth to their babies before we can go to help them.” 20-21The nurses trusted God, so he was good to them and allowed them to have their own families.
The Hebrews continued to have more children, and they became very strong. 22So Pharaoh gave this command to his own people: “If the Hebrew women give birth to a baby girl, let it live. But if they have a baby boy, you must throw it into the Nile River.”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Shemot 1
1
[SHEMOS]
1Now these are the Shemot Bnei Yisroel, which came into Mitzrayim; every ish and his bais came with Ya'akov:
2Reuven, Shim'on, Levi, and Yehudah,
3Yissakhar, Zevulun, and Binyamin,
4Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5And all the nefesh that came out of the loins of Ya'akov were seventy nefesh; for Yosef was in Mitzrayim already.
6And Yosef died, and all his achim, and all that generation.
7And the Bnei Yisroel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and became exceeding strong; and the land was filled with them.
8Now there arose a melech chadash over Mitzrayim, which had no da'as of Yosef.
9And he said unto his people, Hinei, the Am Bnei Yisroel are more and stronger than we.
10Come, let us outsmart them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any milchamah, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
11Therefore they did set over them sarei missim (taskmasters) to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pitom and Ra'meses.
12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and spread out. And they were in dread because of the Bnei Yisroel.
13And the Egyptians made the Bnei Yisroel to serve with rigor;
14And they made their lives bitter with avodah kashah (hard bondage), in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of avodah in the sadeh; all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor.
15And Melech Mitzrayim spoke to the meyalledot HaIvriyyot (Hebrew midwives), of which the shem of the one was Shiphrah, and of the other Puah;
16And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to HaIvriyyot (the Hebrew women) and see them upon the delivery stool; if it be a ben, then ye shall kill him; but if it be a bat, then she shall live.
17But the meyalledot feared HaElohim, and did not as Melech Mitzrayim commanded them, but saved the yeladim alive.
18So Melech Mitzrayim called for the meyalledot, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the yeladim alive?
19And the meyalledot said unto Pharaoh, Because HaIvriyyot are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and are delivered before the meyalledot come in unto them.
20Therefore Elohim dealt well with the meyalledot; and the people multiplied, and grew very strong.
21And it came to pass, because the meyalledot feared HaElohim, that He established them batim.
22And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every ben that is born ye shall cast into the Nile, and every bat ye shall save alive.
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.