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
Shemoth (Exodus) 1
1
1And these are the names of the children of Yisra’ĕl who came to Mitsrayim with Ya‛aqoḇ, each one with his household:
2Re’uḇĕn, Shim‛on, Lĕwi, and Yehuḏah;
3Yissasḵar, Zeḇulun, and Binyamin;
4Dan and Naphtali, Gaḏ and Ashĕr.
5And all those who were descendants of Ya‛aqoḇ were seventy beings, as Yosĕph was already in Mitsrayim.
6And Yosĕph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation.
7And the children of Yisra’ĕl were fruitful and increased very much, multiplied and became very strong, and the land was filled with them.
8Then a new sovereign arose over Mitsrayim, who did not know Yosĕph,
9and he said to his people, “See, the people of the children of Yisra’ĕl are more and stronger than we,
10come, let us act wisely towards them, lest they increase, and it shall be when fighting befalls us, that they shall join our enemies and fight against us, and shall go up out of the land.”
11So they set slave-masters over them to afflict them with their burdens, and they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Ra‛amses.
12But the more they afflicted them, the more they increased and grew, and they were in dread of the children of Yisra’ĕl.
13And the Mitsrites made the children of Yisra’ĕl serve with harshness,
14and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all kinds of work in the field, all their work which they made them do was with harshness.
15Then the sovereign of Mitsrayim spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Pu‛ah,
16and he said, “When you deliver the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death, but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
17But the midwives feared Elohim, and did not do as the sovereign of Mitsrayim commanded them, and kept the male children alive.
18So the sovereign of Mitsrayim called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and kept the male children alive?”
19And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Mitsrian women. For they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.”
20So Elohim was good to the midwives, and the people increased and became very numerous.
21And it came to be, because the midwives feared Elohim, that He provided households for them.
22And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Throw every son who is born into the river, and keep alive every daughter.”
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