Exodus 1
1
Israel Oppressed in Egypt
1These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his family: # Gn 46:8
2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;
3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;
4Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.
5The total number of Jacob’s descendants # Lit of people issuing from Jacob’s loins was 70; # LXX, DSS read 75 ; Gn 46:27; Ac 7:14 # Gn 46:26-27; Dt 10:22 Joseph was already in Egypt.
6Then Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died. # Gn 50:26 7But the Israelites were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous # Gn 12:2; 46:3; Dt 26:5; Ac 7:17 so that the land was filled with them.
8A new king, who had not known Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are. # Ps 105:24 10Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.” # Ps 83:3-4; Ac 7:19 11So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. # Gn 15:13; Ex 2:11; 3:7; 5:4-5; 6:6; Dt 26:6 They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities # Gn 47:11; 1Kg 9:19; 2Ch 8:4 for Pharaoh. 12But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread # Or Egyptians loathed the Israelites. 13They worked the Israelites ruthlessly # Dt 4:20 14and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them. # Ex 2:23; Nm 20:15; Ac 7:19
15Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16“When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. # Lit birth, look at the stones If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.” 17The Hebrew midwives, however, feared God # Ex 1:21; Pr 16:6 and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; # Dn 3:16-18; Ac 4:18-20; 5:29 they let the boys live. 18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live? ”
19The midwives said to Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife can get to them.” # Jos 2:4; 2Sm 17:20
20So God was good to the midwives, # Pr 11:18; Is 3:10 and the people multiplied and became very numerous. 21Since the midwives feared God, He gave them families. # 1Sm 2:35; 2Sm 7:11,27; 1Kg 11:38; Ps 127:1 22Pharaoh then commanded all his people: “You must throw every son born to the Hebrews # Sam, LXX, Tg; MT omits to the Hebrews into the Nile, but let every daughter live.” # Gn 41:1; Ac 7:19
Currently Selected:
Exodus 1: HCSB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
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.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International