Exodus 1:6-8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and that whole generation died.(A) 7 But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific. They multiplied and became so very numerous that the land was filled with them.[a]
The Oppression. 8 (B)Then a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph,[b] rose to power in Egypt.
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- 1:7 Fruitful…multiplied…the land was filled with them: the language used here to indicate the fecundity of the Israelite population echoes the divine blessing bestowed upon humanity at creation (Gn 1:28) and after the flood (Gn 9:1) as well as suggesting fulfillment of the promises to the ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gn 12:2; 13:16; 15:5; 28:14; passim).
- 1:8 Who knew nothing of Joseph: the nuance intended by the Hebrew verb “know” here goes beyond precise determination. The idea may be not simply that a new king came to power who had not heard of Joseph but that this king ignored the services that Joseph had rendered to Egypt, repudiating the special relationship that existed between Joseph and his predecessor on the throne.
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