Print Page Options Listen to Exodus 1

Israel’s Suffering in Egypt

Now (A)these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. All those [a]who were descendants of Jacob were (B)seventy[b] persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already). And (C)Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. (D)But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and [c]grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, (E)who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and (F)mightier than we; 10 (G)come, let us (H)deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them (I)to afflict them with their (J)burdens. And they built for Pharaoh (K)supply cities, Pithom (L)and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. 13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel (M)serve with [d]rigor. 14 And they (N)made their lives bitter with hard bondage—(O)in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.

15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the (P)Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; 16 and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a (Q)son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” 17 But the midwives (R)feared God, and did not do (S)as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?”

19 And (T)the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they [e]are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.”

20 (U)Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and [f]grew very mighty. 21 And so it was, because the midwives feared God, (V)that He [g]provided households for them.

22 So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, (W)“Every son who is [h]born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 1:5 Lit. who came from the loins of
  2. Exodus 1:5 DSS, LXX seventy-five; cf. Acts 7:14
  3. Exodus 1:7 became very numerous
  4. Exodus 1:13 harshness
  5. Exodus 1:19 have vigor of life, bear quickly, easily
  6. Exodus 1:20 became very numerous
  7. Exodus 1:21 gave them families
  8. Exodus 1:22 Sam., LXX, Tg. add to the Hebrews

Israel Multiplies in Egypt

Now these are the (A)names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came, each one [a]with his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. [b]All the people who descended from Jacob were (B)seventy [c]people, but Joseph was already in Egypt. And (C)Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. But the sons of Israel (D)were fruitful and [d]increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly [e]mighty, so that the land was filled with them.

Now a new (E)king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And (F)he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are [f]too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us (G)deal [g]shrewdly with them, otherwise they will multiply, and [h]in the event of war, they will also join those who hate us, and fight against us and [i]depart from the land.” 11 So they appointed (H)taskmasters over them to oppress them with [j](I)hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh (J)storage cities, Pithom and (K)Raamses. 12 But the more they oppressed them, (L)the more they multiplied and the more they [k]spread out, so that they dreaded the sons of Israel. 13 The Egyptians [l]used violence to compel the sons of Israel (M)to labor; 14 and they made (N)their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they violently had them perform as slaves.

15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom [m]was named Shiphrah, and the other [n]was named Puah; 16 and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, (O)if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” 17 But the midwives [o](P)feared God, and (Q)did not do as the king of Egypt had [p]commanded them, but let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife [q]can get to them.” 20 So (R)God was good to the midwives, and (S)the people multiplied, and became very [r]mighty. 21 And because the midwives [s](T)feared God, He [t](U)established [u]households for them. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “(V)Every son who is born, [v]you are to throw into (W)the Nile, but every daughter, you are to keep alive.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 1:1 Lit and
  2. Exodus 1:5 Lit Every soul
  3. Exodus 1:5 Lit souls
  4. Exodus 1:7 Lit swarmed
  5. Exodus 1:7 Or numerous
  6. Exodus 1:9 Or more and mightier than we
  7. Exodus 1:10 Or wisely
  8. Exodus 1:10 Lit it will come about when war occurs that
  9. Exodus 1:10 Lit go up from
  10. Exodus 1:11 Lit their burdens
  11. Exodus 1:12 Lit broke forth
  12. Exodus 1:13 Lit with violence compelled
  13. Exodus 1:15 Lit the name was
  14. Exodus 1:15 Lit the name was
  15. Exodus 1:17 Or revered
  16. Exodus 1:17 Lit spoken to
  17. Exodus 1:19 Lit comes to
  18. Exodus 1:20 Or numerous
  19. Exodus 1:21 Or revered
  20. Exodus 1:21 Lit made
  21. Exodus 1:21 Or families
  22. Exodus 1:22 Some ancient versions insert to the Hebrews

Israel Multiplies in Egypt

Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each came with his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. All the descendants of Jacob were seventy people; Joseph was [already] in Egypt. Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation, but the [a]Israelites were prolific and increased greatly; [b]they multiplied and became extremely strong, so that the land was filled with them.

[c]Now a new [d]king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph [nor the history of his accomplishments]. He said to his people, “Behold, the [e]people of the sons of Israel are too many and too mighty for us [they greatly outnumber us]. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, so that they will not multiply and in the event of war, join our enemies, and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 So they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with hard labor. And the sons of Israel built Pithom and Raamses as storage cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, so that the Egyptians dreaded and were exasperated by the Israelites. 13 And the Egyptians made the Israelites serve rigorously [forcing them into severe slavery]. 14 They made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar, brick, and all kinds of field work. All their labor was harsh and severe.

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah (beauty) and the other named Puah (splendor), 16 “When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God [with profound reverence] and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded, but they let the boy babies live. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and allowed the boy babies to live?” 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth quickly and their babies are born before the midwife can get to them.” 20 So God was good to the midwives, and the people [of Israel] multiplied and became very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God [with profound reverence], [f]He established families and households for them. 22 Then [g]Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born [to the Hebrews] must be thrown into the Nile, but every daughter you shall keep alive.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 1:7 In general, sons (children, descendants) of Israel or Israel or Israelites refers to all the people (males and females) of the various tribes descended from the twelve sons (Gen 35:23-26) of Jacob (later renamed Israel by God). In verses concerning things such as warfare or circumcision sons of Israel or Israel or Israelites usually refers only to the males. Tribes of ancient people were identified by the name of their founding ancestor. Therefore, this same general rule applies when referring to individual tribal groups, e.g. sons of Reuben, Reuben, Reubenites and so throughout.
  2. Exodus 1:7 Over two hundred years have passed since the death of Joseph.
  3. Exodus 1:8 The political attitude toward the Israelites living in Egypt changed from friendly and welcoming to suspicious and hostile, and Israel’s struggle for existence led to one of the most dramatic and memorable interventions that God would make in human history.
  4. Exodus 1:8 The identity of this pharaoh is uncertain. Some scholars think he was Ahmose I (1570-1546 b.c.), founder of the 18th dynasty of Egypt’s New Kingdom or Ahmose’s successor, Amenhotep I (1546-1525 b.c.). Others believe that this Pharaoh was one of the first of the Hyksos rulers; the Hyksos were foreign invaders.
  5. Exodus 1:9 This is the first record of the descendants of Israel (Jacob) being regarded as a separate nation (also see Gen 34:7 and note).
  6. Exodus 1:21 Lit made them houses.
  7. Exodus 1:22 If the early date of the exodus (1446 b.c.) is acknowledged, as most conservative scholars hold, then this pharaoh is likely Thutmose I (1525-1512 b.c.).

The Israelites Oppressed

These are the names of the sons of Israel(A) who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.(B) The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy[a] in all;(C) Joseph was already in Egypt.

Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,(D) but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers(E) and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.

Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.(F) “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous(G) for us.(H) 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly(I) with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”(J)

11 So they put slave masters(K) over them to oppress them with forced labor,(L) and they built Pithom and Rameses(M) as store cities(N) for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly.(O) 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor(P) in brick(Q) and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.(R)

15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives,(S) whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”(T) 17 The midwives, however, feared(U) God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do;(V) they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”(W)

20 So God was kind to the midwives(X) and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared(Y) God, he gave them families(Z) of their own.

22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile,(AA) but let every girl live.”(AB)

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 1:5 Masoretic Text (see also Gen. 46:27); Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint (see also Acts 7:14 and note at Gen. 46:27) seventy-five

Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,

Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,

Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.

And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:

10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:

14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.

18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?

19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.

20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.