Back to: CODE 102: THE BOOK OF EXODUS
Exodus Chapter 1
Verses 1-7: The book begins with the very words of (Genesis 46:8), which is in the context of God’s promise to Israel (Jacob): “Fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee … and I will also surely bring thee up” (Gen. 46:3-4). These verses relate information contained (in Genesis 35:22-26; 46:27; and 50:26). All of the tribes are represented as going down into Egypt.
The opening verses of Exodus provide context for Moses’ like: the “children of Israel” were in “Egypt” because the family of “Jacob” had been led there by the providence of God (Genesis Chapters 37-50).
From 1:1 – 12:36: These scriptures recount Israel’s final years in Egypt before the Exodus.
Exodus 1:1 “Now these [are] the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.”
“Egypt” was overrun by the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period (1786-1550 B.C.). Thus, there arose a “new king over Egypt” who not only “knew not Joseph” but viewed the Israelites as “more and mightier that we.” By 1550 B.C. the Hyksos were expelled by Ahmose, who ushered in the Eighteenth Dynasty (during which names ending with “mose” became popular), and the New Kingdom Period (1550-1070 B.C.). During the early phase of the New Kingdom Period, Egypt reached its greatest heights of military and political power under Thutmose III while Moses was in exile in Midian. When Moses finally returned to Egypt, Amen-Hotep II was on the throne and became the Pharaoh of the Exodus.
One man’s (Jacob), family came into Egypt and grew into the nation of Israel. Joseph and his family were already in Egypt, and his father and eleven brothers and their families fled the famine and came to Egypt where there was food. Because they were of Joseph’s family, the then currently reigning Pharaoh treated them royally.
Joseph had led Egypt into a food storage program which not only saved Egypt, but saved his family as well. The Pharaoh had welcomed Joseph’s family and gave them land to dwell on. The wealth that Joseph had brought to Egypt was soon forgotten; and when the Pharaoh died, the new Pharaoh became afraid of the Israelites and made slaves of them in Goshen to keep them from overthrowing the Egyptian government.
Exodus 1:2 “Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,”
These are the first sons of Jacob by Leah.
We see Reuben mentioned first, because he was the oldest son. Reuben displeased his father greatly when he practiced incest with his father’s concubine, Bilhah. This is a terrible sin, and Reuben was disinherited for this sin (Genesis 35:22).
Exodus 1:3 “Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,”
The sons of the legitimate wives are placed first, then those of the concubines. Leah has precedence over Rachel; Bilhah over Zilpah. The children of each wife and concubine are given in order of seniority. The omission of Joseph from the list is explained in the last part of Exodus 1:5.
“And Benjamin”, who, though youngest of all, is placed before Dan, Naphtali, etc., because they were the children of the hand-maidens.
Exodus 1:4 “Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.”
Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, are last mentioned, being sons of the concubine wives.
Exodus 1:5 “And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt [already].”
The number “Seventy” agrees with (Genesis 46:27 and Deut. 10:22; but the Septuagint and Acts 7:14 have 75). The Dead Sea materials also agree with the Septuagint. The number 66 (in Genesis 46:26), do not include Joseph and his two sons, and Moses likely added these later, making 70.
Acts 7:14 reports 75 with the addition of 5 relatives of Joseph included in the LXX, but not the Hebrew text.
This is just speaking of the families of Jacob and his sons and their families in Egypt. We remember from the lessons in Genesis that Joseph realized that his being sold into Egypt was part of God’s plan for the provision of the covenant people.
Joseph’s name is excluded because he was already in Egypt. You remember from Genesis that his brothers had sold him as a slave. The servant girls’ children were listed last. In fact, Leah’s children were even named before Rachel’s child, because Leah was Jacob’s first wife.
Verses 6-8: This summary of a lengthy period of time moves the record from the death of Joseph (1804 B.C.). The last recorded event in Genesis, to the radical change in Israel’s history, i.e., from favor before Egypt’s pharaoh to disfavor and enslavement (1525-1445 B.C.).
Exodus 1:6 “And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.”
Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation’; but Jesus lives, and therefore His people ‘grow and multiply,’ and His servants’ work is blessed. And at the end they shall be knit together in the common joy of the great harvest, and of the day when the headstone is brought forth with shoutings of “Grace”! Grace unto it.
They were to be 430 years in Egypt, and all of the 12 brothers had died and now a new generation was carrying on in the place of their fathers.
Exodus 1:7 “And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.”
This verse sounds like (Genesis 1:28; 9:1; 12:2; 17:2, 6; 22:17; 26:4; 28:14 and 48:4). This was visible evidence of God’s blessing and the fulfilling of His promises.
About 603,550 men of fighting age left Egypt (Num. 1:46). Factoring in older men, women, children and the infirm, the total number of Hebrew people was probably about 2.5 million people by this time. The children of Israel had truly “multiplied” in the 370 years or so since Jacob and his family of 70 had arrived in the land.
The seed of Abraham was no longer an extended family, but a nation. The promise that his descendants would be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 35:11-12), had indeed been fulfilled in Egypt.
God’s blessings were not just material in nature. Children are blessings from God. The Hebrews believed that many children meant that God has blessed you abundantly. They believed it was a curse not to have children. They were no threat to the Egyptians when there were just 70 people, but now that they were near 2-1/2 million, it is a totally different story.
Verses 8-11: Nearly 400 years of history are summarized in these verses which represented a line of pharaohs not just one. The “new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph was likely one of the pharaohs during the Hyksos takeover. Even after Egypt’s native rulers returned to power, the Hebrew people were no longer honored in memory of Joseph.
Exodus 1:8 “Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.”
“Now there arose up a new king over Egypt” has been interpreted various ways. Some take the new king to be a native Egyptian, possibly one of the New Kingdom Pharaohs such as Ahmose (1570-1545 B.C.), who founded the Eighteenth Dynasty and expelled the Hyksos from Egypt. However, the Hebrew verb “qum” followed by the preposition “al” often has the meaning “to rise against,” (as in Deut. 19:11; 28:7; Judges 9:18; 20:5; Sam. 18:31; 2 Kings 16:7), and it really never conveys the idea of assuming the throne in a peaceful manner.
This probably was a Hyksos king, since the Hyksos came forcefully into Egypt between 1720 and 1700 B.C., and were expelled about 1570 B.C. This would better fit the time in which Jacob came down to Egypt, 430 years before the Exodus (Exodus 12:40), thus entering Egypt about 1877 B.C. (compare Gen. 15:13 and its four hundred years). Joseph would have served during the reigns of Sesostris II (1897-1878 B.C.), and Sesostris III (1878-1842 B.C.), and died about 1805 B.C.
The Hyksos may well have had reason to hate the descendants of Jacob because of the episode at Shechem (Gen. 34), and Jacob’s later conflicting with the Amorites (Gen. 48:22). The Amorites were one of the main elements of the Hyksos people.
The statement that they “Knew not Joseph” indicates their contempt for Joseph’s previously privileged status next to Pharaoh and the divine blessings that accrued to the people of Israel as a result of this. Note a similar action on the part of a native Egyptian (in 5:2), directed toward Yahweh and submitting to Him.
As we said, as long as Joseph was alive, the Pharaoh remembered what he (Joseph), had done for Egypt. With the new leader, there was no memory of this. He had not known Joseph, and he had not lived during the famine. And he felt no obligation to this mass of foreigners living in his land.
Verses 9-12: This is another summary of a lengthy period of time, as indicated by the population continuing to grow in spite of increasing hardship imposed on Israel.
Exodus 1:9 “And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel [are] more and mightier than we:”
“His people”: An Egyptian pharaoh designated Israel as a nation, marking the first time the term “people” or “nation” is used of them.
It is very unlikely that a native Egyptian king could have said, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we”. The Hyksos may well have had reason to hate the descendants of Jacob because of the episode at Shechem (Gen. 34), and Jacob’s later conflicting with the Amorites (Gen. 48:22). The Amorites were one of the main elements of the Hyksos people.
Verses 10-11: “Join … unto our enemies … set over them taskmasters”: Israel was assessed both as a threat to national security and as an economic asset, slavery would therefore control the danger and maximize their usefulness.
Exodus 1:10 “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.”
Here we see fear gripping this new ruler. These Israelites were growing in such numbers that he actually feared that they would overthrow the Egyptian government. He believed that they might even join in with Egypt’s enemies and turn against Egypt; after all, they were foreigners. He wanted to be sure this will not happen. We will see in the next few verses that this monarch believed if he could work them enough, they would stop multiplying and would be too worn out to mount up against the government.
Verses 11-22: Three unsuccessful methods were used to limit the exploding population growth of the Hebrews: (1) working the Hebrews to exhaustion and even to death; (2) commanding the “Hebrew midwives” to commit infanticide; (3) selective annihilation, with baby boys being cast into the River Nile while baby girls were spared.
Exodus 1:11 “Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.”
“Treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses”: These were places where both provisions and military hardware were stored. Archeological identification has not been finally definitive, with some 3 to 5 options being put forward for them. Pithom is usually taken as a center of solar worship in northern Egypt, and Raamses as Qantir in the eastern delta region. In addition, the city might very well have been renamed under the reign of the later, powerful Pharaoh, and that name was better known to Israel later (compare the case of Laish or Leshem, renamed Dan in Genesis 14:14; Joshua 19:47 and Judges 18:29).
This meant that they were forced to labor for the government by cruel overseers. These treasure cities were encampments of war materials handy to be used to squelch any and all attacks that came against Egypt. The word “Pithom” means abode of the sun. Some believe that the miracles of Moses took place in this same Raamses. This forced labor, as we said, was to keep them worn out so they could not fight against Egypt. This ruler in Egypt was also using this free labor to build mighty monuments.
We will see as we go on in this book of Exodus, how we Christians were in bondage to the world of sin before our Deliverer comes and sets us free. This cruel ruler here afflicting these people (physical Israel), shows us of our great affliction by Satan until we receive the free gift of salvation through our Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Exodus 1:12 “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.”
This result was not natural. It can only be ascribed to God’s superintending Providence, whereby “the fierceness of man” was made to “turn to his praise.” Naturally, severe and constant labor exhausts a nation, and causes its numbers to diminish.
“They were grieved”: This is scarcely strong enough. Translated, the Egyptians “They were sore distressed” as the numbers of the Israelites grew and they feared they would become too strong for them.
This word “grieved” here actually means they greatly feared the Israelites. It is very strange how many times God will send many children to those who are oppressed. It is as if it is to compensate for the lack in their lives. Poor families, even today, have more children that the wealthy.
Exodus 1:13 “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:”
“The Egyptians”: The naïve inhabitants continued to enslave Israel. Between verses 12 and 13 a major change in Egyptian history took place, the Hyksos were driven out (ca. 1570 B.C.).
Possibly these Egyptians here were under the reign of Ahmose I.
Here we see the anger of the Egyptians toward Joseph’s family shows up in the degree of hardship they bring to them.
Exodus 1:14 “And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, [was] with rigor.”
“Bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick”: Archeologists have uncovered reliefs and painting confirming the Egyptian practice of imposing forced labor on prisoners and slaves. These paintings also show foremen and guards watching construction work while scribes registered data on tablets.
We see work beyond the normal. Perhaps instead of working 8 hours a day, the work was probably extended from sunup to sundown, and in Egypt it is very hot. Perhaps they were also required to carry heavy bricks all day in this heat.
Verses 15-22: “Shiphrah” and “Puah” were possibly leaders of the guild of midwives who refused to commit infanticide, fearing the real King more than their earthly ruler (Luke 12:4-5; Acts 5:29). These women were likely Egyptians who came to faith in Yahweh and were included in Israel (He provided households for them).
Exodus 1:15 “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:”
This Pharaoh would be Amenhotep I (1545-1525 B.C.), who commanded the midwives to kill the Hebrew boys (verses 15-22), being succeeded by Thutmose I (1525-1508 B.C.), who commanded the Hebrew boys to be thrown into the Nile (verse 22).
These Pharaohs, like their spiritual predecessors Cain and Esau, and like their successors Haman and Herod, were tolls of Satan for the attempted destruction of the Seed of the Woman. But God providentially overruled their wicked plans and thus preserved the Messiah’s line.
These midwives were like doctors of today. They assisted in the birth of a child. This is an old profession, and many women prefer them over a conventional doctor even today.
“Shiphrah” seems to be a Hebrew name, and it means elegant or beautiful.
“Puah” means one who cries out.
Exodus 1:16 “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.”
The failure of rigorous bondage to suppress population growth necessitated that different measures were taken; hence, the royal order to the Hebrew midwives to murder male infants at birth.
“Stools”: Literally “two stones” on which the women sat to deliver.
Their function was to save lives, but here we see the king ordering them to destroy all the boy babies. The stool mentioned here is a special chair built for the purpose of child birth. We know the midwife would be the first to see the child and would have the opportunity to kill the baby. Here the king gave them a mandate. Disobeying the king could cause them to lose their heads. If these were Hebrew midwives, it is totally opposed to their respect for life. As we have said before, children were believed to be blessings from God and should not be destroyed.
Exodus 1:17 “But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.”
“The midwives feared God”: These brave, older women reverenced their God and thus obeyed Him and not man. They obviously understood that children were a gift from God and that murder was wrong. The two midwives mentioned by name were probably the leading representatives of their profession, for it is unlikely that such a burgeoning population had only two midwives to deal with all the births.
“And did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive”: If they truly had not made even one Hebrew male delivery during the months of Pharaoh’s murderous program, then their response would have been laudable and justified by Old Testament ethics. However, if they were partially truthful and partially lying, they were just as blameworthy as Rahab, Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob was where when they lied.
In verse 17, we see a strong statement indicating that these midwives feared God. This almost certainly makes them Hebrew, because Egyptians knew little about the real God. We see numerous Scriptures throughout the Bible telling us to obey those in government, but we see a higher law than the government. We must not break God’s law to obey government. We are subject to the law of the land and should be good citizens, but if in so doing we break God’s law, we must first obey God.
Exodus 1:18 “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?”
Perceiving by the increase of the Israelites; that they did not obey his commands.
“And said unto them, why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?” Not only did not kill them, but did everything for them that were necessary for their future preservation and health (see Ezek. 16:4).
The anger of the king had been kindled toward these midwives.
Verses 19-20: Rather than trying to argue for a justifiable lie on the part of midwives seeking to protect God’s people, take it as a statement of what was true: God was directly involved in this affair of birth and national growth. That’s the key to understanding why no decree of Pharaoh would work out as he intended, and why Hebrew women were so healthy and gave birth with ease.
Exodus 1:19 “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.”
The statement by the midwives: “Because the Hebrew women [are] not as the Egyptian women; for they [are] lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them” is probably a lie in light of the statement (in verse 17); “and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive”.
Here we see midwives facing their death, because they will not kill these boy babies. This is the very thing martyrs are made of. They were unwilling to go against what they believe, even if they know they would be killed for their stand they have taken. They not only were brave, but were smart as well. This was probably the only excuse that Pharaoh would believe.
Exodus 1:20 “Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.”
If they truly had not made even one Hebrew male delivery during the months of Pharaoh’s murderous program, then their response would have been laudable and justified by Old Testament ethics. However, if they were partially truthful and partially lying, they were just as blameworthy as Rahab, Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob was when they lied.
It appears from this Scriptures above, that God probably softened the heart of the Pharaoh and caused him not to punish the midwives. God controls all people, not just the ones who have decided to follow Him. We see that Pharaoh’s plan backfired on him and that multiplying of the people went on without Pharaoh’s blessing.
Exodus 1:21 “And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.”
The juxtaposition of the account of their lie to Pharaoh with the statement that God dealt well with them in verse 20 might appear to imply an endorsement of their lie. But this suspicion cannot be sustained in the text, for twice it attributes the reason for God’s blessing them the fact that they “feared [believed] “God”
Whether this means physical houses or whether this means God blessed them with a family, we really do not know; but whatever it was, it is a blessing abundantly from God. God overlooked them lying to the Pharaoh because they took no thought for themselves in sparing these babies’ lives.
Exodus 1:22 “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.”
The failure of the extermination program demanded of the midwives finally caused Pharaoh to demand that all his subjects get involved in murdering newborn boys.
This was like human sacrifice. The Nile River was worshipped by the Egyptians. These Egyptian people would see the day when they would regret the murdering of these babies, for the tenth plague would kill their firstborn.