Introduction
The book of Exodus continues the story of the infant nation of Israel from where the book of Genesis ends.
The increasing numbers of Israelites cause problems.
Verses
1Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt (every man and his household came with Jacob):
2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5All the souls who came out of Jacob’s body were seventy souls, and Joseph was in Egypt already.
6Joseph died, as did all his brothers, and all that generation.
7The children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who didn’t know Joseph.
9He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we.
10Come, let’s deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it happen that when any war breaks out, they also join themselves to our enemies and fight against us, and escape out of the land.”
11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses.
12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. They started to dread the children of Israel.
13The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve,
14and they made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of service in the field, all their service, in which they ruthlessly made them serve.
15The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah,
16and he said, “When you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stool, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
17But the midwives feared God, and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive.
18The king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this thing and saved the boys alive?”
19The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigourous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
20God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty.
21Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
22Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
Questions
1. What did the new king of Egypt fear from the children of Israel?
v 10 ... lest they multiply, and it happen that when any war breaks out, they also join themselves to our enemies and fight against us, and escape out of the land.”
2. What excuse did the midwives make for the survival of the Hebrews' baby boys?
v 19 ... the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigourous and give birth before the midwife comes to them."
3. To whom did Pharaoh shift the responsibility of killing the baby boys?
v 22 Pharaoh commanded all his people ...
Summary Points
- v 1 to 7 All of Joseph's contemporaries die and Jacob's family dramatically increases in numbers
- v 8 to 14 A new king becomes concerned about the numbers of Israelites. He makes them slaves and they build the cities of Pithom and Raamses
- v 15 to 22 The Hebrew midwives ignore Pharoah's order to kill all baby boys. As a result God blesses the midwives by giving them families. Pharaoh then orders all his people to throw the Hebrew baby boys into the river
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