7 And the children of Israel were fertile, increasing very greatly in numbers and in power; and the land was full of them.
And he said, I am God, the God of your father: go down to Egypt without fear, for I will make a great nation of you there:
And these are the words which you will say before the Lord your God: My father was a wandering Aramaean, and he went down with a small number of people into Egypt; there he became a great and strong nation:
And God said to him, I am God, the Ruler of all: be fertile, and have increase; a nation, truly a group of nations, will come from you, and kings will be your offspring;
And I will make of you a great nation, blessing you and making your name great; and you will be a blessing:
Your fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you like the stars of heaven in number.
And said to me, Truly, I will make you fertile and give you increase and will make of you a great family of nations: and I will give this land to your seed after you to be their heritage for ever.
And may God, the Ruler of all, give you his blessing, giving you fruit and increase, so that you may become an army of peoples. And may God give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed, so that the land of your wanderings, which God gave to Abraham, may be your heritage.
And God gave his blessing to Noah and his sons, and said, Be fertile, and have increase, and make the earth full.
And God gave them his blessing and said to them, Be fertile and have increase, and make the earth full and be masters of it; be rulers over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing moving on the earth.
And his people were greatly increased, and became stronger than those who were against them.
Your seed will be like the dust of the earth, covering all the land to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south: you and your seed will be a name of blessing to all the families of the earth.
And I will give her a blessing so that you will have a son by her: truly my blessing will be on her, and she will be the mother of nations: kings of peoples will be her offspring.
As for me, my agreement is made with you, and you will be the father of nations without end. No longer will your name be Abram, but Abraham, for I have made you the father of a number of nations. I will make you very fertile, so that nations will come from you and kings will be your offspring.
And God said, Let the waters be full of living things, and let birds be in flight over the earth under the arch of heaven.
And he took him out into the open air, and said to him, Let your eyes be lifted to heaven, and see if the stars may be numbered; even so will your seed be.
The angel who has been my saviour from all evil, send his blessing on these children: and let my name and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, be given to them; and let them become a great nation in the earth.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 1
Commentary on Exodus 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Second Book of Moses, Called Exodus
Chapter 1
We have here,
Exd 1:1-7
In these verses we have,
Exd 1:8-14
The land of Egypt here, at length, becomes to Israel a house of bondage, though hitherto it had been a happy shelter and settlement for them. Note, The place of our satisfaction may soon become the place of our affliction, and that may prove the greatest cross to us of which we said, This same shall comfort us. Those may prove our sworn enemies whose parents were our faithful friends; nay, the same persons that loved us may possibly turn to hate us: therefore cease from man, and say not concerning any place on this side heaven, This is my rest for ever. Observe here,
Exd 1:15-22
The Egyptians' indignation at Israel's increase, notwithstanding the many hardships they put upon them, drove them at length to the most barbarous and inhuman methods of suppressing them, by the murder of their children. It was strange that they did not rather pick quarrels with the grown men, against whom they might perhaps find some occasion: to be thus bloody towards the infants, whom all must own to be innocents, was a sin which they had to cloak for. Note,