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 rigor:
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.
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.
11 Therefore they did set H7760 over them taskmasters H4522 H8269 to afflict H6031 them with their burdens. H5450 And they built H1129 for Pharaoh H6547 treasure H4543 cities, H5892 Pithom H6619 and Raamses. H7486
12 But the more they afflicted H6031 them, the more H3651 they multiplied H7235 and grew. H6555 And they were grieved H6973 because H6440 of the children H1121 of Israel. H3478
13 And the Egyptians H4714 made H5647 the children H1121 of Israel H3478 to serve H5647 with rigour: H6531
14 And they made H4843 their lives H2416 bitter H4843 with hard H7186 bondage, H5656 in morter, H2563 and in brick, H3843 and in all manner of service H5656 in the field: H7704 all their service, H5656 wherein they made them serve, H5647 was with rigour. H6531
15 And the king H4428 of Egypt H4714 spake H559 to the Hebrew H5680 midwives, H3205 of which the name H8034 of the one H259 was Shiphrah, H8236 and the name H8034 of the other H8145 Puah: H6326
16 And he said, H559 When ye do the office of a midwife H3205 to the Hebrew women, H5680 and see H7200 them upon the stools; H70 if it be a son, H1121 then ye shall kill H4191 him: but if it be a daughter, H1323 then she shall live. H2425
17 But the midwives H3205 feared H3372 God, H430 and did H6213 not as the king H4428 of Egypt H4714 commanded H1696 them, but saved H2421 the men children H3206 alive. H2421
18 And the king H4428 of Egypt H4714 called H7121 for the midwives, H3205 and said H559 unto them, Why H4069 have ye done H6213 this thing, H1697 and have saved H2421 the men children H3206 alive? H2421
19 And the midwives H3205 said H559 unto Pharaoh, H6547 Because the Hebrew H5680 women H802 are not as the Egyptian women; H4713 for they are lively, H2422 and are delivered H3205 ere H2962 the midwives H3205 come in H935 unto them.
20 Therefore God H430 dealt well H3190 with the midwives: H3205 and the people H5971 multiplied, H7235 and waxed very H3966 mighty. H6105
21 And it came to pass, because the midwives H3205 feared H3372 God, H430 that he made H6213 them houses. H1004
22 And Pharaoh H6547 charged H6680 all his people, H5971 saying, H559 Every son H1121 that is born H3209 ye shall cast H7993 into the river, H2975 and every daughter H1323 ye shall save alive. H2421
11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:
14 and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field, all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor.
15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of whom 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 birth-stool; 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 midwife come unto them.
20 And 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 households.
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.
11 And they set over it princes of tribute, so as to afflict it with their burdens, and it buildeth store-cities for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses;
12 and as they afflict it, so it multiplieth, and so it breaketh forth, and they are vexed because of the sons of Israel;
13 and the Egyptians cause the sons of Israel to serve with rigour,
14 and make their lives bitter in hard service, in clay, and in brick, and in every `kind' of service in the field; all their service in which they have served `is' with rigour.
15 And the king of Egypt speaketh to the midwives, the Hebrewesses, (of whom the name of the one `is' Shiphrah, and the name of the second Puah),
16 and saith, `When ye cause the Hebrew women to bear, and have looked on the children; if it `is' a son -- then ye have put him to death; and if it `is' a daughter -- then she hath lived.'
17 And the midwives fear God, and have not done as the king of Egypt hath spoken unto them, and keep the lads alive;
18 and the king of Egypt calleth for the midwives, and saith to them, `Wherefore have ye done this thing, and keep the lads alive?'
19 And the midwives say unto Pharaoh, `Because the Hebrew women `are' not as the Egyptian women, for they `are' lively; before the midwife cometh in unto them -- they have borne!'
20 And God doth good to the midwives, and the people multiply, and are very mighty;
21 and it cometh to pass, because the midwives have feared God, that He maketh for them households;
22 and Pharaoh layeth a charge on all his people, saying, `Every son who is born -- into the River ye do cast him, and every daughter ye do keep alive.'
11 And they set over them service-masters to oppress them with their burdens. And they built store-cities for Pharaoh, Pithom and Rameses.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and spread; and they were distressed because of the children of Israel.
13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with harshness;
14 and they embittered their life with hard labour in clay and bricks, and in all manner of labour in the field: all their labour with which they made them serve was with harshness.
15 And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives -- of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other was Puah --
16 and he said, When ye help the Hebrew women in bearing, and see [them] on the stool, if it be a son, then ye shall kill him, but if a daughter, then she shall live.
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt had said to them, but saved the male children alive.
18 And the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, Why have ye done this, and saved the male children alive?
19 And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian; for they are strong, and they have borne before the midwife comes to them.
20 And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong.
21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
22 Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, but every daughter ye shall save alive.
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. They were grieved because of the children of Israel.
13 The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve,
14 and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field, all their service, in which they ruthlessly made them serve.
15 The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah,
16 and 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."
17 But the midwives feared God, and didn't do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive.
18 The king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, "Why have you done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive?"
19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women aren't like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and give birth before the midwife comes to them."
20 God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty.
21 It happened, because the midwives feared God, that he gave them families.
22 Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, "You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive."
11 So they put overseers of forced work over them, in order to make their strength less by the weight of their work. And they made store-towns for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses.
12 But the more cruel they were to them, the more their number increased, till all the land was full of them. And the children of Israel were hated by the Egyptians.
13 And they gave the children of Israel even harder work to do:
14 And made their lives bitter with hard work, making building-material and bricks, and doing all sorts of work in the fields under the hardest conditions.
15 And the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew women who gave help at the time of childbirth (the name of the one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah),
16 When you are looking after the Hebrew women in childbirth, if it is a son you are to put him to death; but if it is a daughter, she may go on living.
17 But the women had the fear of God, and did not do as the king of Egypt said, but let the male children go on living.
18 And the king of Egypt sent for the women, and said to them, Why have you done this, and let the male children go on living?
19 And they said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are strong, and the birth takes place before we come to them.
20 And the blessing of God was on these women: and the people were increased in number and became very strong.
21 And because the women who took care of the Hebrew mothers had the fear of God, he gave them families.
22 And Pharaoh gave orders to all his people, saying, Every son who comes to birth is to be put into the river, but every daughter may go on living.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 1
Commentary on Exodus 1 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Increase in the Number of the Israelites Their Bondage in Egypt - Exodus 1
The promise which God gave to Jacob in his departure from Canaan (Genesis 46:3) was perfectly fulfilled. The children of Israel settled down in the most fruitful province of the fertile land of Egypt, and grew there into a great nation (Exodus 1:1-7). But the words which the Lord had spoken to Abram (Genesis 15:13) were also fulfilled in relation to his seed in Egypt. The children of Israel were oppressed in a strange land, were compelled to serve the Egyptians (Exodus 1:8-14), and were in great danger of being entirely crushed by them (Exodus 1:15-22).
To place the multiplication of the children of Israel into a strong nation in its true light, as the commencement of the realization of the promises of God, the number of the souls that went down with Jacob to Egypt is repeated from Genesis 46:27 (on the number 70, in which Jacob is included, see the notes on this passage); and the repetition of the names of the twelve sons of Jacob serves to give to the history which follows a character of completeness within itself. “ With Jacob they came, every one and his house, ” i.e., his sons, together with their families, their wives, and their children. The sons are arranged according to their mothers, as in Genesis 35:23-26, and the sons of the two maid-servants stand last. Joseph, indeed, is not placed in the list, but brought into special prominence by the words, “ for Joseph was in Egypt ” (Exodus 1:5), since he did not go down to Egypt along with the house of Jacob, and occupied an exalted position in relation to them there.
After the death of Joseph and his brethren and the whole of the family that had first immigrated, there occurred that miraculous increase in the number of the children of Israel, by which the blessings of creation and promise were fully realised. The words פּרוּ ישׁרצוּ ( swarmed ), and ירבּוּ point back to Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 8:17, and יעצמוּ to עצוּם גּוי in Genesis 18:18. “ The land was filled with them, ” i.e., the land of Egypt, particularly Goshen, where they were settled (Genesis 47:11). The extra-ordinary fruitfulness of Egypt in both men and cattle is attested not only by ancient writers, but by modern travellers also (vid., Aristotelis hist. animal. vii. 4, 5; Columella de re rust. iii. 8; Plin. hist. n. vii. 3; also Rosenmüller a. und n. Morgenland i. p. 252). This blessing of nature was heightened still further in the case of the Israelites by the grace of the promise, so that the increase became extraordinarily great (see the comm. on Exodus 12:37).
The promised blessing was manifested chiefly in the fact, that all the measures adopted by the cunning of Pharaoh to weaken and diminish the Israelites, instead of checking, served rather to promote their continuous increase.
Exodus 1:8-9
“ There arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph .” ויּקם signifies he came to the throne, קוּם denoting his appearance in history, as in Deuteronomy 34:10. A “new king” (lxx: βασιλεὺς ἕτερος ; the other ancient versions, rex novus ) is a king who follows different principles of government from his predecessors. Cf. חדשׁים אלהים , “new gods,” in distinction from the God that their fathers had worshipped, Judges 5:8; Deuteronomy 32:17. That this king belonged to a new dynasty, as the majority of commentators follow Josephus