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| 1 And these are the names of the sons of Israel who had come into Egypt; with Jacob had they come, each with his household: |
Which came into Egypt – The book of Exodus takes up with an express reference to what has been related in Genesis. R1623:2
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| 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; |
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| 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; |
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| 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. |
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| 5 And all the souls that had come out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls; and Joseph was in Egypt. |
And all the souls – Nephesh, intelligent beings. E342; R1510:2
A living soul or being can propagate other souls or beings-- offspring. E342; R1510:2
Out of the loins – Children are of the father, by the mother, as illustrated in Christ's birth. E99; R776:5
Jacob passed on life, organism and soul, to his posterity. HG333:1
Seventy souls – All males except two, Dinah and Sarah. The females of the company, not included in the count, may have been as many more. Additionally, there may have been servants. R2900:2, R3982:2
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| 6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. |
Joseph died – 73 years after the coming of his father and brethren to dwell in Egypt. R3982:2
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| 7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and swarmed and multiplied, and became exceeding strong; and the land was full of them. |
Were fruitful – Noteworthy, since Isaac was the only child of his mother, since Jacob was born after repeated prayers, and since Rachel was long unfruitful. R2900:2
Increased abundantly – Heb., "swarming." If the population doubled every 15 years, as it did at one time in North America, the increase of 70 men with their wives would amount to 2,293,760 in 200 years. R2900:5
A miracle which did not continue, for 40 years later, when entering Canaan, their male forces numbered less than when they left Egypt. HG362:3
The land – Of Goshen. R2900:2
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| 8 And there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. |
A new king – A new dynasty-a change in the royal family through insurrection or otherwise. R2900:5, R3982:3
Supposed to have been Rameses II, a hard-hearted, selfish despot. R5250:3
In Joseph's time; and before Egypt had been governed by Hyksos, or shepherd kings, supposed to have been invaders and not of pure Egyptian stock. R3982:3
The change of dynasty commenced with Rameses I, Rameses II being the Pharaoh who harried the Israelites, and his son, Menephtah 1, the Pharaoh of the exodus. R3982:3, R3994:2
The mummy of Rameses II was found in 1881 and was exhibited in a museum near the pyramid in 1892. R2900:6
Knew not Joseph – Ignored his services to Egypt and the tentative covenant with the Israelites. R5250:3, R1650:6
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| 9 And he said to his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more numerous and stronger than we. |
More and mightier – Considered them a menace. An invading army might bribe them and thus the rule of the Pharaohs be overthrown. R5250:3
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| 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass that, if war occur, they take side with our enemies and fight against us, and go up out of the land. |
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| 11 And they set over them service-masters to oppress them with their burdens. And they built store-cities for Pharaoh, Pithom and Rameses. |
To afflict them – Which, it was hoped, would weaken them. R5250:6
Not to destroy nor drive them off, but merely to hold them in check, R2900:6
As a wise father, God foresaw that too much prosperity would be greatly to their disadvantage. R1651:4
Built for Pharaoh – Rameses II. His mummy was found in 1881. R2900:6
Pithom – This city, twelve miles west of Ismalia, was discovered in 1883, enclosed by walls of unbaked brick, the lower courses of which are of well made brick with chopped straw in them. Higher up the straw is long and scanty and the last courses have no straw at all, but have sedges, rushes and water plants. R3983:2, R5264:1, R2910:6
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| 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and spread; and they were distressed because of the children of Israel. |
And grew – Not only zeal, but numbers also increase under persecutions and difficulties. R2901:5
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| 13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with harshness; |
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| 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. |
Their lives bitter – In Central Africa many natives impressed into public service after this manner have committed suicide rather than labor unrewarded. R3983:1
With hard bondage – Not that all the Israelites were compelled to engage in brick making, but that there were drafts or conscriptions from time to time. R2901:1
Typifying the bondage of sin. R1652:5
Solomon similarly oppressed the Israelites, though not with the same degree of severity and rigor, in conjunction with his public building program. R3982:5, R2901:2
All manner of service – Implying that the Israelites, a pastoral people, were compelled to learn all the trades and occupations of their masters. Being forced into an industrial school in the foremost civilization of that day was useful training. R5264:1
All their service – Our present experiences and trials are designed to work in us the "peaceable fruits of righteousness." (Heb. 12:11) R5264:4
Was with rigour – Tended to bind them in sympathy more closely together as one nation, impressing upon them their Abrahamic heritage. R3983:4
Taught them valuable lessons of humility and patience, of dependence upon God. R1650:6
So the trials and adversities of spiritual Israel tend to draw them nearer to each other and to the Lord. R2901:4
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| 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-- |
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| 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. |
Kill him – Satan thus tried to frustrate the prophecies of God and to destroy the channel through which the seed was to come. R5848:1*
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| 17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt had said to them, but saved the male children alive. |
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| 18 And the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, Why have ye done this, and saved the male children alive? |
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| 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. |
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| 20 And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. |
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| 21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. |
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| 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. |
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