| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And these [are] the names of the sons of Israel who are coming into Egypt with Jacob; a man and his household have they come; |
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 persons coming out of the thigh of Jacob are seventy persons; as to Joseph, he 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 dieth, 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 sons of Israel have been fruitful, and they teem, and multiply, and are very very mighty, and the land is filled with 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 riseth a new king over Egypt, who hath not known 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 saith unto his people, 'Lo, the people of the sons of Israel [is] more numerous and mighty 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 give help! let us act wisely concerning it, lest it multiply, and it hath come to pass, when war happeneth, that it hath been joined, even it, unto those hating us, and hath fought against us, and hath gone out up of the land.' |
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| 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; |
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 and as they afflict it, so it multiplieth, and so it breaketh forth, and they are vexed because of the sons 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 cause the sons of Israel to serve with rigour, |
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| 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. |
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 speaketh to the midwives, the Hebrewesses, (of whom the name of the one [is] Shiphrah, and the name of the second Puah), |
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| 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.' |
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 And the midwives fear God, and have not done as the king of Egypt hath spoken unto them, and keep the lads alive; |
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| 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 ' |
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| 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!' |
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| 20 And God doth good to the midwives, and the people multiply, and are very mighty; |
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| 21 and it cometh to pass, because the midwives have feared God, that He maketh for them households; |
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| 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.' |
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