Exodus 1:8-22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
The Oppression. 8 (A)Then a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph,[a] rose to power in Egypt. 9 He said to his people, “See! The Israelite people have multiplied and become more numerous than we are! 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase;[b] otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us, and so leave the land.”
11 Accordingly, they set supervisors over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor.(B) Thus they had to build for Pharaoh[c] the garrison cities of Pithom and Raamses. 12 Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians began to loathe the Israelites. 13 So the Egyptians reduced the Israelites to cruel slavery, 14 making life bitter for them with hard labor, at mortar[d] and brick and all kinds of field work—cruelly oppressed in all their labor.
Command to the Midwives. 15 The king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was called Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you act as midwives for the Hebrew women, look on the birthstool:[e] if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she may live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt had ordered them, but let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this, allowing the boys to live?” 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. They are robust and give birth before the midwife arrives.” 20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and grew very numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, God built up families for them. 22 Pharaoh then commanded all his people, “Throw into the Nile every boy that is born,(C) but you may let all the girls live.”
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- 1:8 Who knew nothing of Joseph: the nuance intended by the Hebrew verb “know” here goes beyond precise determination. The idea may be not simply that a new king came to power who had not heard of Joseph but that this king ignored the services that Joseph had rendered to Egypt, repudiating the special relationship that existed between Joseph and his predecessor on the throne.
- 1:10 Increase: Pharaoh’s actions thereby immediately pit him against God’s will for the Israelites to multiply; see note on v. 7 above.
- 1:11 Pharaoh: not a personal name, but a title common to all the kings of Egypt.
- 1:14 Mortar: either the wet clay with which the bricks were made, as in Na 3:14, or the cement used between the bricks in building, as in Gn 11:3.
- 1:16 Birthstool: apparently a pair of stones on which the mother is seated for childbirth opposite the midwife. The Hebrew word elsewhere is used to refer to the stones of a potter’s wheel.
Exodus 1:8-22
New International Version
8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.(A) 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous(B) for us.(C) 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly(D) with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”(E)
11 So they put slave masters(F) over them to oppress them with forced labor,(G) and they built Pithom and Rameses(H) as store cities(I) for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly.(J) 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor(K) in brick(L) and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.(M)
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives,(N) whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”(O) 17 The midwives, however, feared(P) God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do;(Q) they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”(R)
20 So God was kind to the midwives(S) and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared(T) God, he gave them families(U) of their own.
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile,(V) but let every girl live.”(W)
Exodus 2:23-25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
II. The Call and Commission of Moses
The Burning Bush. 23 A long time passed, during which the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their bondage and cried out, and from their bondage their cry for help went up to God.(A) 24 God heard their moaning and God was mindful of his covenant(B) with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 25 God saw the Israelites, and God knew….[a]
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- 2:25 God knew: in response to the people’s cry, God, mindful of the covenant, looks on their plight and acknowledges firsthand the depth of their suffering (see 3:7). In vv. 23–25, traditionally attributed to the Priestly writer, God is mentioned five times, in contrast to the rest of chaps. 1–2, where God is rarely mentioned. These verses serve as a fitting transition to Moses’ call in chap. 3.
Exodus 2:23-25
New International Version
23 During that long period,(A) the king of Egypt died.(B) The Israelites groaned in their slavery(C) and cried out, and their cry(D) for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered(E) his covenant(F) with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned(G) about them.
Exodus 3:7-10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
The Call and Commission of Moses. 7 But the Lord said: I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry against their taskmasters, so I know well what they are suffering. 8 Therefore I have come down[a] to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them up from that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.(A) 9 Now indeed the outcry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Now, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
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Exodus 3:7-10
New International Version
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen(A) the misery(B) of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned(C) about their suffering.(D) 8 So I have come down(E) to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land,(F) a land flowing with milk and honey(G)—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites(H) and Jebusites.(I) 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing(J) them. 10 So now, go. I am sending(K) you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”(L)
Exodus 6:9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
9 But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to him because of their dejection and hard slavery.
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Exodus 6:9
New International Version
9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.(A)
Numbers 20:15-16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
15 how our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors harshly. 16 When we cried to the Lord,(A) he heard our cry and sent an angel who led us out of Egypt. Now here we are at Kadesh, a town at the edge of your territory.
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Numbers 20:15-16
New International Version
15 Our ancestors went down into Egypt,(A) and we lived there many years.(B) The Egyptians mistreated(C) us and our ancestors, 16 but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry(D) and sent an angel(E) and brought us out of Egypt.(F)
“Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.(G)
1 Kings 12:4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us. If you now lighten the harsh servitude and the heavy yoke your father imposed on us, we will be your servants.”
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1 Kings 12:4
New International Version
4 “Your father put a heavy yoke(A) on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
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