Shemot 1-3

Orthodox Jewish Bible

1 Now these are the Shemot Bnei Yisroel, which came into Mitzrayim; every ish and his bais came with Ya’akov:

² Reuven, Simeon, Levi, and Yehudah,

³ Yissakhar, Zevulun, and Binyamin,

⁴ Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

⁵ And all the nefesh that came out of the loins of Ya’akov were seventy nefesh; for Yosef was in Mitzrayim already.

⁶ And Yosef died, and all his achim, and all that generation.

⁷ And the Bnei Yisroel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and became exceeding strong; and the land was filled with them.

⁸ Now there arose a melech chadash over Mitzrayim, which had no da’as of Yosef.

⁹ And he said unto his people, Hinei, the Am Bnei Yisroel are more and stronger than we.

¹⁰ Come, let us outsmart them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any milchamah, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

¹¹ Therefore they did set over them sarei missim (taskmasters) to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pitom and Raamses.

¹² But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and spread out. And they were in dread because of the Bnei Yisroel.

¹³ And the Egyptians made the Bnei Yisroel to serve with rigor;

¹⁴ And they made their lives bitter with avodah kashah (hard bondage), in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of avodah in the sadeh; all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor.

¹⁵ And Melech Mitzrayim spoke to the meyalledot HaIvriyyot (Hebrew midwives), of which the shem of the one was Shiphrah, and of the other Puah;

¹⁶ And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to HaIvriyyot (the Hebrew women) and see them upon the delivery stool; if it be a ben, then ye shall kill him; but if it be a bat, then she shall live.

¹⁷ But the meyalledot feared HaElohim, and did not as Melech Mitzrayim commanded them, but saved the yeladim alive.

¹⁸ So Melech Mitzrayim called for the meyalledot, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the yeladim alive?

¹⁹ And the meyalledot said unto Pharaoh, Because HaIvriyyot are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and are delivered before the meyalledot come in unto them.

²⁰ Therefore Elohim dealt well with the meyalledot; and the people multiplied, and grew very strong.

²¹ And it came to pass, because the meyalledot feared HaElohim, that He established them batim.

²² And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every ben that is born ye shall cast into the Nile, and every bat ye shall save alive.

2 And there went an ish of the Bais Levi, and took to wife a bat Levi.

² And the isha conceived, and bore a ben; and when she saw him that he was tov, she hid him three months.

³ And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him a tevah (ark) of papyrus, and daubed it with tar and with pitch, and put the yeled therein; and she set it in the reeds by the bank of the Nile.

⁴ And his achot stood afar off, to see what would be done to him.

⁵ And the Bat Pharaoh came down to bathe herself at the Nile; and her na’arot walked along by the Nile’s bank; and when she saw the tevah (ark) among the reeds, she sent her amah (maid servant) to fetch it.

⁶ And when she had opened it, she saw the yeled; and, hinei, the na’ar was crying. And she had compassion on him, and said, This one is of the yaldei HaIvrim (Hebrew children).

⁷ Then said his achot to Bat Pharaoh, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of HaIvriyyot, that she may nurse the yeled for thee?

⁸ And Bat Pharaoh said to her, Go. And haalmah [see Gn 24:43; Isa 7:14] went and called the em hayeled.

⁹ And Bat Pharaoh said unto her, Take this yeled away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the isha took the yeled, and nursed it.

¹⁰ And the yeled grew, and she brought him unto Bat Pharaoh, and he became her ben. And she called shmo Moshe: and she said, Because meshitihu (I drew him) out of the mayim.

¹¹ And it came to pass in those days, when Moshe was grown, that he went out unto his achim, and looked on their sivlot: and he spied an Egyptian striking an ish Ivri, one of his achim.

¹² And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no ish, he killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the chol (sand).

¹³ And when he went out the second day, hinei, two anashim Ivrim were fighting; he said to him in the wrong, Why strike thou thy re’a?

¹⁴ And he said, Who made thee a sar and a shofet over us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moshe feared, and thought, Surely this thing is known.

¹⁵ Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moshe. But Moshe fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in Eretz Midyan; and he sat down by a well.

¹⁶ Now the kohen of Midyan had sheva banot; and they came and drew mayim, and filled the troughs to water the tzon of their av.

¹⁷ And the ro’im (shepherds) came and drove them away; but Moshe stood up and rescued them, and watered their tzon.

¹⁸ And when they came to Reuel their av, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon today?

¹⁹ And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the yad of the ro’im (shepherds), and also drew enough for us, and watered the tzon.

²⁰ And he said unto his banot, And where is he? Why is it that ye have left the ish? Call him, that he may eat lechem.

²¹ And Moshe was content to dwell with the ish; and he gave Moshe Tzipporah his bat.

²² And she bore him a ben, and he called shmo Gershom; for he said, I have been a ger in a foreign land.

²³ And it came to pass in process of time, that Melech Mitzrayim died; and the Bnei Yisroel groaned by reason of haAvodah (the Bondage), and they cried out, and their cry came up unto HaElohim by reason of haAvodah.

²⁴ And Elohim heard their groaning, and Elohim remembered His brit (covenant) with Avraham, with Yitzchak, and with Ya’akov.

²⁵ And Elohim looked upon the Bnei Yisroel, and Elohim had da’as of them.

3 Now Moshe was ro’eh (shepherding) the tzon of Yitro his khoten (fatherin- law), the kohen Midyan; and he led the tzon to the backside of the midbar, and came to the Har HaElohim, even to Chorev.

² And the Malach Hashem appeared unto him in a flame of eish out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, hinei, the bush burned with eish, and the bush was not consumed.

³ And Moshe thought, I will now turn aside, and see this mareh hagadol, why the bush is not burned up.

⁴ And when Hashem saw that he turned aside to see, Elohim called out unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moshe, Moshe. And he said, Hineni.

⁵ And He said, Draw not nearer here; put off thy na’alayim (sandals) from off thy raglayim, for hamakom whereon thou standest is admat kodesh.

⁶ Moreover He said, I am Elohei Avicha, Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, and Elohei Ya’akov. And Moshe hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon HaElohim.

⁷ And Hashem said, I have surely seen the oni ami (affliction of My people) which are in Mitzrayim, and have heard their cry by reason of their nogesim (taskmasters); for I know their makhovim (sufferings);

⁸ And I am come down to deliver them out of the yad Mitzrayim, and to bring them up out of that land unto an eretz tovah, a spacious eretz zavat cholov udevash; unto the place of the Kena’ani, and the Chitti, and the Emori, and the Perizzi, and the Chivi, and the Yevusi.

⁹ Now therefore, hinei, the cry of the Bnei Yisroel is come unto Me; and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

¹⁰ Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the Bnei Yisroel out of Mitzrayim.

¹¹ And Moshe said unto HaElohim, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the Bnei Yisroel out of Mitzrayim?

¹² And He said, Certainly Eh-heh-yeh (I will be [see verse below]) with thee; and this shall be haOt (the Sign) unto thee, that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth HaAm out of Mitzrayim, ye shall serve HaElohim upon this Har.

¹³ And Moshe said unto HaElohim, Hinei, when I come unto the Bnei Yisroel, and shall say unto them, Elohei Avoteichem hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is Shmo? what shall I say unto them?

¹⁴ And Elohim said unto Moshe, Eh-heh-yeh ashair Ehheh- yeh (I AM WHO I AM); and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the Bnei Yisroel, EHHEH-YEH (I AM) hath sent me unto you.

¹⁵ And Elohim said moreover unto Moshe, Thus shalt thou say unto Bnei Yisroel: Hashem, Elohei Avoteichem, Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, and Elohei Ya’akov, hath sent me unto you: this is Shemi l’olam, and this is My remembrance unto all generations.

¹⁶ Go, and gather the Ziknei Yisroel together, and say unto them, Hashem Elohei Avoteichem, Elohei Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Mitzrayim;

¹⁷ And I have said, I will bring you up out of the Oni Mitzrayim unto the eretz Kena’ani, and the Chitti, and the Emori, and the Perizzi, and the Chivi, and the Yevusi unto eretz zavat cholov udevash.

¹⁸ And they shall pay heed to thy voice; and thou shalt go, thou and the Ziknei Yisroel, unto Melech Mitzrayim, and ye shall say unto him, Hashem Elohei HaIvriyim hath met with us; and let us go, now, derech shloshet yamim into the midbar, that we may sacrifice to Hashem Eloheinu.

¹⁹ And I have da’as that Melech Mitzrayim will not let you go, no, except by a yad chazakah.

²⁰ And I will stretch out My yad, and strike Mitzrayim with all My nifle’ot which I will do in the midst thereof; and after that he will let you go.

²¹ And I will give this people chen in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty-handed.

²² But every isha shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her bais, jewels of kesef, and jewels of zahav, and clothing; and ye shall put them upon your banim, and upon your banot; so ye shall plunder the Egyptians.