EXEGESIS OF EXODUS 1:1-22

BS 504 EXPOSITION OF THE PENTATEUCH

BY

GITONGA, ELIZABETH. W. 09019

NOVEMBER, 2010
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page
INTRODUCTION: 2
CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS 2

2.1 Historical Context: 2

2.2 Literary Context: 5
FORMAL ANALYSIS(FORM, STRUCTURE AND MOVEMENT): 6

DETAILED ANALYSIS:
4.1 Progressive mistreatment of the Israelites by the Egyptians 7

(1:1-22):
(a) The tribes of Israel identified (1:1-7): 7
(b) Pharaoh (King of Egypt) who knew not Joseph and the 8

problem created by increase of Israelites (1:8-10):

(c) Pharaoh enslaves the Israelites (1:11-14): 10
(d) Plan to destroy the Hebrews through Genocide (1:15-22): 11
SYNTHESIS/CONCLUSION 15
REFLECTION: 16
BIBLIOGRAPHY 17

ii
 AN EXEGESIS OF EXODUS 1:1-22

Exodus 1:1-22: These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each
2
with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan
5
and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph
6 7
was already in Egypt. Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but

the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that
8
the land was filled with them. Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to
9
power in Egypt. "Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too
10
numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more

numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the
11
country." So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they
12
built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed,
13
the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and
14
worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar

and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them
15
ruthlessly. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah
16
and Puah, "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the
17
delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." The midwives,

however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the
18
boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have
19
you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" The midwives answered Pharaoh,

"Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the
20
midwives arrive." So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became
21
even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of

1
 22
their own. Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must

throw into the Nile, but let every girl live." (NIV)

INTRODUCTION:

The Book of Exodus begins by giving a listing of the children of Jacob who are now called

sons of Israel who in the book of Genesis moved and settled in Egypt. From the very

beginning of the book the children of Israel who have multiplied to huge numbers and thus

present a threat to the Egyptians are subjected to slavery and oppression by the Pharaoh to

curtail this threat. There is definitely tension created and the forces of death and destruction

of the chosen nation of God are in competition with God’s blessings promised to their fore-

fathers. God’s sovereignty is in motion and no matter how much Egypt attempted to control

the fate of the Israelites, God continually sees the children of Israel fulfill their divinely

appointed destiny to become a great nation.

1. CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS:

2.1 Historical Context:

Author: The authorship of the Pentateuch which translates to that of book of Exodus has

been a subject of debate with “opinions ranging widely, with some arguing that every word

was written by Moses, while others attribute the authorship to three anonymous writers

known by the initials J (Jahwist or Yahwist after the divine name Yahweh), E (Elohist after

the divine name Elohim), and P (Priestly).”1 Those in favor of the J, E, P authorship

“presuppose that the book of Exodus is divide into three portions originally written

independently of each other. In this regard the writing of chapters 2, 4-5, 8-10, 15 and 34 is

attributed to J; 1, 3, 13, 17-18, 21-24, 32-33 to E and 6, 12, 16, 20, 25-31, 35-40 to P. The

miscellaneous and/or editorial passages that join the others together are attributed to an
1
Herbert Wolf, An Introduction to the Old Testament Pentateuch (Chicago: Moody Press, 1991), 51.

2
anonymous redactor. The different parts were then gradually patched up together over a

period of five hundred years to create the now know book of Exodus.” 2 Yahwist is presumed

to have written the Pentateuch in tenth or ninth century BC, Elohist in the ninth or eighth

century and the priestly in sixth century B.C or later.

While the proponents of the J, E, P authorship argue that “there is nowhere in the five books

Moses is explicitly or implicitly claimed as the exclusive author.”3 Those in favor of Moses

authorship argue that the book of Exodus does in more than one place identify Moses as its

author (Exodus 17:14; 24:4). This view is further affirmed explicitly or implicitly by the

“Dead-Sea Scrolls (CD 5:1-2; 7:6, 8-9: 1QS 5:15), other extra-biblical texts and traditions

(Babylonian Talmud, Baba Bathra 14b-15a), and other New Testament writings (Mark 7:10

who attribute the commandment of honoring your mother and father; and the judgment that

‘He who curses father or mother let him be put to death’ in Exodus 20:12 and 21:17 to

Moses; John 19:36; Acts 23:5; Rom 9:17; 1Cor. 10:7; 2Cor 8:15).”4

Purpose: The book of Exodus serves both a historical and a theological purpose revealing the

sovereignty of God. Historically “it celebrates and tells of God’s gracious deliverance of His

chosen people Israel from Egyptian slavery to the freedom of covenant relationship and

fellowship with Him. It forms a bridge between the promises of the Abrahamic covenant

(concerning seed, land and blessing) and fulfillment in a people constituted as a theocratic

community through whom God’s redemptive purpose would be achieved.”5 “Theologically

the book sets forth the constitution of Israel as the people of God. It has two focal points: (1)

2
Charles Dyer and Eugene Merrill, Nelson’s Old Testament Survey: Discover the Background,
Theology, and meaning of Every Book in the Old Testament (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001), 39-
40.
3
Tremper Longman III and Raymond B. Dillard. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Second
edition. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 41.
4
Dyer Charles and Eugene Merrill, 39-40.
5
Ibid., 41.

3
God’s redemption of Israel as a result of His free choice of them to be His people and (2) His

uniting Himself to them through the covenant at Sinai.”6

Date, place and original audience: The dating of the book of Exodus has been a major

subject of discussion with many dates proposed. Of this many dates views two competing

view reign. The first view known as the “early date” places Exodus at about 1446 B.C during

the reign of Amunhotep II, while the second view otherwise known as the ‘late date’ argues

for 1290 B.C.

Those in favor of the late date view rely on three sources namely: (1) Exodus 1:11 which

state that the Israelites through forced labor “built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for

Pharaoh.”7 “This torturous event is associated with a Pharaoh called Rameses II who was a

prodigious builder. (2) 1 Kings 6:1 where the fourth year of Solomon (966 B.C) is dated 480

years after Israel left Egypt. When converted to actual calendar years the 480 translates to

300 and adding this to 966 B.C seems to put Exodus at 1266.This argument is supported by

the theory that the Old Testament often uses numbers quite differently from a modern

chronology thus the 480 years may be understood as an aggregate or symbolic number (3)

Archaeological findings which evidence the Israelite settlement on destroyed Canaanite site

at Bethel, Tell Beit Mirsim, Tel Zeror and Beth Shemesh.”8

The “early date” proponents disqualify the arguments given by the “late date” theorists

especially the argument supported by 1 Kings 6:1. In their opinion 480 is a literal figure and

thus if added to 966 B.C places the Exodus in 1446 B.C. This then implies that Thutmose II

was the Pharaoh of the oppression and Anunhotep II the Pharaoh of the Exodus event.

6
Robert L. Cate, An Introduction to the Old Testament and its study (Nashville: Broadman Press,
1987), 149.
7
Exodus 1:11 (NIV).
8
Wolf, 141-147.

4
In regards to the audience of the Exodus Charles Dyer contends that the determining factor is

dependent on the authorship of the book. “If the Book of Exodus was composed around 1444

B.C right after the giving of the Sinai covenant, the addresses would have been the generation

of the Exodus deliverance itself. The only suggestion of a later time of composition is the

observation in 16:35 that Israel ate manna for forty years, right up until they arrived at the

border of Canaan. This being the case it is best to assume that Exodus like Genesis was

addressed to the assembly of Israel in the plains of Moab.”9

1.2 Literary Context:

God made a promise of blessing to the children of Israel (Genesis 1:28; 9:1, 7; 12:2-3, 13:16,

15:5, 17:2; 26:4 28:14; 48:4) and its fulfillment is evidenced in the book Exodus. At the end

of the book of Genesis the children of Jacob now referred to as sons of Israel are driven by a

severe famine to Egypt where they settle. At the beginning chapter of the book of Exodus

(1:1-6) the names of those who went down to Egypt are listed, forming a literary connection

to the book of Genesis and introducing the founding fathers of the nation of Israel. Starting

from (1:8-22) this children of Israel are subjected to oppression in Egypt by the Pharaoh

whose agenda is to destroy them at whatever cost. This oppression carries on up to Exodus

13:16, but in the midst of all this God’s sovereignty reigns and his promise to the Israelites is

un-thwarted. The Israelites are then expelled from the land of Egypt by the Pharaoh through

God’s intervention.

The Exodus 1:-8-22 narrative and the oppression episodes that follow up to chapter 13 stands

in contrast to that found in Genesis 46-50 (where the children of Israel are treated with honor

and blessed by Pharaoh), but matches that found in Genesis 12:11-19 where Abram and his

family are driven down to Egypt by a famine in the land. Abram scared of losing his life puts
9
Dyer Charles and Eugene Merrill, 41.

5
God’s promise at risk, but God redeems the situation and his sovereignty reigns. Through

God’s faithfulness to the plan and his intervention with plagues that befall pharaoh and his

household Abram and his family are expelled from the land of Egypt, and the promise carries

on.

2. FORMAL ANALYSIS (FORM, STRUCTURE AND MOVEMENT):

The structure of the chapter develops the intensity of forces opposing the fulfillment of the

promises of God to the children of Israel. The first section (1:1-7), gives background

information to the children of Israel existence in Egypt and introduces the blessing of the

Israelites in Egypt in fulfillment of the promise of God. The second section (1:8-14) reports

their continued blessing in the face of deliberate opposition, while the third section (1:15-22)

intensifies the opposition and explains this blessing as divine favor in spite of Pharaoh’s

attempts at population control. Verse 22 also presents a transition point to the rest of the

book.

The reader can see the sovereignty of God and fulfillment of his promise throughout the

chapter, as the children of Israel flourish under the forces of the evil Pharaoh. No amount of

human effort can thwart the fulfillment of God’s plan.

6
DETAILED ANALYSIS:

4.1 Progressive mistreatment of the Israelites by the Egyptians (1:1-22):

a) The tribes of Israel identified (1:1-7):

“The three prominent subjects of Exodus are (1) God’s plan for deliverance, (2) God’s

guidance for morality, and (3) God’s order for worship. But in the beginning of the book,

another prominent fact that governs the whole theology of Exodus is immediately set forth:

The fulfillment of God’s promise to the patriarchs in regards to their descendants being as

numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands of the sea.”10 At the beginning of the book of

Exodus a listing of the children of Jacob who are now known as the sons of Israel (Genesis

32:28) and their families who went down to Egypt (1:1-7) is given. These verses make the

connection between the book of Exodus and the preceding book of Genesis, with “v. 1-4

virtually being a repetition of Genesis 35:22-26, while v. 5, v.6, and v. 7 are reiterations of

Genesis 46:27; 50:26 and 1:28 respectively.”11

The children of Israel had migrated to Egypt due to severe famine in Canaan. There, they

were reunited with Joseph whom they (the brothers) had sold into slavery and were restored

as a family, and blessed by Pharaoh with the best land to settle in. God’s words to Jacob

before moving to Egypt (Gen. 46:3-4) and Joseph’s words to his brethren before his death

(Gen. 50:24-25) are important to note in analyzing the unfolding fulfillment of God’s promise

in the Exodus one narrative.

10
Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary with the New International Version of the
Holy Bible, vol 2, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990), 302.
11
Ibid., 302.

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“The four-hundred-year period is the time in which God’s promises to the patriarchs continue

towards fulfillment, especially the promise of numerous progeny.”12 The initial number of the

Israelites was 70 (1:5), which corresponds to the number stated in Gen. 46:27 and

Deuteronomy 10:22. According to Cassuto this number (70) “commonly indicates the

perfection of a family blessed with offspring, in both the pre-Israelitic and Israelitic

traditions. The Canaanites spoke of the seventy sons of the gods; while the Israelite tradition

refers to the seventy descendants of Noah, and subsequently to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal-

Gideon, and the seventy sons of Ahab. Similarly Jacob’s family was perfect in the number of

its children.”13 This few people increased tremendously from a family to a tribe, with the

narrator expressing the increase as: (1) were fruitful (2) multiplied greatly (3) became

exceedingly numerous (4) land was filled with them (1:7). This divine increase/blessing

“echoes the fulfillment of God’s promise made to Adam in Genesis 1:28; Noah in Genesis

9:1, 7; Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3, 13:16, 15:5, 17:2; Isaac in Genesis 26:4 and Jacob in

Genesis 28:14; 46:3-4, 48:4.”14

b) Pharaoh (King of Egypt) who knew not Joseph and the problem created by increase

of Israelites (1:8-10):

The divine increase/blessing in the Israelites became a concern for the new king of Egypt

who the Bible does not mention by name but who has “variously been identified by scholars

as: the founder of the Hyksos dynasties; the founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty who expelled

the Hyksos, Amosis I; the founder of the Nineteenth Dynasty, Rameses I, or even his son

Seti; or the first strong ruler of the nineteenth Dynasty, Rameses II. The most logical choice

12
Victor P. Hamilton, Handbook on the Pentateuch. 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005),
137.
13
U. Cassuto, A commentary on the book of Exodus (Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, The Hebrew
University, 1983), 8.
14
Ibid., 137.

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favors the Hyksos king.”15 Whoever the new king is, the narrator indicates that he “did not

know about Joseph.”16 He definitely “did not acknowledge the merits of Joseph in relation to

Egypt”17, and was therefore “not bound to the Israelites by any ties of gratitude to Joseph.”18

Through the new king’s oppressive actions he negates Egypt’s positive image found in the

Joseph story.

Full of resent, envy, hatred, fear and suspicion for the Israelites, the new king seeks for

support from his people by “creating an ethnic distinction between the Israelites and the

Egyptians,”19 to curb the increase and strength of the children of Israel, who v.9 onwards

makes reference to collectively as opposed to individuals and their families which is in

contrast to the Book of Genesis and Exodus 1:1-7. The new king presents the Israelites as a

threat to Egypt: (1) becoming even more numerous and strong (2) participating to the down

fall of Egypt by joining the enemy camp if war broke out and fighting against Egypt (3)

Leave the country of Egypt destroyed from war, and the Egyptians helpless with no recourse.

It is interesting though to note that “in Genesis 12-50 it was often infertility that posed a

threat to the realization of God’s promises to the children of Israel, but in Exodus chapter one

it is the high fertility rate that poses a threat.”20

15
Gaebelein, 304.
16
Exodus 1:8 (NIV).
17
Edwards J. Young, An Introduction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing, 1964), 63.
18
Cassuto, 9.
19
F.V Greifenhagen, Egypt on the Pentateuch’s Ideological Map: Constructing Biblical Israel’s
Identity (New York: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002), 52.
20
Hamilton, 137.

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c) Pharaoh enslaves the Israelites (1:11-14):

Verse 11 marks the beginning of the affliction that befalls the Israelites in Egypt (1:10-

12:50). The Israelite threat has to be dealt with, but the Pharaoh has a delicate situation at

hand. “He needs to maintain the Israelites presence as an economic asset without jeopardizing

Egypt’s national security.”21 To do this he embarks on an oppression plan that occurs in three

phases as illustrated in verses 11-22.

The first phase/measure involved “putting slave masters over the Israelites to oppress them

with forced labor and built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.” 22 “The term

slave master is common to both the Hebrew and Egyptians, and according to ancient

Egyptian paintings and writings their rank was denoted by the long staff held in their hands

and by the Egyptian hieroglyphic determinative of the head and neck of a giraffe.” 23 The two

cities Pithom - “Per-itm, house of the god Atum”24, and Rameses – “Pr-R’mssw-mry-‘Imn,

House of Raamses, the beloved of Amun”25; are said to be located “in the eastern Nile delta.

Pithom on the site of the present hill ruin of Tell er-Retabeh and Rameses slightly further

north near Qantir.”26 The mention of these store cities refers us back to “Genesis 41:35-36,

48-49, and 56 where Joseph had initiated a program of storing food in Egyptian cities in order

to provide salvation from famine, but ironically in Exodus 1: 11-14 the program is inverted

and the store cities signify oppression for children of Israel.”27

21
Gaebelein, 304.
22
Exodus 1:11 (NIV).
23
Gaebelein, 304.
24
Ibid., 304.
25
Martin Noth, Exodus: A commentary (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962), 22.
26
Ibid., 22.
27
Greifenhagen, 54.

10
The Israelites are now the new source of royal labor. The new king/pharaoh hopes that this

will curtail their population explosion. They are placed under the authority of taskmasters

who rule with no mercy, afflict them with excessive burdens and hand out severe

punishments. “How such taskmasters were hated can be seen from the stoning of Adoram in

1King 12:18 later on.”28 In reality the storage cities of Pithom and Raamses are intended to

provide life for the Egyptians and submit the Israelites to death.

Even with the oppressive workload and the torture plan in place the Israelites continued to

multiply and as the narrator puts it “the more they multiplied and spread.”29 “The two verbs

used here to describe the triumphant growth correspond to those used in Genesis 1.22 and

30:30.”30 God’s plan and blessing was in motion and nothing could deter it, not even the

“lopsided and foolish Pharaoh’s challenge.”31 The excessive increase of the Israelites resulted

in “a frightful dread coming over the Egyptians, as was the case of Moab in Numbers 22:3.”32

What ensued was the Egyptians making the lives of the Israelites bitter by increasing the

oppression and working them ruthlessly (v. 13-14), “a fact that would later be commemorated

in the Passover meal, which was eaten ‘with bitter herbs’ (12:8). 33

d) Plan to destroy the Hebrews through Genocide (1:15-22):

With phase one of Pharaoh’s plan to destroy the Israelites being ineffective in curbing the

Israelites’ number and strength, the king shifts to phrase two of the plan which involved

killing of the Hebrew newborn boys at birth. To achieve this he sought the help of two

Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah, ordering them to kill every Israelite newborn boy they

28
D.J. Wiseman, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Exodus (Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1973),
54.
29
Exodus 1:12 (NIV).
30
Wiseman, 54.
31
Gaebelein, 304.
32
Cassuto, 11.
33
Ibid., 305.

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help deliver without the parents’ knowledge and spare the lives of the newborn girls.

“Pharaoh definitely believes that women are no threat to national security and his deified

position of leadership.”34 “The two midwives were probably representatives of or

superintendent over the whole profession, “35 but the question that lingers is why only two

midwives and would they manage the entire Hebrew population? “Cook argues that

midwives seldom would be used by most women, especially those of the poorer classes, and

therefore two midwives would be enough.”36

In the v.15-22 passage the term in reference to the Israelites is Hebrews. “The term Hebrew is

found in the Hebrew Bible and also in various languages and dialects, places and times in the

ancient Near East. In the pre-exilic times the term did not have an ethnic connotation, but was

used to designate groups that for one reason or another, were considered fugitive, refugees

and outlaws of a given society.” 37 “In Egyptian texts the term refers to enslaved people, who

were compelled to do forced labor in the service of Pharaoh. In the Bible the children of

Israel, or their ancestors, are called Hebrews particularly when the writer has in mind their

relationship to foreign environment in which they find themselves. In Exodus while the

Israelites are still free men they are called by their honored designation, children of Israel,

even when Pharaoh speaks of them (v.9), but after the commenced of their servitude (v.15-

22), they are referred to as Hebrews.”38

Unfortunately for Pharaoh, the two Hebrew midwives “feared God” (v.17) and did not

comply with the command of the pharaoh, but instead chose to obey God and allowed the

newborn boys to live; instead of destroying life they preserved it. Many scholars have

attempted to analyze whether the midwives were Hebrew or Egyptian in nationality, but “if

34
Hamilton,138.
35
Ibid., 306.
36
Ibid., 306.
37
George V. Pixley, On Exodus: a liberation perspective (New York: Orbis Books, 1987), 5.
38
Cassuto, 13.

12
they were Egyptians their God-fearing ways reveal the presence of God’s common grace and

the residue of earlier divine revelation that their ancestors shared but had gradually left in

whole or part (‘the fear of God’ in Abraham with the Philistine, Gen 20:11; the Amalekites in

their savage attack, Deut 25:18; and the wicked in general, Mal 3:5). If they were Hebrew the

‘fear of God’ was then a response of faith, just as Abraham’s act of offering Isaac had been a

response to the command of God in Gen 22:8, 12.”39

With the second phase of Pharaoh’s plan failing, the Pharaoh summons the Hebrew midwives

to account for their failure in complying with his command: “Then the king of Egypt

summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the

boys live?"40 Answering his question, they wisely protest their innocence, saying that:

"Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the

midwives arrive."41 “The answer given by the midwives can be interpreted in three ways,

which all give a differentiation connotation between the Hebrew and Egyptians: First that the

Hebrew women are strong and thus need minimum help or no midwife help at birth as

compared to their Egyptians counterparts who then are portrayed as weak; the second

interpretation involves the understanding of tAyx as the plural the noun ‘(wild) animals, thus

in this case the Hebrew women are portrayed as barbarians who breed and give birth like wild

animals while the Egyptian women appear cultured and civilized in comparison; a third

interpretation involves taking the statement in its literal form and interpreting it that they go

into labor and give birth before the midwives arrive, thus the midwives got no chance to carry

out the command in secret.”42 This excuse though not truthful affirms the very reason of

might that the king uses to oppress the Israelites.

39
Gaebelein, 306.
40
Exodus 1:18 (NIV).
41
Exodus 1:19 (NIV).
42
Greifenhagen, 57.

13
This episode is definitely ironic, how would a king portrayed by the narrator as evil and

wicked towards the children of Israel accept this unsatisfactory response from the midwives?

The Hebrew midwives are in great danger of receiving Pharaoh’s wrath and what the reader

awaits is their destruction and yet the narrator makes no mention of the king’s action in their

regard. Instead what is observed is that God blessed the Hebrew midwives in the midst of the

deceit.

Again as in the cases of deception in the book of Genesis the narrator presents the deceit by

the midwives as a necessity for the survival of the Israelites in Egypt and thus the fulfillment

of God’s blessing, and for this reason they are rewarded by God, who gave them families of

their own (v. 21). The question that lingers in the mind of the reader is how could God

condone lying and at the same time reward the Hebrew midwives for the same thing he warns

mankind against (Lev. 19:11)? Did He reward them for lying or because they obeyed Him?

“God has instituted civil government for the good of all people (Rom. 13:1-5). Throughout

scripture, He instructs His people to be in submission to the power of government (Eccl. 8:2;

1 Pet. 2:13, 14). However, the governments were not granted the right to compel men to do

things which are contrary to God’s law (Dan. 3:16, 18: Acts 4:19: 5:29). In this context the

midwives were blessed not because they lied but because they obeyed God in the midst of the

risk involved.”43

Due to their fear of God and obedience to him and disobedience to the pharaoh the people

increased and became even more numerous. This conclusion corresponds to that of v.7 and

12 implying that no matter what the Pharaoh did, to oppress the Israelites God’s plan and

blessing could not be thwarted.

43
Spiros Zodhiates, Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: King James Version (AMG International,
Inc. 1991), 79.

14
With the first and second oppression plan failing, the Pharaoh embarks on the third phase of

the plan, giving the following order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw

into the Nile, but let every girl live."44 “To execute by drowning was an obvious method in a

country such as Egypt and Babylonia, just as death by stoning was obvious in Israel (Jos.

7:25).”45 This plan like the second one is intended to create a population gender disparity,

with the Israelite male reduced significantly. This would have translated to fewer warriors

and fewer husbands required for fathering children, thus forcing the Israelite women to

intermarry with the Egyptians, and in due course the entire Israelite population in Egypt

erased.

Unlike the second one the entire Egyptian public is engaged; it is now an open decree, the

fight against the Hebrews is now made official. Whether the king’s decree does segregate

between the throwing of only the Hebrew newborn boys into the Nile or whether it is any

newborn boy born in Egypt irrespective of their parent’s origin is debatable. “The MT does

not specify which newborn sons are to be killed, it allows for the possibility that both Hebrew

and Egyptian sons are to be killed; the LXX, Samaritan Pentateuch and other versions on the

other hand indicate that it is ‘sons born to the Hebrews’ who are to die.” 46 Whatever the case,

the Pharaoh is determined to destroy the Hebrews and this has to be done at whatever cost.

5 SYNTHESIS/CONCLUSION:

It is evident from this passage that the king of Egypt even with the full force of national

power at his disposal could not thwart the promise of God to the Israelites. God’s promise to

the children of Israel was at work and their fruitful multiplication in Egypt even under the

oppressive environment evidenced this.

44
Exodus 1:22 (NIV).
45
Wiseman, 56.
46
Greifenhagen, 57.

15
6. REFLECTION:

Exodus 1:1-22 reflects the struggle between good and evil attested frequently in today’s

world. The Children of Israel represents the Christians today who are mandated with the

expansion of the Kingdom of God, while the king of Egypt represents the opposition that

God’s work and people faces. The Evil forces are found everywhere-in the political,

economic, religious systems etc and they seek to destroy God's work and his people. Their

methods vary, but over time their evil intentions becomes evident.

The question though that Christians should ask themselves is: Will we be like the Hebrew

midwives and have the courage and wisdom to act appropriately or the children of Israel who

persevered the oppression and saw the fulfillment of God’s promise? Just like in the case of

the Israelites who grew in blessing in spite of the Egyptians opposition, the Kingdom of God

has been flourishing right from the early church days and will continue to do so irrespective

of the opposition and persecution by Satan and his allies. God is the same yesterday, today

and forever and as evidenced in the passage God’s sovereignty and promise is never thwarted

and what then remains for Christian is the fear of God and the determination of the covenant

promises God has made to us today. This means that all Christians/believers should continue

getting on with the work of promoting and expanding God’s covenant plan. God has called us

to represent him on earth, and this calls for great faith and trust standing up against the evil

forces.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Hebrew University, 1983.

Cate, Robert L. An Introduction to the Old Testament and its study. Nashville: Broadman
Press, 1987.

Dyer, Charles, and Eugene Merrill. Nelson’s Old Testament Survey: Discover the
Background, Theology, and meaning of Every Book in the Old Testament. Nashville:
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001.

Gaebelein, Frank E. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary with the New International Version
of the Holy Bible, vol 2. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990.

Greifenhagen FV. Egypt on the Pentateuch’s Ideological Map: Constructing Biblical Israel’s
Identity. New York: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002.

Hamilton, Victor P. Handbook on the Pentateuch. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,
2005.

Longman, Tremper III, and Raymond B. Dillard. An Introduction to the Old Testament. 2nd
ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

Noth , Martin. Exodus: A commentary. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962.

Pixley, George V. On Exodus: a liberation perspective. New York: Orbis Books, 1987.

Wiseman D.J. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Exodus. Illinois: InterVarsity Press,
1973.

Wolf, Herbert. An Introduction to the Old Testament Pentateuch. Chicago: Moody Press,
1991.

Young, Edwards, J. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: William B.

Eerdmans Publishing, 1964.

Zodhiates, Spiro. Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible: King James Version. AMG
International, Inc. 1991.

Holy Bible: The New International Version.

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