The Israelites Multiply in Egypt
(Genesis 46:7–27)
These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 1Ch 2:1-2Gen 46:8-26Gen 35:23-261Ch 12:23-40Exo 6:14-16Gen 29:31Gen 35:18Gen 49:3-27
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Gen 35:22
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Exo 28:20Gen 35:23
Dan and Naphtali;
Gad and Asher.
The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy 1in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt. Deu 10:22Gen 46:26-27Jdg 8:30Exo 1:20
Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, Gen 50:26Act 7:14-16Gen 50:24 but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. Gen 46:3Deu 26:5Gen 1:28Gen 35:11Gen 47:27Gen 9:1Deu 10:22Gen 12:2
Oppression by a New King
(Acts 7:15–19)
Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt. Act 7:18Ecc 2:18-19Ecc 9:15 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us. Psa 105:24-25Ecc 4:4Jas 3:14-16Num 22:4-5Pro 14:28Pro 27:4Tit 3:3Jas 4:5 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country. 2” Act 7:19Psa 83:3-4Pro 1:11Psa 105:25Psa 10:21Co 3:18-20Act 23:12Jas 3:15-18
So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. Gen 15:13Exo 2:11Exo 3:7Gen 47:11Deu 26:6Psa 81:61Ki 9:192Ch 8:4 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. Psa 105:24Exo 1:9Rom 8:28Act 5:28-33Act 4:2-4Jhn 12:19Pro 27:4Heb 12:6-11
They worked the Israelites ruthlessly Deu 4:20 and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh. Act 7:19Num 20:15Exo 2:23Exo 6:9Act 7:34Isa 58:6Psa 81:6Deu 26:6
Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.” Exo 1:22Mat 21:38Rev 12:4
The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live. Act 5:29Exo 1:21Ecc 12:13Luk 12:5Mat 10:28Act 4:18-20Dan 3:16-18Dan 6:13 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” Ecc 8:42Sa 13:28
The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.” 2Sa 17:19-20Jos 2:4-241Sa 21:2
So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous. Ecc 8:12Isa 3:10Pro 11:18Exo 1:12Heb 6:10Psa 111:5Exo 1:7Luk 1:50 And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own. 1Ki 11:381Sa 2:35Psa 37:32Sa 7:27-29Ecc 8:121Ki 2:241Sa 25:282Sa 7:11-13
Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews 3you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.” Act 7:19Pro 1:16Exo 1:16Pro 4:16Psa 105:25Rev 16:4-6Exo 7:19-21Gen 41:1