Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who didn’t know Joseph. He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let’s deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it happen that when any war breaks out, they also join themselves to our enemies and fight against us, and escape out of the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. They started to dread the children of Israel. The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve, and they made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of service in the field, all their service, in which they ruthlessly made them serve.
Parallel Translations
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Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who didn’t know Joseph.
He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we.
Come, let’s deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it happen that when any war breaks out, they also join themselves to our enemies and fight against us, and escape out of the land.”
Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses.
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. They started to dread the children of Israel.
The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve,
and they made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of service in the field, all their service, in which they ruthlessly made them serve.
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Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
Show all 3 translations
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Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.
And he said unto his people: 'Behold, the people of the children of Israel are too many and too mighty for us;
come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there befalleth us any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land.'
Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Raamses.
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And they were adread because of the children of Israel.
And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour.
And they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigour.
Cross-references (70)
- Psalms 105:24 (v12) He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries.
- Genesis 15:13 (vv11, 14) He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will…
- Acts 7:18 (v8) until there arose a different king, who didn’t know Joseph.
- Acts 7:19 (vv10, 14) The same took advantage of our race, and mistreated our fathers, and forced them to throw out their babies, so that they wouldn’t stay…
- Exodus 1:9 (v12) He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we.
Show all 62 cross-references
- Numbers 20:15 (vv11, 14) how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers.
- Genesis 47:11 (v11) Joseph placed his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of…
- Exodus 2:11 (v11) In those days, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his brothers and saw their burdens. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his…
- Exodus 3:7 (v11) Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I…
- Psalms 83:3-4 (v10) They conspire with cunning against your people. They plot against your cherished ones. “Come,” they say, “let’s destroy them as a nation,…
- Exodus 2:23 (v14) In the course of those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and…
- Exodus 6:9 (v14) Moses spoke so to the children of Israel, but they didn’t listen to Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
- Psalms 105:24-25 (v9) He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries. He turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire…
- Proverbs 1:11 (v10) If they say, “Come with us. Let’s lay in wait for blood. Let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause.
- Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 (v8) I hated all my labor in which I labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. Who knows whether he will be…
- Deuteronomy 26:6 (vv11, 14) The Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us.
- Psalms 81:6 (vv11, 14) “I removed his shoulder from the burden. His hands were freed from the basket.
- Psalms 105:25 (v10) He turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.
- Romans 8:28 (v12) We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.
- Exodus 6:6-7 (v11) Therefore tell the children of Israel, ‘I am Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you…
- 1 Kings 9:19 (v11) all the storage cities that Solomon had, the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build…
- 2 Chronicles 8:4 (v11) He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities, which he built in Hamath.
- Psalms 10:2 (v10) In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak. They are caught in the schemes that they devise.
- Ecclesiastes 4:4 (v9) Then I saw all the labor and achievement that is the envy of a man’s neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
- Isaiah 58:6 (v14) “Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free,…
- Acts 5:28-33 (v12) saying, “Didn’t we strictly command you not to teach in this name? Behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to…
- Acts 7:34 (v14) I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning. I have come down to deliver them. Now come,…
- James 3:14-16 (v9) But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and don’t lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that…
- Deuteronomy 4:20 (vv13–14) But Yahweh has taken you, and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as it is today.
- Psalms 68:13 (vv11, 14) while you sleep among the camp fires, the wings of a dove sheathed with silver, her feathers with shining gold.
- Proverbs 27:4 (vv9, 11) Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy?
- Exodus 1:13 (v14) The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve,
- Exodus 5:4-6 (v11) The king of Egypt said to them, “Why do you, Moses and Aaron, take the people from their work? Get back to your burdens!” Pharaoh said,…
- Exodus 5:7-21 (v14) “You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick, as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. You shall require from…
- Exodus 5:15 (v11) Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants?
- Exodus 20:2 (v14) “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
- Leviticus 25:43 (v14) You shall not rule over him with harshness, but shall fear your God.
- Leviticus 25:46 (v14) You may make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession. Of them you may take your slaves forever, but over…
- Leviticus 25:53 (v14) As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him. He shall not rule with harshness over him in your sight.
- Numbers 22:4-5 (v9) Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this multitude will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.”…
- Numbers 22:6 (v10) Please come now therefore, and curse this people for me; for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall prevail, that we may strike them,…
- Ruth 1:20 (v14) She said to them, “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
- Job 5:13 (v10) He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
- Psalms 105:13 (v11) They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
- Proverbs 14:28 (v9) In the multitude of people is the king’s glory, but in the lack of people is the destruction of the prince.
- Proverbs 16:25 (v10) There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
- Proverbs 21:30 (v10) There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh.
- Ecclesiastes 9:15 (v8) Now a poor wise man was found in it, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
- Isaiah 14:6 (v14) who struck the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, who ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that no one restrained.
- Isaiah 51:23 (v14) I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to your soul, ‘Bow down, that we may walk over you;’ and you have laid…
- Isaiah 52:5 (v14) “Now therefore, what do I do here,” says Yahweh, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them mock,” says…
- Jeremiah 50:33-34 (v14) Yahweh of Armies says: “The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together. All who took them captive hold them fast.…
- Micah 3:3 (v14) who also eat the flesh of my people, and peel their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and…
- Nahum 3:14 (v14) Draw water for the siege. Strengthen your fortresses. Go into the clay, and tread the mortar. Make the brick kiln strong.
- John 12:19 (v12) The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.”
- Acts 4:2-4 (v12) being upset because they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. They laid hands on them, and put them in…
- Acts 23:12 (v10) When it was day, some of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until…
- 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 (v10) Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. For…
- Titus 3:3 (v9) For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating…
- James 3:15-18 (v10) This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition are,…
- Job 5:2 (v9) For resentment kills the foolish man, and jealousy kills the simple.
- James 4:5 (v9) Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”?
62 distinct cross-references across this passage (70 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (20 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv8, 10, 11, 12, 14 He considered not how God had preserved Egypt for…
He considered not how God had preserved Egypt for Joseph’s sake.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv8–14 Exo 1:8 Now there arose up a new king…
Exo 1:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
Ver. 8. A new king.] Called Busiris, a most savage tyrant, as heathen histories report him.
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Who knew not.] Nothing sooner perisheth than the remembrance of a good turn. The Egyptians are renowned in histories for a thankful people; but it ill appeared in their dealing here with Joseph; who, had he now been alive, might well have said to them, as Themistocles once did to his Athenians, Are ye weary of receiving so many benefits by one man? {a} But herein was fulfilled that of the wise man, Ecc 9:15.
{a} Diod. Sicul., lib. ii.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv8–14 A new king, i.e. another king; one of another…
A new king, i.e. another king; one of another disposition, or interest, or family; for the kingdom of Egypt did oft pass from one family to another, as appears from the history of the Dynastics recorded in ancient writers.
Which knew not Joseph, or, acknowledged not the vast obligations which Joseph had laid not only upon the kingdoms of Egypt, and the king under whom Joseph lived, but upon all his successors, in regard of those vast additions of wealth and power which he had made to that crown. This phrase notes his ungrateful disowning and ill requiting of Joseph’s favours. For words of knowledge in Scripture commonly include the affections and actions; as men are oft said not to know God, when they do not love nor serve him; and God is said not to know men, when he doth not love them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v8 The land of Egypt here, at length, becomes to…
The land of Egypt here, at length, becomes to Israel a house of bondage, though hitherto it had been a happy shelter and settlement for them. Note, The place of our satisfaction may soon become the place of our affliction, and that may prove the greatest cross to us of which we said, This same shall comfort us. Those may prove our sworn enemies whose parents were our faithful friends; nay, the same persons that loved us may possibly turn to hate us: therefore cease from man, and say not concerning any place on this side heaven, This is my rest for ever. Observe here,
I. The obligations they lay under to Israel upon Joseph's account were forgotten: There arose a new king, after several successions in Joseph's time, who knew not Joseph, Exo 1:8. All that knew him loved him, and were kind to his relations for his sake; but when he was dead he was soon forgotten, and the remembrance of the good offices he had done was either not retained or not regarded, nor had it any influence upon their councils. Note, the best and the most useful and acceptable services done to men are seldom remembered, so as to be recompensed to those that did them, in the notice taken either of their memory, or of their posterity, after their death, Ecc 9:5, Ecc 9:15. Therefore our great care should be to serve God, and please him, who is not unrighteous, whatever men are, to forget our work and labour of love, Heb 6:10. If we work for men only, our works, at furthest, will die with us; if for God, they will follow us, Rev 14:13. This king of Egypt knew not Joseph; and after him arose one that had the impudence to say, I know not the Lord, Rev 5:2. Note, Those that are unmindful of their other benefactors, it is to be feared, will forget the supreme benefactor, Jo1 4:20.
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II. Reasons of state were suggested for their dealing hardly with Israel, Exo 1:9, Exo 1:10. 1. They are represented as more and mightier than the Egyptians; certainly they were not so, but the king of Egypt, when he resolved to oppress them, would have them thought so, and looked on as a formidable body. 2. Hence it is inferred that if care were not taken to keep them under they would become dangerous to the government, and in time of war would side with their enemies and revolt from their allegiance to the crown of Egypt. Note, It has been the policy of persecutors to represent God's Israel as a dangerous people, hurtful to kings and provinces, not fit to be trusted, nay, not fit to be tolerated, that they may have some pretence for the barbarous treatment they design them, Ezr 4:12, etc.; Est 3:8. Observe, The thing they feared was lest they should get them up out of the land, probably having heard them speak of the promise made to their fathers that they should settle in Canaan. Note, The policies of the church's enemies aim to defeat the promises of the church's God, but in vain; God's counsels shall stand. 3. It is therefore proposed that a course be taken to prevent their increase: Come on, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply. Note, (1.) The growth of Israel is the grief of Egypt, and that against which the powers and policies of hell are levelled. (2.) When men deal wickedly, it is common for them to imagine that they deal wisely; but the folly of sin will, at last, be manifested before all men.
III. The method they took to suppress them, and check their growth, Exo 1:11, Exo 1:13, Exo 1:14. The Israelites behaved themselves so peaceably and inoffensively that they could not find any occasion of making war upon them, and weakening them by that means: and therefore, 1. They took care to keep them poor, by charging them with heavy taxes, which, some think, is included in the burdens with which they afflicted them. 2. By this means they took an effectual course to make them slaves. The Israelites, it should seem, were much more industrious laborious people than the Egyptians, and therefore Pharaoh took care to find them work, both in building (they built him treasure-cities), and in husbandry, even all manner of service in the field: and this was exacted from them with the utmost rigour and severity. Here are many expressions used, to affect us with the condition of God's people. They had taskmasters set over them, who were directed, not only to burden them, but, as much as might be, to afflict them with their burdens, and contrive how to make them grievous. They not only made them serve, which was sufficient for Pharaoh's profit, but they made them serve with rigour, so that their lives became bitter to them, intending hereby, (1.) To break their spirits, and rob them of every thing in them that was ingenuous and generous. (2.) To ruin their health and shorten their days, and so diminish their numbers. (3.) To discourage them from marrying, since their children would be born to slavery. (4.) To oblige them to desert the Hebrews, and incorporate themselves with the Egyptians. Thus he hoped to cut off the name of Israel, that it might be no more in remembrance. And it is to be feared that the oppression they were under had this bad effect upon them, that it brought over many of them to join with the Egyptians in their idolatrous worship; for we read (Jos 24:14) that they served other gods in Egypt; and, though it is not mentioned here in this history, yet we find (Eze 20:8) that God had threatened to destroy them for it, even while they were in the land of Egypt: however, they were kept a distinct body, unmingled with the Egyptians, and by their other customs separated from them, which was the Lord's doing, and marvellous.
IV. The wonderful increase of the Israelites, notwithstanding the oppressions they groaned under (Exo 1:12): The more they afflicted them the more they multiplied, sorely to the grief and vexation of the Egyptians. Note, 1. Times of affliction have often been the church's growing times, Sub pondere crescit - Being pressed, it grows. Christianity spread most when it was persecuted: the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church. 2. Those that take counsel against the Lord and his Israel do but imagine a vain thing (Psa 2:1), and create so much the greater vexation to themselves: hell and earth cannot diminish those whom Heaven will increase.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv8–14 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt,....…
Now there arose up a new king over Egypt,.... Stephen calls him another king, Act 7:18 one of another family, according to Josephus (g); who was not of the seed royal, as Aben Ezra; and Sir John Marsham (h) thinks this was Salatis, who, according to Manetho (i), was the first of the Hycsi or pastor kings that ruled in lower Egypt; but these kings seem to have reigned before that time; see Gill on Gen 46:34 and Bishop Usher (k) takes this king to be one of the ancient royal family, whose name was Ramesses Miamun; and gives us a succession of the Egyptian kings from the time of Joseph's going into Egypt to this king: the name of that Pharaoh that reigned when Joseph was had into Egypt, and whose dreams he interpreted, was Mephramuthosis; after him reigned Thmosis, Amenophis, and Orus; and in the reign of the last of these Joseph died, and after Orus reigned Acenehres a daughter of his, then Rathotis a brother of Acenchres, after him Acencheres a son of Rathotis, then another Acencheres, after him Armais, then Ramesses, who was succeeded by Ramesses Miamun, here called the new king, because, as the Jews (l) say, new decrees were made in his time; and this Pharaoh, under whom Moses was born, they call Talma (m), and with Artapanus (n) his name is Palmanothes:
which knew not Joseph; which is not to be understood of ignorance of his person, whom he could not know; nor of the history of him, and of the benefits done by him to the Egyptian nation, though, no doubt, this was among their records, and which, one would think, he could not but know; or rather, he had no regard to the memory of Joseph; and so to his family and kindred, the whole people of Israel: he acknowledged not the favours of Joseph to his nation, ungratefully neglected them, and showed no respect to his posterity, and those in connection with him, on his account; though, if a stranger, it is not to be wondered at.
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(g) Antiqu. l. 2. c. 9. sect. 1. (h) Canon. Chron. Sec. 8. p. 107. (i) Apud Joseph. Contr. Apion. l. 1. sect. 14. (k) Annal. Vet. Test. p. 17. 18. (l) T. Bab. Erubin. fol. 53. 1. (m) Juchasin, fol. 135. 2. (n) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 431.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv8, 10, 11, 12 There arose a new king (after several successions in…
There arose a new king (after several successions in Joseph's time) which knew not Joseph - All that knew him loved him, and were kind to his relations for his sake; but when he was dead he was soon forgotten, and the remembrance of the good offices he had done was either not retained or not regarded. If we work for men only, our works at farthest will die with us; if for God, they will follow us, Rev. xiv, 13.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv8–14 Verse 8. There arose up a new king] Who…
Verse 8. There arose up a new king] Who this was it is difficult to say. It was probably Ramesses Miamun, or his son Amenophis, who succeeded him in the government of Egypt about A. M. 2400, before Christ 1604.
Which knew not Joseph.] The verb ידע yada, which we translate to know, often signifies to acknowledge or approve. Jdg 2:10; Ps 1:6; Ps 31:7; Hos 2:8; Amo 3:2. The Greek verbs ειδω and γινωσκω are used precisely in the same sense in the New Testament. See Mt 25:12, and 1Jo 3:1. We may therefore understand by the new king's not knowing Joseph, his disapproving of that system of government which Joseph had established, as well as his haughtily refusing to acknowledge the obligations under which the whole land of Egypt was laid to this eminent prime minister of one of his predecessors.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv8, 10, 12, 13, 14 Exo 1:8. There arose a new king — One…
Exo 1:8. There arose a new king — One of another family, according to Josephus; for it appears from ancient writers that the kingdom of Egypt often passed from one family to another. That knew not Joseph — All that knew him loved him, and were kind to his relations for his sake; but when he was dead he was soon forgotten, and the remembrance of the good offices he had done was either not retained or not regarded. If we work for men only, our works, at furthest, will die with us; if for God, they will follow us, Rev 14:13.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv8, 10, 11, 14 The expressions in this verse are special and emphatic.…
The expressions in this verse are special and emphatic. “A new king” is a phrase not found elsewhere. It is understood by most commentators to imply that he did not succeed his predecessor in the natural order of descent and inheritance. He “arose up over Egypt,” occupying the land, as it would seem, on different terms from the king whose place he took, either by usurpation or conquest. The fact that he knew not Joseph implies a complete separation from the traditions of Lower Egypt. At present the generality of Egyptian scholars identify this Pharaoh with Rameses II, but all the conditions of the narrative are fulfilled in the person of Amosis I (or, Aahmes), the head of the 18th Dynasty. He was the descendant of the old Theban sovereigns, but his family was tributary to the Dynasty of the Shepherds, the Hyksos of Manetho, then ruling in the North of Egypt. Amosis married an Ethiopian princess, and in the third year of his reign captured Avaris, or Zoan, the capital of the Hyksos, and completed the expulsion of that race.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 14 Numerous. Calvisius observes, that from Ephraim alone might have…
Numerous. Calvisius observes, that from Ephraim alone might have sprung 4,112,323,729 people. See St. Augustine, q. 43, &c. (Haydock) --- In the space of 215 years, 70 people may produce an immense multitude, as Bonfrere shews by an accurate calculation. God also was pleased to bless the Hebrews with fecundity, so that they sprung up (ebullierunt) like frogs or fishes, ver. 7. In Egypt, the women had sometimes seven at a birth (Pliny, Natural History vii. 3,) and Aristotle (Anim. vii. 4,) mentions one woman who had 20 children at four births. (Tirinus) --- Stronger. This might easily be true, if this king had only Thebais under his command. But if he was king of all Egypt, it seems an exaggeration. (Calmet) --- Indeed, human policy often gives birth to all kinds of wickedness. The king justifies his cruelty on this pretext of self-defence. He wishes to keep the Hebrews under; yet he is not willing to let them depart, as he knew they intended, according to Joseph’s prediction. (Haydock) --- God permitted this disposition, in order to punish his people for their idolatry, (Ezechiel xxiii. 8,) to admonish them not to fix their abode in Egypt, and to manifest his power and glory in the destruction of the impious. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv8, 9, 11, 13 Now there arose up a new king--About sixty years…
Now there arose up a new king--About sixty years after the death of Joseph a revolution took place--by which the old dynasty was overthrown, and upper and lower Egypt were united into one kingdom. Assuming that the king formerly reigned in Thebes, it is probable that he would know nothing about the Hebrews; and that, as foreigners and shepherds, the new government would, from the first, regard them with dislike and scorn.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv8–13 8. A new king — A new dynasty or…
8. A new king — A new dynasty or reigning family, says Josephus. The language implies a total change of government and principles of administration, such as attend a change of dynasty; not necessarily that so much time had elapsed that Joseph was actually forgotten, but his services were no longer gratefully recognised. Manetho describes two great dynastic changes: the first on the invasion, and the second on the expulsion, of the Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings; but whether either of these be the change here mentioned, or, in fact, whether there ever were any Shepherd Kings, are still greatly controverted questions. It seems most likely that this oppression of the Israelites commenced under the eighteenth (Theban) dynasty, which came into power, according to Wilkinson, about B.C. 1550, according to Lepsius about B.C. 1700, and ruled two centuries. Ames I., (called also Aahmes, Amosis, and Tethmosis,) the first monarch of this dynasty, united and centralized the kingdom, drove out invaders, erected great palaces and obelisks, and commenced a new epoch of Egyptian history. It is natural that he should know nothing and care nothing for the favourite minister or measures of the dynasty which he displaced; yet it is well to understand that this identification is but conjectural.
Pharaoh’s residence seems at this time to have been at Zoan, otherwise called Tanis, or Avaris, a city of Lower Egypt, on the east bank of the Tanitic branch of the Nile, once a large and strong city of the eastern frontier. (See Isa_19:11; Isa_19:13.) Zoan is the Hebrew name which became Tanis in Greek, while Avaris is an Egyptian word in Greek letters, all the names having the same meaning — “House of departure” — in evident allusion to the frontier situation of the city. “The field of Zoan” is dwelt upon by the Psalmist (Psa_78:12; Psa_78:43) as the scene of God’s wonders in Egypt, and Manetho tells us that King Salatis, the first of the Shepherd line, made this city his residence in harvest time and garrisoned it with 240,000 men. It was evidently the great frontier fortress towards Syria during the Shepherd period, and was the last stronghold of that dynasty when they were allowed to depart by capitulation. (Josephus, Contr. Revelation , 1.) It had a splendid temple to Set, the Egyptian Baal, the sacred enclosure of which can now be clearly traced. This temple was ornamented with numerous obelisks and sculptures by Rameses II., of the nineteenth dynasty, and the present grandeur of its ruins attests its ancient splendour. Twelve fallen obelisks, which were transported down the Nile to this spot from Syene, show with what magnificence Zoan was adorned by the Egyptian kings. Mariette and De Rouge have recently exhumed here sphynxes and colossal statues, bearing the marks of the Shepherd period, and proving beyond doubt that this was a flourishing seat of empire before the time of Moses. (Thomson, in Smith’s Dictionary.)
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The great fertile plain in which this city stood, which originally extended thirty miles east of Tanis to Pelusium, “of old a rich marsh land, watered by four of the seven branches of the Nile, and swept by the cool breezes of the Mediterranean,” is now, by the subsidence of the coast, almost covered by the great Lake Menzeleh. (Poole, in Smith’s Dict.) Pharaoh probably divided his residence between this city and Memphis, and it will be seen that Zoan was so near to Goshen that Moses and Aaron could easily pass and repass in their interviews with Pharaoh. See Concluding Notes at close of chapter. (1.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–14 8. there arose a new king] Implying the rise…
8. there arose a new king] Implying the rise of a king whose reign began a new policy. The king, to judge from v. 11 (see the notes on Pithom and Raʿamses), will have been Rameses II, the third ruler of the 19th dynasty (b.c. 1300–1234 Petrie; 1292–1225 Breasted): set further the Introduction, § 4. According to Gen_41:46 (P), Gen_41:53 f., Gen_45:6, Gen_50:22 (E), and Exo_7:7; Exo_12:40 f. (P), the birth of Moses took place 430–(110–39)–80 = 279 years after Joseph’s death. But there are many indications that the chronological statements of P are of slight value (cf. on Exo_2:23 a, Exo_12:40, and the writer’s Genesis, pp. xxvi–xxxi).
knew not Joseph] Not only lit., was not acquainted with Joseph but also, it is implied, did not remember his services to Egypt, and have no thought or care for his people. Comp. Jdg_2:10 b.
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8–14. The first measure taken to check the increase of the Israelites: they are set to do forced labour on public works in Egypt.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv8–14 (8) There arose up a new king.—A king of…
(8) There arose up a new king.—A king of a new dynasty might seem to be intended. Some suppose him to be Aahmes I., the founder of the eighteenth dynasty of Manetho; others suggest Rameses II., one of the greatest monarchs of the nineteenth. The present writer inclines to regard him as Seti I., the father of this Rameses, and the son of Rameses I. Seti, though not the actual founder of the nineteenth dynasty, was the originator of its greatness. (See Excursus I. “On Egyptian History, as connected with the Book of Exodus,” at the end of this Book.)
Which knew not Joseph.—It seems to be implied that, for some considerable time after his death, the memory of the benefits conferred by Joseph upon Egypt had protected his kinsfolk. But, in the shifts and changes incident to politics—especially to Oriental politics—this condition of things had passed away. The “new king” felt under no obligation to him, perhaps was even ignorant of his name. He viewed the political situation apart from all personal predilections, and saw a danger in it.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv8–14 There arose up a new king. It is asked,…
There arose up a new king. It is asked, Does this mean merely another king, or a completely different king, one of a new dynasty or a new family, not bound by precedent, but free to adopt and likely to adopt quite new principles of government? The latter seems the more probable supposition; but it is probable only, not certain. Assuming it to be what is really meant, we have to ask, What changes of dynasty fall within the probable period of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt, and to which of them is it most likely that allusion is here made? Some writers (as Kalisch) have supposed the Hyksos dynasty to be meant, and the "new king" to be Set, or Salatis, the first of the Hyksos rulers. But the date of Salatis appears to us too early. If Joseph was, as we suppose, the minister of Apophis, the last Hyksos king, two changes of dynasty only can come into consideration that which took place about B.C. 1700 (or, according to some, B.C. 1600), when the Hyksos were expelled; and that which followed about three centuries later, when the eighteenth dynasty was superseded by the nineteenth. To us it seems that the former of these occasions, though in many respects suitable, is
(a) too near the going down into Egypt to allow time for the multiplication which evidently took place before this king arose (see ver. 7), and
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(b) unsuitable from the circumstance that the first king of this dynasty was not a builder of new cities (see ver. 11), but only a repairer of temples. We therefore conclude that the "new king" was either Rameses I, the founder of the nineteenth dynasty, or Seti I, his son, who within little more than a year succeeded him. It is evident that this view receives much confirmation from the name of one of the cities built for the king by the Hebrews, which was Raamses, or Rameses, a name now appearing for the first time in the Egyptian dynastic lists.
Who knew not Joseph. Who not only had no personal knowedge of Joseph, but was wholly ignorant of his history. At the distance of from two to three centuries the benefits conferred by Joseph upon Egypt, more especially as they were conferred under a foreign and hated dynasty, were forgotten.
Joseph forgotten.
evil that men do lives after them the good is oft interred with their bones." Had Joseph been a tyrant, a conqueror, an egotist who crushed down the Egyptians by servile toil for the purpose of raising a huge monument to his own glory, he would no doubt have remained fresh in the memory of the nation, and his name and acts would have been familiar even to a "new king," who was yet an Egyptian and an educated man. But as he had only been a benefactor of the nation, and especially of the kings, (Gen_47:20-26) he was utterly forgotten as some think, within sixty-five years of his death, but according to our calculations, not till about 275 years after it. This is about the space that separates us from Queen Elizabeth, who is certainly not forgotten, as neither are her ministers. So Christian nations would seem to have better memories than heathen ones. In time, however, every man is forgotten; and Christians should therefore not make their object the praise of men, or posthumous fame, but the praise and approval of God, which will continue for ever. "God is not unrighteous to forget (Heb_6:10)
HOMILIES BY J. URQUHART Vers. 8-14. Egypt"s sin.
I NATIONAL WRONG-DOING THE SEED OF NATIONAL DISASTER. The story of Egypt"s suffering begins with the story of Egypt"s injustice. There was wisdom in Pharaoh"s statesmanship, and a sincere desire to serve his country, and yet he was his country"s worst foe. The service rendered by wickedness is in the end rebuke and ruin.
II THE CARE SOUGHT TO BE REMOVED BY SIN BECOMES GREATER (10-12).
1. The bondage was imposed to prevent their multiplying: "but the morethey afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew.
2. The trouble was at first simply a possibility detected by the statesman"skeen eye, and now all Egypt was "grieved because of the children of Israel." The way of wickedness is through a deepening flood.
III WRONG GROWS INTO GREATER WRONG (13, 14). Egypt had gone too far to retreat. Israel"s enmity was now a certainty, and they must be crushed. From being compelled to labour in the erection of strong cities, their lives are made bitter by all manner of hard bondage. Evil grows with an inward necessity. When a nation makes an unjust demand it does not mean murder, yet that is its next step. Satan dare not whisper all his counsel at first but by-and-by he can tell it all and have it all accomplished. U.
Vers. 8-22. The policy of Pharaoh.
I THE PRINCIPLE OF THE POLICY. This is indicated in vers. 9, 10. It was a policy of selfish fear, proceeding upon an unconcealed regard for the supremacy of Egypt. Whatever interfered with that supremacy was to be, if possible, swept completely out of the way. Pharaoh was dealing, not with the necessities of the present, but with the possibilities of the future. He made no pretence that Israel deserved to be dealt with in this merciless fashion. There was no attempt to cloak the cruelties of the tyrant under the aspect of needful severity against evil-doers. The fear of Pharaoh is seen in the very language he employs. It was not true as yet that the Israelites were more and mightier than the Egyptians: but Pharaoh feels that such a state of things is not improbable, and may not be remote. Something has already happened very different from what might have been expected. Who was to suppose that a handful of people from Canaan, instead of blending with the bulk of Egypt, would keep persistently separate and increase with such alarming rapidity? Seeing that such unexpected things have already happened, what may not be feared in the future? Who knows what allies Israel may ultimately find, and what escape it may achieve? Thus from this attitude and utterance of Pharaoh we learn
1. Not to make our safety and our strength to consist in an unscrupulous weakening of others. The true strength, ever becoming more and more sufficient, is to be gained within ourselves. Pharaoh would have done more for his own safety and the safety of his people by putting away idolatry, injustice, and oppression, than by all his frantic attempts to destroy Israel. It is a sad business, if we must hold our chief possessions at the expense of others. If my gain is the loss or suffering of some one else, then by this very fact the gain is condemned, and however large and grateful it may be at present, it will end in the worst of all loss. Surely the luxuries of the few would become utterly nauseous and abhorrent, if it were only considered how often they depend on the privation and degradation of the many. Pharaoh"s kingdom deserved to perish, and so deserve all kingdoms and all exalted stations of individuals, if their continuance can only be secured by turning all possible enemies into spiritless and emasculated slaves.
2. Not to set our affections on such things as lie at the mercy of others. Pharaoh had to be incessantly watching the foundations of his vast and imposing kingdom. Other nations only saw the superstructure" from a distance, and might be excused for concluding that the magnificence rested upon a solid base. But we may well believe that Pharaoh himself lived a life of incessant anxiety. The apprehensions which he here expresses must have been a fair sample of those continually passing through his mind. The world can give great possessions and many opportunities for carnal pleasure; but security, undisturbed enjoyment of the possession, it cannot give.
II THE WORKING OUT OF THE POLICY. The thing aimed at was to keep the numbers of Israel within what were deemed safe bounds; and to this end Pharaoh began by trying to crush the spirits of the people. He judged and perhaps not unwisely, according to the wisdom of this world that a race oppressed as he proposed to oppress Israel would assuredlynot increase to any dangerous extent. If only the rate of increase in Israel did not gain on the rate of increase in Egypt, then all would be safe.
Pharaoh firmly believed that if only Egypt could keep more numerous than Israel, Egypt would be perfectly secure. Therefore he put these people into a state of bondage and oppression ever becoming more rigorous. Notice that he had peculiar advantages, from his point of view, in making this course of treatment successful. The Israelites had hitherto lived a free, wandering, pastoral life, (Gen_47:3-6) and now they were cooped-up under merciless taskmasters and set to hard manual toil. If any human policy had success in it, success seemed to be in this policy of Pharaoh. Nevertheless it utterly failed, from Pharaoh"s point of view, for, whatever depressing effect it had on the spirits of the Israelites, there was no diminution in their numbers. The extraordinary and alarming increase still went on. The more the taskmasters did to hinder Israel, the more, in this particular matter of the numerical increase, it seemed to prosper. It was all very perplexing and unaccountable, but at last Pharaoh recognises the failure, even while he cannot explain it, and proceeds to a more direct method of action, which surely cannot fail in a perfectly efficacious result. He commands the men-children of Israel to be slain from the womb. But here he fails even in a more conspicuous and humiliating way than before. He was a despot, accustomed to have others go when he said "Go," and come when he said "Come" Accordingly, when he commanded men to become the agents of his harsh designs, he found obedient servants in plenty, and probably many who bettered his instructions. But now he turns to women weak, despised women, who were reckoned to obey in the most obsequious manner and he finds that they will not obey at all. It was an easy thing to do, if it had only been in their hearts to do it; for what is easier than to take away the breath of a new-born infant? They do not openly refuse; they even pretend compliance; but for all that they secretly disobey and effectively thwart Pharaoh"s purpose. When we find others readily join with us in our evil purposes, then God interferes to disappoint both us and them; but we cannot always reckon even on the support of others. Notice lastly, that in carrying out this policy of defence against Israel, Pharaoh never seems to have thought of the one course which might have given him perfect safety. He might have expelled Israel altogether out of his coasts. But, so far from deeming this desirable, it was one of the very things he wished to guard against. Israel was a continual source of alarm and annoyance, a people beyond management, an insoluble problem; but it never occurred to him that Egypt would be better with them away. It would have had a very bad look to send them out of the land; it would have been a confession of inability and perplexity which those proud lips, so used to the privileged utterances of despotism, could not bring themselves to frame.
III THE TOTAL RESULT OF THE POLICY. Though it failed in attaining the particular end which it had in view, it did not fail altogether; nay, it rather succeeded, and that with a most complete success, seeing that in doing so it effectually served the purpose of God. Pharaoh failed as dealing with the children of Israel. He called them the children of Israel, but in profound ignorance of all that this description involved. He did not know that Israel was the son of him who was born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age, contrary to all expectation and entirely of promise. But Pharaoh succeeded in a way he did not anticipate, in so far as he was dealing with the posterity of Jacob, the heirs of human infirmity. They did become, in the course of time, slaves in spirit as well as in body, personally so undeserving of freedom that when they had received it, they wished almost immediately to go back to the creature comforts of Egypt like a dog to its vomit, or a sow to her wallowing in the mire. Hence we see that God served himself, alike by Pharaoh"s failure and Pharaoh"s success. Pharaoh"s failure showed how really and powerfully God was present with his people. It was another instance of the treasure being in an earthen vessel that the excellency of the power might be of God and not of men. And Pharaoh by his very success in making the iron to enter into the soul of Israel, was unconsciously working a way to make the stay of Israel in Egypt as full a type as possible of the tyrannous bondage of sin. As Egypt presented its pleasant side at first, so does sin. For a considerable time Egypt looked better than Canaan. There had been corn in Egypt; there had been a land of Goshen; there had been a reflected honour and comfort from the relation of the children of Israel to the all-powerful Joseph. But Joseph (lies, and then little by little it becomes plain that Egypt will be anything but a land of happiness. What the Israelites might have become if Pharaoh had not persecuted them, it is vain to speculate, as vain as to speculate what might happen to the sinner if he could go on sinning without suffering. We have to thank Pharaoh for helping to set before us in such a clear way the bitter bondage of sin, and the greatness of that deliverance by which God will liberate us from it. God moves in a mysterious way. He fills Israel with a strength whereby even in bondage and oppression their numbers are miraculously increased, but he denies to them the strength whereby they might have overthrown their oppressors. We can now see the why and wherefore of all this mysterious dealing. By the work of his Son God fills us with a life which, through all the discomforts of the present state, goes on undestroyed and still increasing into a state where these discomforts will be unknown. But at the same time God makes it clear that we cannot escape all the sufferings that belong to sin. So far as we have sown to the flesh, we must also out of the flesh reap corruption, Our joy is that, even in this world, amid all tribulation and all reaping the temporal results of sin, there is also the opportunity for another and better sowing, and the consequent opportunity for another and better reaping. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v13 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_1:13-14
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_1:13-14
THE DESPOTISM OF SIN
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I. That it commences by suggesting a small tribute to the sinner. The Egyptian King, no doubt, suggested to the Israelites that great advantage might arise to them if they would enter into certain engagements or investments under his authority. This they did—paying heavy tribute—which they were unable to meet—and so placed themselves in his power.
1. Sin generally commences its tyranny by suggesting the probability of gain under its rule. It wins us by the hope of a good investment—whereby we may secure wealth—prosperity—fame. But when we commence to work out the contract we find that we have been lured by a false hope—a deceptive promise. We find ourselves involved in difficulties—numerous—complicated—depressing—ever increasing—until we are reduced from the position of tenant to that of slave. Never enter into any bargains with sin. They are sure to end in woe. They promise liberty—they give chains. The world is a great prison-house full of the dupes of sin.
(1.) Sin is cunning.
(2.) Sin has many counsellors.
(3.) Sin has many agencies. You are not a match for it.
II. That it succeeds in getting the sinner completely within its power. The Egyptians succeeded in getting the Israelites completely under their authority
1. Sin gets the sinner under its rule. It makes him obey the laws of hell. It makes him work the purposes of Satan. He must violate every holy instinct of his nature. He must reject the counsel of the Infinite. He becomes a subject of the infernal realm of being.
2. Sin makes the sinner subject to its counsel. The Israelites were enslaved as the result of a national consultation between the Egyptian king and his near advisers. Satan holds a council in reference to the moral servitude of human souls—the sinner yields to the unjust and unholy requirements of his fiendish companions.
3. Sin makes the sinner responsible to its authority. The Israelites were responsible to the king of Egypt for the kind and amount of service they rendered. He made them feel obligated to build the house, and to serve in the field. So the devil tries to bring men to do his work as though they were obligated to follow his bidding, so completely is the soul brought under Satanic power. It is conscious of its burden. It has not the energy to cast it away.
III. That it ultimately imposes upon the sinner an intolerable servitude.
1. The servitude of a bitter life. How sad the lives of these abject Israelites. Every day spent in unrequited toil—subject to heavy tribute—savage taskmasters—a fierce king—an envious nation—without hope of deliverance. Without free social intercourse—without happy domestic life. Sin renders life bitter—destroys friendly companionships—breaks up family comfort. Fills life with grief.
2. The servitude of hard work. The Egyptians made the Israelites build cities, and attend in the fields. The devil gives sinners hard work to do. Sinners often work harder than saints. Their toil is far more exhausting and fatiguing. Nor are sinners recompensed for their toil; Satan makes them build houses for other people! The unprofitableness—the folly of sin.
3. The servitude is degrading. The Israelites came into Egypt as a godly family, brought there by Joseph, who was distinguished as a God-fearing man. They were honoured by the king. They were respected by the people—Yet a few years afterwards they are employed as field-servants. What a transition in their position, and all because they yielded to the cunning allurements of a wicked king! So sin brings men from respect to derision—from plenty to beggary—from moral rulership to servitude, Repulse the first attempt of Satan to bind even a golden chain around your wrist, for, when fastened, you will find the gold to wear off, and disclose a steel manacle that will bruise your flesh. Sin degrades individuals—and nations.
THE SPIRITUAL BONDAGE OF MAN
I. It was an entire and universal bondage. The dominion of the oppressor had no merciful limit, nor mitigation. Every Israelite in Goshen was the bondservant of the Egyptians. The bondage of Satan knows no limit—no mercy:—
1. The understanding is depraved.
2. The will is perverted.
3. The affections are depraved.
II. The Israelites under a severe and cruel bondage.
III. The Israelites were in a helpless bondage. Every refinement of policy, every effort of power, every device of craft, was practised against them by the might and subtilty of a nation unrivalled in arts and arms. They could not escape of themselves. Satan has a close alliance with every appetite and affection of our nature. Difficult to get from under his tyranny [Buddicom’s Christian Exodus].
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_1:13-14. The sufferings of Israel were rendered more intense:—
1. As a punishment for their idolatry.
2. To inspire within them a deep hatred toward Egypt, so that through their perils in the wilderness they might not wish to return thither.
3. That the prospect of Canaan might animate and refresh their souls.
4. That after such excessive and unpaid labour they might fairly spoil the Egyptians on their departure.
5. That they might be aroused to earnest prayer for deliverance.
6. That the power and mercy of God might be more forcibly displayed in their freedom. Here is a true picture of tyranny:—i. Its rigour increases with failure. ii. It becomes more impious as it is in evident opposition to the Divine providence. iii. It discards all the claims of humanity. iv. It ends in its own defeat and overthrow.
It is the cruel design of persecutors to make God’s freemen their slaves.
Wicked persecutors are the more rigorous to those whom God favoureth.
Some men take a delight in making the lives of God’s people miserable.
Men are slow to be taught that, by their mad schemes, they are fighting against God.
By the Work of this bondage the Israelites, getting instructed in civilized life, were being prepared for their future home.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v8 Exo 1:1 - - Exo 1:14.
Exodus
FOUR SHAPING CENTURIES
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Exo 1:1 - - Exo 1:14.
The four hundred years of Israel’s stay in Egypt were divided into two unequal periods, in the former and longer of which they were prosperous and favoured, while in the latter they were oppressed. Both periods had their uses and place in the shaping of the nation and its preparation for the Exodus. Both carry permanent lessons.
I. The long days of unclouded prosperity. These extended over centuries, the whole history of which is summed up in two words: death and growth. The calm years glided on, and the shepherds in Goshen had the happiness of having no annals. All that needed to be recorded was that, one by one, the first generation died off, and that the new generations ‘were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty.’ The emphatic repetitions recall the original promises in Gen 12:2, Gen 17:4 - Gen 17:5, Gen 18:18. The preceding specification of the number of the original settlers {repeated from Gen 46:27} brings into impressive contrast the small beginnings and the rapid increase. We may note that eloquent setting side by side of the two processes which are ever going on simultaneously, death and birth.
One by one men pass out of the warmth and light into the darkness, and so gradually does the withdrawal proceed that we scarcely are aware of its going on, but at last ‘all that generation’ has vanished. The old trees are all cleared off the ground, and everywhere their place is taken by the young saplings. The web is ever being woven at one end, and run down at the other. ‘The individual withers, but the race is more and more.’ How solemn that continual play of opposing movements is, and how blind we are to its solemnity!
That long period of growth may be regarded in two lights. It effected the conversion of a horde into a nation by numerical increase, and so was a link in the chain of the divine working. The great increase, of which the writer speaks so strongly, was, no doubt, due to the favourable circumstances of the life in Goshen, but was none the less regarded by him, and rightly so, as God’s doing. As the Psalmist sings, ‘He increased His people greatly.’ ‘Natural processes’ are the implements of a supernatural will. So Israel was being multiplied, and the end for which it was peacefully growing into a multitude was hidden from all but God. But there was another end, in reference to which the years of peaceful prosperity may be regarded; namely, the schooling of the people to patient trust in the long-delayed fulfilment of the promise. That hope had burned bright in Joseph when he died, and he being dead yet spake of it from his coffin to the successive generations. Delay is fitted and intended to strengthen faith and make hope more eager. But that part of the divine purpose, alas! was not effected as the former was. In the moral region every circumstance has two opposite results possible. Each condition has, as it were, two handles, and we can take it by either, and generally take it by the wrong one. Whatever is meant to better us may be so used by us as to worsen us. And the history of Israel in Egypt and in the desert shows only too plainly that ease weakened, if it did not kill, faith, and that Goshen was so pleasant that it drove the hope and the wish for Canaan out of mind. ‘While the bridegroom tarried they all slumbered and slept.’ Is not Israel in Egypt, slackening hold of the promise because it tarried, a mirror in which the Church may see itself? and do we not know the enervating influence of Goshen, making us reluctant to shoulder our packs and turn out for the pilgrimage? The desert repels more strongly than Canaan attracts.
II. The shorter period of oppression. Probably the rise of a ‘new king’ means a revolution in which a native dynasty expelled foreign monarchs. The Pharaoh of the oppression was, perhaps, the great Rameses II., whose long reign of sixty-seven years gives ample room for protracted and grinding oppression of Israel. The policy adopted was characteristic of these early despotisms, in its utter disregard of humanity and of everything but making the kingdom safe. It was not intentionally cruel, it was merely indifferent to the suffering it occasioned. ‘Let us deal wisely with them’-never mind about justice, not to say kindness. Pharaoh’s ‘politics,’ like those of some other rulers who divorce them from morality, turned out to be impolitic, and his ‘wisdom’ proved to be roundabout folly. He was afraid that the Israelites, if they were allowed to grow, might find out their strength and seek to emigrate; and so he set to work to weaken them with hard bondage, not seeing that that was sure to make them wish the very thing that he was blunderingly trying to prevent. The only way to make men glad to remain in a community is to make them at home there. The sense of injustice is the strongest disintegrating force. If there is a ‘dangerous class’ the surest way to make them more dangerous is to treat them harshly. It was a blunder to make ‘lives bitter,’ for hearts also were embittered. So the people were ripened for revolt, and Goshen became less attractive.
God used Pharaoh’s foolish wisdom, as He had used natural laws, to prepare for the Exodus. The long years of ease had multiplied the nation. The period of oppression was to stir them up out of their comfortable nest, and make them willing to risk the bold dash for freedom. Is not that the explanation, too, of the similar times in our lives? It needs that we should experience life’s sorrows and burdens, and find how hard the world’s service is, and how quickly our Goshens may become places of grievous toil, in order that the weak hearts, which cling so tightly to earth, may be detached from it, and taught to reach upwards to God. ‘Blessed is the man . . .in whose heart are thy ways,’ and happy is he who so profits by his sorrows that they stir in him the pilgrim’s spirit, and make him yearn after Canaan, and not grudge to leave Goshen. Our ease and our troubles, opposite though they seem and are, are meant to further the same end,-to make us fit for the journey which leads to rest and home. We often misuse them both, letting the one sink us in earthly delights and oblivion of the great hope, and the other embitter our spirits without impelling them to seek the things that are above. Let us use the one for thankfulness, growth, and patient hope, and the other for writing deep the conviction that this is not our rest, and making firm the resolve that we will gird our loins and, staff in hand, go forth on the pilgrim road, not shrinking from the wilderness, because we see the mountains of Canaan across its sandy flats.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v8 Pharaoh Plans to Curb the Growth
Pharaoh Plans to Curb the Growth
v. 8. Now there arose up a new king over Egypt which knew not Joseph. The expression "arose up" indicates either that the new Pharaoh adopted entirely new policies with reference to the strange people within the boundaries of his land, or that a new dynasty was founded by conquest or by the overthrow of that which had been friendly to the people of Joseph, the savior of Egypt. This new Pharaoh knew not Joseph, either because he was entirely unfamiliar with the history of the strange people in Goshen, or because he determined to set aside the high regard in which the strangers had been held. A careful comparison of Biblical and secular history seems to show that Thothmes I must have been the Pharaoh of the oppression, while the Pharaoh of the Exodus was Amenhotep II.
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v. 9. And he said unto his people, to the high officials and representatives of the people, who were his counselors, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. This was an exaggeration to emphasize the unwelcome growth of the Israelites which showed the abject fear of the despot.
v. 10. Come on, let us deal wisely with them, make use of political sagacity combined with despotic craftiness and malice, lest they multiply, and it come to pass that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. The children of Israel were no citizens of Egypt, they had never become Egyptianized, neither in language nor in religion nor in customs, and so the new despot scented a danger which his policy bade him remove in time. He did not fear the conquest of his own country, but merely the departure of the Jews in case of a war. He considered the Israelites subject to his jurisdiction to the extent of treating them as serfs and bondmen.
v. 11. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. The counselors advised impressing the Israelites into peonage, practically into slavery, by setting officers over them, the purpose being to enfeeble the people, both in body and mind, by enforced labor, to take the heart out of them by the grievousness of their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. Certain cities had been set aside as places to store the annual tax of the harvest which Joseph had introduced, Pithom, which was situated on the canal connecting the Nile with the Arabian Gulf, and Raamses, later known as Heroopolis, in Goshen, about twenty-two miles east of Pithom, as nearly as may be determined at the present time.
v. 12. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. God spoiled the success of the Egyptians’ plans by continuing to bless the Israelites in spite of all the measures intended to destroy their fruitfulness. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. They were not merely disgusted at them, but they felt an increasing horror of the mysterious power that was aiding the children of Israel.
v. 13. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor;
v. 14. and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar and in brick and in all manner of service in the field; all their service wherein they made them serve was with rigor. Chagrined at the failure of their first plan, the Egyptians added ill treatment and cruelty to oppression. Two new forms of service were laid upon them, brick-making, which included both the preparing of the clay and the drying of the brick, and the hard field labor on the soil which had to be irrigated. Thus all the work which the Egyptians performed through the Israelites was done under hard pressure upon the latter. To this day tribulation and persecution is the lot of the people of God, but such crosses bring them only blessing and gain.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 11, 13 arose over Egypt
arose over Egypt
Here "Egypt" refers to the people of Egypt. AT: "began to rule over the people of Egypt" (See: Metonymy)
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He said to his people
"The king said to his people"
his people
These were the people who lived in Egypt, the Egyptians.
let us
The word "us" is inclusive and refers to the king and his people, the Egyptians. (See: Inclusive "We")
war breaks out
Here war is spoken of as a person that is able to act. (See: Personification)
leave the land
"leave Egypt"
translationWords
king
raise
Egypt
people group
wise
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8, 10, 11, 12, 14 1:8-10 From about 1650 until about 1550 BC, the…
1:8-10 From about 1650 until about 1550 BC, the northern part of Egypt, where the Israelites lived, was ruled by Semitic invaders that the Egyptians called “shepherd kings,” or Hyksos. Many scholars believe that these kings were sympathetic to the Israelites and that the Israelites may even have been allied with them. It is easy to imagine that, when these invaders were finally expelled about 1540 BC, the new rulers (Egypt’s 18th Dynasty) were very suspicious of any Semites, including the Israelites, who remained in the country.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.