Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

1:1-22 The need for deliverance was obviously related to the Israelites’ condition (the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy, 1:13); it also was related to promises God had made to the patriarchs years earlier. The Lord had promised Abraham that his descendants would be a great nation, living in freedom in the land of Canaan. At this point, Abraham’s descendants were slaves in Egypt under a pharaoh determined to decimate them as a people. God would have to rescue the people if his promises were to be kept.

1:1 Israel is the name God had given to Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham (Gen 32:28). • Many years earlier, Jacob and his family had moved to Egypt, seeking refuge from severe drought (see Gen 46:1-7). Thanks to Joseph’s wisdom and leadership (see Gen 41:25-49), a steady grain supply had been stored (see Gen 42:1-2; 45:5-7).

Verse 2

1:2-4 For the births of Jacob’s sons, see Gen 29:31–30:24; 35:16-18.

Verse 5

1:5 seventy descendants: The number 75 in the Greek version and the Dead Sea Scrolls might include the five sons of Ephraim and Manasseh (Num 26:29, 35). • Jacob’s eleventh son, Joseph, had been sold into Egyptian slavery by his jealous brothers (Gen 37:18-28). God accomplished good for his people in spite of the brothers’ sin. With Joseph present in Egypt, God could use him to save the lives of the chosen people from the famine that would have destroyed them (Gen 42:1-2; 50:19-20).

Verse 6

1:6-7 The long sojourn of Jacob’s family in Egypt was part of a divine design. God had told Abraham that his descendants could not receive the land of Canaan for 400 years—until the sin of the Canaanites had come to its full fruition (Gen 15:13-16). Even in Egypt, God’s promises were at work, and the descendants of aged Abraham and barren Sarah multiplied . . . greatly as God had said (Gen 15:5), because God blessed them (Ps 105:24).

Verse 8

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.

Verse 10

1:10 The people whom Pharaoh referred to as our enemies would almost certainly have been the remnants of the Hyksos (see study note on 1:8-10).

Verse 11

1:11 Pithom and Rameses have been identified with the modern cities of Tell el-Maskhutah and Qantir, which archaeology shows to have been built during the Late Bronze period (1550–1250 BC), the same period in which the Israelites were present.

Verse 12

1:12 In spite of the concerted Egyptian oppression, the Israelites multiplied and spread; God was keeping his promise about giving Abraham many descendants (Gen 15:5).

Verse 14

1:14 The only stone that the Egyptians could obtain for building purposes came from the far south of the country. Therefore, in the north where the Hebrews were settled, only the most important state and religious buildings were made of stone. The rest were constructed with mortar and bricks made of durable clay with a binder such as seashells or straw mixed in. After being sun-dried in a form, these materials were surprisingly durable—especially in a land such as Egypt, where there was little rainfall or humidity.

Verse 15

1:15 Pharaoh is a title for the Egyptian ruler, not a personal name. • The origins of the word Hebrew are unclear. As used by the Egyptians and Philistines in reference to the Israelites, it was apparently a derogatory term for a despised underclass. • Whatever the number of Hebrew people (see study note on 12:37), there were clearly more than two midwives for the whole nation. Probably the two named here, Shiphrah and Puah, are representatives of the whole group. The differences between Pharaoh and the midwives are dramatic. He had great political and military power; they had none. He had great official prestige; they had very little. He was a man; they were women. He was of the ruling people; they were slaves. He was rich; they were poor. They could easily have been cowed into obedience, but they were not.

Verse 16

1:16 watch as they deliver (literally look upon the two stones): The Hebrew might refer to a birthstool or genitalia. • If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live: Such selective genocide would not completely deprive the Egyptians of a free labor source. When grown, the girls would be married to slaves from other people groups, effectively destroying Hebrew cohesion while keeping the supply of slaves as high as possible.

Verse 17

1:17 The midwives . . . refused to obey the mighty Egyptian king because they feared God more than they feared Pharaoh (1:21). Fear of the Lord (reverent awe of him as the almighty Creator and Judge) is the foundation of true knowledge and of wisdom (Prov 1:7; 9:10). The Lord is a friend to those who fear him (Ps 25:14). The midwives understood that the Lord has more power than any human being.

Verse 19

1:19 It might trouble us that the midwives were not candid in giving their main reason for keeping the boy babies alive. Comprehensive honesty is less important to God than absolute faithfulness to him and to his believing community.

Verse 20

1:20-21 he gave them families: For most of history, children have had the worthy goal of growing up to raise a family. God graciously granted the universal wish of these women who served him courageously and faithfully.