The Israelites Increase in Egypt
1 Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel who came to Egypt (every man and his household came with Jacob):
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5 All the people who came from Jacob’s body were 70. Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Joseph died, as did all of his brothers and all of that generation. 7 The Israelites were fruitful and increased abundantly and multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty, and the land was filled with them.
Oppression of Israelites Increases
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph. 9 He said to his people, “The Israelite people are more numerous and mightier than we. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply when any war breaks out and join with our enemies and fight against us and escape out of the land.”
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. They started to dread the Israelites.
13 The Egyptians made the Israelites serve rigorously, 14 and they made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and in brick and in all kinds of work in the field. The Egyptians were ruthless in making them serve in all this work.
Pharaoh Orders Infanticide
15 The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah, the other, Puah, 16 and he said, “When you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birth stool, if it is a son, then you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
17 But the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt commanded them but let the baby boys live. 18 The king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing and saved the male children?”
19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
20 God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. 21 Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Pharaoh commanded all of his people, “You shall throw every son that is born into the river, and you shall let every daughter live.”