22 And Pharaoh H6547 charged H6680 all his people, H5971 saying, H559 Every son H1121 that is born H3209 ye shall cast H7993 into the river, H2975 and every daughter H1323 ye shall save alive. H2421
And the LORD H3068 spake H559 unto Moses, H4872 Say H559 unto Aaron, H175 Take H3947 thy rod, H4294 and stretch out H5186 thine hand H3027 upon the waters H4325 of Egypt, H4714 upon their streams, H5104 upon their rivers, H2975 and upon their ponds, H98 and upon all their pools H4723 of water, H4325 that they may become blood; H1818 and that there may be blood H1818 throughout all the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 both in vessels of wood, H6086 and in vessels of stone. H68 And Moses H4872 and Aaron H175 did H6213 so, as the LORD H3068 commanded; H6680 and he lifted up H7311 the rod, H4294 and smote H5221 the waters H4325 that were in the river, H2975 in the sight H5869 of Pharaoh, H6547 and in the sight H5869 of his servants; H5650 and all the waters H4325 that were in the river H2975 were turned H2015 to blood. H1818 And the fish H1710 that was in the river H2975 died; H4191 and the river H2975 stank, H887 and the Egyptians H4714 could H3201 not drink H8354 of the water H4325 of the river; H2975 and there was blood H1818 throughout all the land H776 of Egypt. H4714
And G2532 the third G5154 angel G32 poured out G1632 his G846 vial G5357 upon G1519 the rivers G4215 and G2532 G1519 fountains G4077 of waters; G5204 and G2532 they became G1096 blood. G129 And G2532 I heard G191 the angel G32 of the waters G5204 say, G3004 Thou art G1488 righteous, G1342 O Lord, G2962 which G3588 art, G5607 and G2532 wast, G2258 and G2532 shalt be, G3741 G3801 because G3754 thou hast judged G2919 thus. G5023 For G3754 they have shed G1632 the blood G129 of saints G40 and G2532 prophets, G4396 and G2532 thou hast given G1325 them G846 blood G129 to drink; G4095 for G1063 they are G1526 worthy. G514
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 1
Commentary on Exodus 1 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Increase in the Number of the Israelites Their Bondage in Egypt - Exodus 1
The promise which God gave to Jacob in his departure from Canaan (Genesis 46:3) was perfectly fulfilled. The children of Israel settled down in the most fruitful province of the fertile land of Egypt, and grew there into a great nation (Exodus 1:1-7). But the words which the Lord had spoken to Abram (Genesis 15:13) were also fulfilled in relation to his seed in Egypt. The children of Israel were oppressed in a strange land, were compelled to serve the Egyptians (Exodus 1:8-14), and were in great danger of being entirely crushed by them (Exodus 1:15-22).
To place the multiplication of the children of Israel into a strong nation in its true light, as the commencement of the realization of the promises of God, the number of the souls that went down with Jacob to Egypt is repeated from Genesis 46:27 (on the number 70, in which Jacob is included, see the notes on this passage); and the repetition of the names of the twelve sons of Jacob serves to give to the history which follows a character of completeness within itself. “ With Jacob they came, every one and his house, ” i.e., his sons, together with their families, their wives, and their children. The sons are arranged according to their mothers, as in Genesis 35:23-26, and the sons of the two maid-servants stand last. Joseph, indeed, is not placed in the list, but brought into special prominence by the words, “ for Joseph was in Egypt ” (Exodus 1:5), since he did not go down to Egypt along with the house of Jacob, and occupied an exalted position in relation to them there.
After the death of Joseph and his brethren and the whole of the family that had first immigrated, there occurred that miraculous increase in the number of the children of Israel, by which the blessings of creation and promise were fully realised. The words פּרוּ ישׁרצוּ ( swarmed ), and ירבּוּ point back to Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 8:17, and יעצמוּ to עצוּם גּוי in Genesis 18:18. “ The land was filled with them, ” i.e., the land of Egypt, particularly Goshen, where they were settled (Genesis 47:11). The extra-ordinary fruitfulness of Egypt in both men and cattle is attested not only by ancient writers, but by modern travellers also (vid., Aristotelis hist. animal. vii. 4, 5; Columella de re rust. iii. 8; Plin. hist. n. vii. 3; also Rosenmüller a. und n. Morgenland i. p. 252). This blessing of nature was heightened still further in the case of the Israelites by the grace of the promise, so that the increase became extraordinarily great (see the comm. on Exodus 12:37).
The promised blessing was manifested chiefly in the fact, that all the measures adopted by the cunning of Pharaoh to weaken and diminish the Israelites, instead of checking, served rather to promote their continuous increase.
Exodus 1:8-9
“ There arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph .” ויּקם signifies he came to the throne, קוּם denoting his appearance in history, as in Deuteronomy 34:10. A “new king” (lxx: βασιλεὺς ἕτερος ; the other ancient versions, rex novus ) is a king who follows different principles of government from his predecessors. Cf. חדשׁים אלהים , “new gods,” in distinction from the God that their fathers had worshipped, Judges 5:8; Deuteronomy 32:17. That this king belonged to a new dynasty, as the majority of commentators follow Josephus