6634. Exodus 1

1. And these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob - a man and his household they came:

2. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

3. Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

4. Dan and Naphtali, Cad and Asher.

5. And every soul, those who came out of Jacob's thigh, were seventy souls; and Joseph was in Egypt.

6. And Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation.

7. And the children of Israel were fruitful and productive, and multiplied and became very very numerous; and the land was filled with them.

8. And a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

9. And he said to his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are many and numerous, more than ourselves.

10. Come, let us use prudence with them; perhaps they will multiply, and it will be when wars occur, that they also will join themselves to our enemies and fight against us, and go up out of the land.

11. And they set princes of tributes' over them, to afflict them with burdens. And they built cities of store-houses for Pharaoh - Pithom and Raamses.

12. And according as they afflicted them, so they multiplied and so they grew; and they were filled with loathing because of the children of Israel.

13. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigour.

14. And they made their life bitter with hard service, in clay and bricks, and in all [manner of] service in the field, with all their [other] service in which they made them serve with rigour.

15. And the king of Egypt said to the midwives of the Hebrew women, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah-

16. He said, When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son you shall kill him; and if it is a daughter, let her live.

17. And the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt spoke to them; and they kept the boys alive.

18. And the king of Egypt called the midwives, and said to them, Why do you act like that and keep the boys alive?

19. And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are full of life; before the midwife comes to them they have given birth.

20. And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very numerous.

21. And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He made them houses.

22. And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, Every son who is born you shall throw into the river, and every daughter you shall keep alive.

CONTENTS

This first chapter deals in the internal sense with the state of the Church which has been established, a state in which good plays the leading part and is made fruitful through the multiplication of the truths of faith.