Pharaoh Chides Moses And Aaron For Their Message. Series

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt. (70+5 Joseph and his family[a])

Footnotes

a. Exodus 1:5 Masoretic Text (see also Gen. 46:27); Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint (see also Acts 7:14 and note at Gen. 46:27) seventy-five

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 1

This chapter begins with an account of the names and number of the children of Israel that came into Egypt with Jacob, Ex. 1:1-5, and relates to the increase of them and the generation that went down to Egypt, Ex 1:6-8. Regardless of the methods the Egyptians used to diminish their number, it was to no avail because by forcing cruel bondage and hard labor upon them, the more they were afflicted, the more they increased. Ex 1:9-14. When ordering the midwives of the Hebrew women to slay every son, they refused to do it because they feared God more than they feared the orders of the King of Egypt. They did not obey the orders of their King.

Furthermore, when he admonished them for their disobedience, they made-up excuses; thus, the people multiplied, Ex 1:15-21. Lastly, the midwives refused the King's order to cast every male child into the Nile River, Ex 1:22. They did not do that either, which is the step leading to the account of the birth of Moses that follows in the next chapter.

1. COMMENTARY (NIV)

1. Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.

The first seven verses of Exodus describe the rapid growth of the sons of Jacob during their time in Egypt. It begins with a review of Jacob's twelve sons. These "sons of Israel" were mentioned four times in Genesis before this verse (Genesis 42:5; 45:21; 46:5; 50:25) about Jacob's sons. In Exodus, the phrase "sons of Israel" will expand to encompass the entire nation of Israel. As explained in the book of Genesis, these men went to Egypt to buy food during a famine at the request of their aged father, Jacob. On their second journey to Egypt, Joseph, the younger brother they had sold into slavery and now second only to Pharaoh, revealed himself. At Pharaoh's request, Jacob and his sons and their households moved to Egypt and settled in the land of Goshen.

Four of Jacob's twelve sons are mentioned in this verse, starting with Reuben. Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob through Leah (Genesis 29:32; 35:23; 49:3). However, Reuben later had sex with his father's concubine Bilhah (Genesis 35:22). This act caused him to lose his preeminence or role as a leader (Genesis 49:3–4). On the positive side, Reuben helped protect the life of Joseph from his brothers (Genesis 37:21–22).

Simeon, Levi, and Judah are the other three sons noted in this verse. Simeon and Levi were considered violent and angry (Genesis 49:5–7). They had attacked many people (Genesis 34:30). Simeon was the second son of Jacob and Leah (Genesis 29:33). Joseph imprisoned Simeon on the first trip Jacob's sons took to Egypt (Genesis 42:24). Levi was the third son of Jacob and Leah (Genesis 29:34). Judah was their fourth son, whose name sounds like the Hebrew word for "praise" (Genesis 29:35). Judah was considered powerful among Jacob's sons (Genesis 49:8–12).

The following verses describe the eleven sons of Jacob who moved to Egypt (Exodus 1:2–4), Joseph's family (Exodus 1:5), and the death of that generation (Exodus 1:6). Nevertheless, their death will not be the end of Israel. Instead, it will become the start of an entire nation (Exodus 1:7). God fulfills His promise to Abraham to turn his descendants into a nation of people He would bless (Genesis 12:1–3).

In these verses, we have,

1. A recital of the names of the twelve patriarchs, as they are called (Acts 7:8). Their names are often repeated in scripture, that they may not sound uncouth to us, like other hard names, but that, by their occurring so frequently, they may become familiar to us; and to show how precious God's spiritual Israel are to him, and how much he delights in them.

2. Notice that their increase in Egypt might appear the more remarkable. The account which was kept of the number of Jacob's family, when they went down into Egypt; they were in all seventy souls (v. 5), according to the computation we had, Gen. 46:27. According to the account given, this was just the number of nations by which the earth was peopled (Gen. 10). For when the Most High separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel, as Moses observes (Deu. 32:8). Note, It is suitable for those whose latter end dramatically increases to remember how small their beginning was (Job 8:7).