Exodus 1 – Israel Multiplies Under Oppression: Pharaoh’s Bondage, the Hebrew Midwives, and the Decree Against the Male Children (KJV Bible Study Chart)

Exodus 1 deliberately connects the new book with Genesis by naming the sons of Israel who entered Egypt. Verse 5 gives the household total as seventy souls, while Joseph was already in Egypt. The family that entered Egypt small does not remain small. After Joseph, his brethren, and that generation die, Israel becomes remarkably fruitful and numerous.

The language of Exodus 1:7 is deliberately emphatic: the Israelites are “fruitful,” “increased abundantly,” “multiplied,” and “waxed exceeding mighty.” This growth continues the covenant promises concerning Abraham’s seed. Egypt is a foreign land, but geographical displacement cannot prevent God from fulfilling His Word.

A new king arises “which knew not Joseph.” Whether this means he literally possessed no historical knowledge of Joseph or deliberately refused to recognize Joseph’s significance, the practical result is the same: Joseph’s former service no longer protects his descendants politically. Pharaoh sees Israel’s population as a threat and fears that they may join an enemy and leave Egypt.

His first strategy is oppression. Taskmasters afflict Israel and force the people to build the treasure cities Pithom and Raamses. Verse 14 describes hard service in mortar, brick, and field labor. The bondage becomes bitter, yet verse 12 states that “the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew.” Pharaoh’s policy cannot reverse the blessing of God.

The next attack becomes more direct. Pharaoh commands the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill the sons while preserving the daughters. The women refuse because “the midwives feared God.” Their conduct is significant: Scripture normally teaches submission to rulers, but human authority does not possess the right to command murder. Fear of God takes precedence over obedience to a wicked decree.

God deals well with the midwives, the people continue multiplying, and the women receive houses. Their faithfulness does not stop Pharaoh from escalating the persecution, however.

Verse 22 turns the secret order into a national decree: “Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river.” Pharaoh is now attempting to destroy Israel’s future generation. This prepares directly for Exodus 2 and the birth of Moses.

The river that Pharaoh designates for death becomes connected with Moses’ preservation. That irony introduces one of Exodus’s recurring themes: God can overturn the instruments of oppression and use the enemy’s own circumstances to advance deliverance.

Exodus 1 should first be read as literal history concerning Israel, not as Church-age allegory. Applications regarding persecution, courage, and providence are legitimate, but Israel’s bondage and coming national redemption retain their historical and dispensational setting. Pharaoh appears powerful, but the chapter’s deeper message is that God’s covenant purpose remains unstoppable.