Title: Pharaoh Chides Moses And Aaron For Their Message. part 1

by John Thomas Lowe
(Woodruff, S.C.)

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 familya)
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).
(1.) Though, no doubt, they increased considerably before, it should seem, it was not till after the death of Joseph that it began to be taken notice of as extraordinary. Thus, when they lost the benefit of his protection, God made their numbers their defense, and they became better able than they had been to shift for themselves. If God continues our friends and relations to us while we most need them, and removes them when they can be better spared, let us own that he is wise and not complain that he is hard upon us. After the death of Christ, our Joseph, his gospel Israel began most remarkably to increase: and his death influenced it; it was like the sowing of a corn of wheat, which, if it dies, bringeth forth much fruit, (Jn. 12:24).
(2.) This remarkable increase fulfilled the promise made unto the fathers long before. From the call of Abraham, when God first told him he would make of him a great nation, to the deliverance of his seed out of Egypt, it was 430 years, during the first 215 of which they were increased but to seventy, but, in the latter half, those seventy multiplied to 600,000 fighting men. Note,
1. Sometimes God's providences may seem for a great while to thwart his promises and go counter to them, that his people's faith may be tried, and his power the more magnified.
2. Though the performance of God's promises is sometimes slow, it is always sure; at the end, it shall speak and not lie, Hab. 2:3.


Verses 1-4 The *Hebrew word 'and' begins verse 1. This word and the list of names show that this book continues the record in Genesis. God gave Jacob the name 'Israel' (Genesis 32:28). So 'Israel's sons' refers to Jacob's own family. Egypt's ruler had invited Jacob and his family to live in Egypt. He gave land to them in the region called Goshen. Moreover, they had plenty of room for their sheep and other animals (Genesis 47:1-6). Jacob had four wives, and he had sons with each wife. This book records the names of Jacob's sons. They appear in the same order as in Genesis 35:23-26. His first wife was Leah. Her sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Then Rachel's sons were Joseph and Benjamin. Dan and Naphtali were the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant. Gad and Asher were the sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant.
The list in verses 2-4 does not include Joseph because he was already in Egypt. Many years before these events, his brothers had sold him as an enslaved person. However, he became powerful and influential in Egypt (Genesis chapters 37; 39-41).
Verse 5 - The number 70 is the number of males in the family who came to Egypt. The *Greek translation of Genesis 46:27 includes five more names. They were Joseph's grandsons. They were the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons. They make the number 75. Furthermore, Stephen mentioned 75 in his speech (Acts 7:9-15).
*Pharaoh's fear

"The trouble with the Bible … is that so much of it is Old Testament. Furthermore, the trouble with the Old Testament is just that. It is old. Now, of course, for some things, oldness speaks of permanence and lasting, even increasing, value. For other things, oldness spells outmoded, obsolete, and irrelevant. Which category does the Old Testament belong to?"
1 In the prologue to his excellent book, An Eye for an Eye: The Place of Old Testament Ethics Today, Christopher J. H. Wright raises a question that troubles many Christians today. Moreover, for those whom it does not trouble, it should. With a great deal of enthusiasm and expectation, I commence this Old Testament study, beginning with the Book of Exodus.
2 I believe we will find, as Wright's excellent book shows, that the Old Testament is a book rich in relevance to the New Testament saint.
Specifically, this series begins with the "birth" of the nation Israel, as described in the Book of Exodus, a book rich in themes that will recur in the Old and New Testaments.
3 While we will not cover this book in thorough, chapter-by-chapter analysis, we will begin our study in chapter 1, which sets the stage for the drama of the Exodus.