The Names of the Sons of Israel
1These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each man and his household: 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5All the descendants of Jacob numbered seventy persons in all — Joseph was already in Egypt. 6In time Joseph died, and all his brothers, and that whole generation, 7but the Israelites were fruitful; they swarmed, multiplied, and grew exceedingly strong, until the land was filled with them.
A New King Oppresses Israel
8Then a new king rose over Egypt, one who did not know Joseph. 9He said to his people, “Look — the people of Israel have grown too many and too strong for us. 10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and escape the land.” 11So they set taskmasters over them to crush them with forced labor, and Israel built for Pharaoh the storage cities of Pithom and Raamses. 12But the more they crushed them, the more they multiplied and spread, until the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites, 13and they made the Israelites serve them ruthlessly. 14They made their lives bitter with hard labor — mixing mortar, making bricks, and all kinds of field work — every task imposed on them was ruthless.
The Midwives Who Feared God
15The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives — the name of the one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah — 16he said, “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, watch the birthstool: if it is a son, kill him; if it is a daughter, let her live.” 17But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt had told them, and they let the boys live. 18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this, letting the boys live?” 19The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women — they are vigorous, and they give birth before the midwife can even reach them.” 20So God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them households of their own. 22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Throw every son that is born into the river, but let every daughter live.”
