Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who didn’t know Joseph.
- KJV Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
- BSB Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt.
- NKJV Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
- NLT Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A new king arises who does not know Joseph, severing the memory of Israel's past service to Egypt. This sets in motion the oppression of God's people.
Overview
Whether "did not know" means ignorance or willful disregard, the result is the loss of the goodwill Joseph had earned. The verse marks the turn from favor to bondage, the dark backdrop against which God's redemption will shine. It illustrates how quickly worldly security can vanish, leaving God's covenant as His people's only sure hope.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Acts 7:18until there arose a different king, who didn’t know Joseph.
- Eccl 2:18–19I hated all my labor in which I labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.
- Eccl 9:15Now a poor wise man was found in it, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 1:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.