Exodus 1

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¹Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt (every man and his household came with Jacob): ✦ ²Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, ✦ ³Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, ✦ ⁴Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. ⁵All the souls who came out of Jacob’s body were seventy souls, and Joseph was in Egypt already. ✦ ⁶Joseph died, as did all his brothers, and all that generation. ✦ ⁷The children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. ✦ ⁸Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who didn’t know Joseph. ✦ ⁹He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. ✦ ¹⁰Come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it happen that when any war breaks out, they also join themselves to our enemies, and fight against us, and escape out of the land.” ✦ ¹¹Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses. ✦ ¹²But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. They were grieved because of the children of Israel. ✦ ¹³The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve, ✦ ¹⁴and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of service in the field, all their service, in which they ruthlessly made them serve. ✦ ¹⁵The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah, ¹⁶and he said, “When you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stool; if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” ✦ ¹⁷But the midwives feared God, and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive. ✦ ¹⁸The king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and have saved the boys alive?” ✦ ¹⁹The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” ✦ ²⁰God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty. ✦ ²¹Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. ✦ ²²Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.” ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Exod 1 ·8 Acts 7 ·7 Ps 105 ·6 Gen 35 ·5 Prov 27 ·4 Eccl 8 ·4 Exod 5 ·3 Exod 6 ·3

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical
On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"
★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical
Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.
DocumentaryPatterns of Evidence: The ExodusTim Mahoney · Paid · evangelical
Investigates the archaeological evidence for the Exodus. Note: it advances a minority biblical chronology that mainstream scholars dispute — engaging, but weigh its conclusions critically.

Pastoral

★ Start hereCommentaryExodus (New American Commentary)Douglas K. Stuart · Paid · evangelical
The best evangelical, semi-technical commentary on Exodus — accessible to pastors and serious students.
DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical
Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 1YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Exodus 1David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Exodus 1Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

Exodus 2 →