Exodus 1 - Abortion in Egypt

The Israelites Oppressed

1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy[a] in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.

6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7 but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.

8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”

11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.

15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”

20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them familiesof their own.

22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

Footnotes:

1. 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

Observation Questions

The Israelites Oppressed

Which of the sons of Israel went to Egypt with Jacob? (verse 1-4)

Which of Jacob's sons had already been in Egypt before the rest of the brothers? (verse 5)

What was the number of Jacob's descendants when the brothers went down to Egypt? (verse 5)

Did Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation die? (verse 6)

Were the Israelites exceedingly fruitful? (verse 7)

What was the reasoning the the new king made for dealing shrewdly with the Israelites? (verse 8-10)

Why did the Egyptians put slave masters over the Israelites? (verse 8-11)

What happened as the Israelites were oppressed? (verse 12-13)

How were the lives of the Israelites made bitter? (verse 14)

What orders did the king of Egypt give to the Hebrew midwives? (verse 15-16)

Why did the the midwives disobey the king of Egypt? (verse 17)

What did the midwives say when they were questioned about letting the boys live? (verse 18-19)

Was God kind to the midwives? (verse 20)

Why did God give the midwives families of their own? (verse 21)

Who did Pharaoh give orders to that every Hebrew boy must be thrown into the Nile? (verse 22)

Thoughts

But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. - verses 12 & 13

“When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 

- do we hear of people being ordered to do things like this now?

"The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live."

- is there a resistance like this now? 

“Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”