Exodus 1 Footnotes

1:5 The number “seventy” mentioned here and in Gn 46:27 seems to contradict Stephen’s figure of seventy-five in Ac 7:14. The number seventy-five can also be found at Ex 1:5 within the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT) and the Dead Sea Scrolls. However, these two numbers can be reconciled. The higher figure includes five additional sons born to Ephraim and Manasseh sometime after Jacob and his other clan members arrived in Egypt. These additional individuals are named in Nm 26:28-37 and 1Ch 7:14-23 as well as in the Greek version of Gn 46:27.

1:8 The biblical writer’s use of the term “king” to refer to the supreme leader of Egypt has been used as evidence that Moses could not have written the book of Exodus since anyone familiar with Egyptian culture would have used the Egyptian term pharaoh. But pharaoh is used 185 times elsewhere in the Torah. Moses was writing this document to a Hebrew, not Egyptian, audience. In the language of the original readers the term king (Hb melek) referred to the highest governmental official within a social system. Perhaps, for the sake of clarity for his readers as well as for literary variety, Moses chose to use the usual Hebrew term.

1:11 The mention of a city named Ramesses cannot be used to prove that the events of this narrative took place during the days of Ramesses II (ca 1290 BC). However, the Bible’s chronological references (see 1Kg 6:1) suggest that the events of Ex 1 occurred at least 150 years prior to Ramesses II’s reign. The city’s name means literally “Born of [the god] Re.” Re was one of the most popular gods in the history of Egypt, worshiped since at least the Fourth Dynasty (ca 2772 BC). It is entirely possible that a city honoring this popular god was built hundreds of years before Ramesses II.

1:19 Were the Hebrew midwives lying? The Hebrew midwives misled Pharaoh in order to save innocent human lives. The Bible teaches that lying is wrong (20:16; Lv 19:11; Eph 4:29; Col 3:9; Rv 22:15) and that people should tell the truth (Zch 8:16). What the midwives did is not meant as an example of behavior of which God approves. Nevertheless, their act was intended to avert a far greater wrong—the murder of innocent children. Because of Pharaoh’s wicked intentions in this matter, he did not deserve to hear the truth from these women. Others in the OT were recorded as deliberately misleading people in order to protect innocent human life, including Samuel (1Sm 16:2) and Jeremiah (Jr 38:24-27). In a world marred by sin it is not always possible to choose between pure good and pure evil, and one is sometimes compelled to choose the least sinful alternative. Christians are to speak the truth in love (2Co 4:2; Eph 4:15). Jesus set the example for Christians by telling the truth even when it produced personal pain and suffering (Mt 26:63-66; Jn 8:40-59).