Exodus - Chapter 1

These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household 

• [hence the title of the book - Shemot] 
• Considering that God started with one "old man" with a barren wife, a family of seventy is certainly impressive. However, when we consider that this is the beginning of God's plan for the salvation of mankind, the starting positions are undoubtedly more than modest

2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

• twelve sons, now without Joseph eleven families, later twelve tribes.

5 All the descendants z of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt.

• Joseph was already in Egypt. 
• hebrew: + souls
• each family with an average of (70:11) about six members, i.e. four children

6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 

• times are moving whether we want them to or not
• God has a plan for each person - each person will either fulfill it or not during their lifetime. But history rolls on to its (God's) destiny
• Joseph could certainly look back on his life with satisfaction - he had withstood all the hardships and God had used him. What more to ask for

7 But the people of Israel ⁽were fruitful and increased greatly;⁾ they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them. 

• hebrew: + very, compare 12,37: six thousand men 
• i.e. Goshen 
• Egypt was a kind of God's incubator for Israel: it was provided with all the conditions for growth and multiplication (for a plant it is warmth, light, nutrients and space, for humans it is not much different).
• They lived in a well-organized empire, in relative safety and abundance - and for many generations (about 400 years)
• Under favourable conditions, the growth curve of all organisms, including humans, is exponential, i.e. very fast¹
• were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied and grew exceedingly is a nice way of putting it. There is life, vitality, a plethora of movement and activity.
• So they filled their niche, apparently hitting the limits of growth.

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 

• [more than 200 years have passed since Joseph's death] 
• [perhaps Ahmose I (1570-1546), founder of the 18th dynasty, who expelled the foreign (mostly Semitic) ruler of Egypt, Hyksos
• The Israelites filled their niche, hit the limits of growth ... And Pharaoh found that he "had a problem" - a recurring pattern in history: when a ruler wanted to uplift some of his backward territories, he invited Jewish colonizers. They were very successful, but after a while the ruler found that Jewish influence was more than he was comfortable with. Some form of persecution followed.

9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel it are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, proti nám they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 

• Pharaoh's approach was typical - he certainly did not want to lose the Israelites for one thing, they were essential and useful for the running of the empire. On the other hand, he was terrified of their success and ability.
• The Israelites were loyal subjects, so Pharaoh's fears were not justified. It could be said that his attitude pushed them to "rebel". Even so, their rebellion did not consist in revolting or trying to take over the state, but in simply leaving the country.

11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses.

• h.: princes / foremen of forced labour; [The same title appears on the wall paintings of the Theban tombs at Rekmira during the reign of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Thutmose III];
• n. (perhaps better here): settlement towns; 
• [Sóan  (Iz 19,11); greek. Tanis;
• The first part of Pharaoh's plan, then, was to stomp the Israelites so hard with hard labor that there would be no room left for them beyond work, including childbearing.

12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel . .

• The plan didn't work, or perhaps it was counterproductive.
• Perhaps the situation could be compared to the population boom of Husák's children, when the general depression of society led to a withdrawal into family life?
• In any case, there must have been growing tension, anger, hatred among the Jews, so that the fears of the Egyptians became more and more justified.

13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves . .

• The Egyptians have made the dysfunctional measures even more severe. Brutal enforcement of slavery will bring nothing but hatred among the slaves and fear among the slaveholders.
• The question is whether the Israelites were viewed as slaves from the beginning - rather, their status changed gradually over the years from free or guest to slave. It may have been a matter of them alone, but it may have been a matter of the evolution of the political situation in Egypt as a whole.

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, — 

• The LXX and Vul understand the term not as an adjective-attribute, but a subject: the Hebrews, leaving open the possibility that they were not Hebrew. However, even their names are Hebrew. 
• hebrew.: giving birth
• [It seems that for a number of Israelites these were not the only midwives, but these were above others (so already Rabbi Rashi)];
• Clearly, the population explosion of the Israelites was what troubled Pharaoh the most. So he wanted to strike at the root.
• Just two sad sighs in the margin illustrating the considerable degeneration of our society:
  • First: Western society does not even need to be forced into population self-elimination.
  • Second: the obstetricians of our health system kill unborn babies willingly of their own accord, without needing orders from above.

16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.”

• HL; $; the meaning of h. 'ob_najim (two stones) is unclear: "birthing stool" / "female genitalia";
• If the Pharaoh wanted midwives to carry out this practice in secret, this was a nonsensical order - midwives with a 100% mortality rate of boys would soon not be invited home to anybody
• Apparently, however, these were some kind of "ministers for midwifery" and they were given this instruction officially to pass it on to their subordinates.
• They had to have subordinates - two midwives were not enough for a population of more than one million.
• The aim was to reduce the population in a discreet and "hygienic" way. No terror.

17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 

• It was a similar model to the one currently used by the modern state when it wants to kill its citizens through abortion or euthanasia - it involves medical professionals in the problem. But they have nothing to do with the problem in the first place - they have not studied how to kill people, but how to cure them. If the state wants to kill its citizens, it can do it just as well without the involvement of health professionals. Trying to drag them into the problem is due to the fact that death at the hands of a medic looks "better".
• Again, one cannot help but sigh that there are few gynecologists in our country who fear God enough to refuse to perform abortions. They risk infinitely less than Shifra and Pooh did back then.
• And doctors performing euthanasia in Holland and Canada are spitting in the face of God. (So do those who promote euthanasia in the Czech Republic).
• Apparently, it was a kind of "chevron" from the midwives - they could not officially refuse, but they could undermine the order in a subtle way. In the ways of circumventing oppressive orders, so that "the wolf eats the goat and the goat stays whole", oppressed peoples are masters of². Český národ je v tom možná nejlepší ze všech.

18So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?”

• Such a question sounds almost naive. Either Pharaoh didn't think anyone would even think of not obeying him. Or it didn't even occur to him that anyone might have any moral scruples. (After all, he was a god, and he decided what was good and evil. It probably didn't even occur to him that anyone could draw moral decisions from yet another source).
• This is generally true - even today people are surprised how Christians can see some moral issues differently than is generally accepted.
• It is also quite likely that Pharaoh gave the midwives a financial incentive (in the sense of: if the Israeli birth rate drops nicely, you get a raise).

19The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”

• How the Faro could have "fallen" for such a primitive excuse is a mystery: as we have already written, it apparently never occurred to him that anyone would question his orders. For one thing, he may not have understood the moral problematic of his order. Nor can it be ruled out that people lied less then than is customary today.
• There was probably some truth to their reasoning - there were probably not a few cases of women giving birth on their own before the midwives arrived. Perhaps the midwives were implying something along the lines of: Interest in our services is declining, women are giving birth more and more "self-help".
• What is certain is that God's protective hand was upon the midwives.
• It is also certain that when Pharaoh invited the women for this "evaluation interview" they must have trembled more than Queen Esther before Ahasuerus.
• And the fact that they walked away with healthy skin they certainly couldn't believe themselves.

20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 

• What is certain is that God liked their approach.
• And the population explosion continued "undisturbed".

21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

• God greatly appreciates it when we take His opinion seriously and hold it in spite of the circumstances. The more we take risks, the more valuable our attitude is in God's eyes.
• Maybe Shifra and Pooh were originally single.
• At that time, family was an unambiguous sign of joy, prosperity and happiness. Again, this is a big shift from today.

22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” jim narodí, hoďte do Nilu, každou dceru nechejte naživu! 

• Anti-Jewish terror became even more severe.
• But at least they didn't bring medical proffesionals into it anymore!!!!
• Things were clear: the ruler behaves like the devil; evil is evil, murder is murder; to drown a child is to drown a child. Everybody sees it and everybody understands it - murderers and victims alike.
• When people are killed by "experts" in white coats and sterile gloves, things are not so clear. But murder remains murder.
• There are certainly differences between abortion, euthanasia and Egyptian infanticide: certainly Jewish women did not sign informed consents before killing their children³.
• However, the state's attempt to solve its problem by "passing the buck" to health professionals is unmistakable. Death at the hands of health professionals simply looks better.⁴

.

1. only degenerated groups of organisms (by which I mean, of course, Western civilization) do not reproduce in favorable conditions ↩︎
2. cf. Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago ↩︎
3. and informed consent in unintentionally pregnant women and in sick or depressed patients have significant limitations ↩︎
4. kanadští lékaři dokonce trvají na tom, aby eutanazie zůstala v jejich rukou jako věc navýsost medicínská“. Jaká hanba! Jaké bláznovství ↩︎