- 1Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which 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.
- 5And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
- 6And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
- 7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
- 8Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
- 9And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
- 10Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
- 11Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
- 12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
- 13And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
- 14And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
- 15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
- 16And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
- 17But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
- 18And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
- 19And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
- 20Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
- 21And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
- 22And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
KING JAMES VERSION
EXODUS 1
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Exodus 1 — Israel multiplies under oppression, and the Hebrew midwives fear God rather than obey Pharaoh’s murderous command.
About this illustration
This composite joins forced labor with the midwives’ courageous preservation of life. It keeps the violence non-graphic and does not show the later Nile decree being carried out.
Scripture basis: Exodus 1:1–22King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGEANCIENT TEXT CONNECTIONS 
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Related 1 Enoch Passages
These links distinguish direct quotation, explicit retelling, strong literary parallel, and broader shared tradition. A parallel does not by itself prove direct dependence.
The wolves, representing the Egyptians, oppress the sheep, representing Israel, and cast their young into the river.
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Possibly Eighteenth Dynasty, with later copying also proposed
Berlin Pedestal Relief and the Proposed ‘Israel’ Reading
Berlin pedestal fragment ÄM 21687 preserves three damaged Egyptian name rings, but restoring the third as an archaic spelling of Israel is a minority proposal dependent on uncertain signs, unknown provenance, and contested dating.
Genesis 32:28 · Exodus 1:1–14 · Joshua 11:16–23
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchaeological site
Middle Kingdom through New Kingdom, especially circa 1900–1100 BC
Tell el-Dabʿa/Avaris and Its Levantine Population
Decades of excavation at Tell el-Dabʿa reveal a major eastern-Delta harbor where immigrants from the Levant settled, maintained and blended customs, and eventually formed the Hyksos capital, supplying context rather than identification for Exodus traditions.
Genesis 46:28–34 · Exodus 1:8–14 · Exodus 12:37
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Thirteenth Dynasty, approximately 1809–1743 BC
Brooklyn Papyrus 35.1446: Asiatic Servants in Egypt
A late Middle Kingdom administrative papyrus records the transfer of ninety-five household servants, about forty-five identified by West Semitic names or as Asiatics, documenting people from the Levant in Egyptian servitude without identifying Hebrews or Israelites.
Genesis 39:1 · Exodus 1:8–14 · Exodus 12:38
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArtifact
Approximately 1479–1425 BC
Brickmaking in the Tomb of Rekhmire
Theban tomb paintings commissioned by the vizier Rekhmire depict organized mudbrick production for an Amun temple—water carrying, mixing, molding, drying, transporting, and construction—providing vivid Egyptian labor context without portraying the Israelites of Exodus.
Exodus 1:11–14 · Exodus 5:6–19
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Hasmonean period, approximately second century BC
4QExodusᵇ (4Q13): Exodus 1–5
Fragments of 4Q13 preserve Exodus 1–5, including a reading of seventy-five persons in Exodus 1:5 also known from the Greek tradition.
Exodus 1:1–5 · Exodus 2:2–6 · Exodus 3:13–15
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
100–25 BC
4QpaleoGenesis-Exodus (4Q11): Torah in Paleo-Hebrew Script
A substantial Cave 4 Torah manuscript preserves Genesis 50 and broad portions of Exodus in Paleo-Hebrew script, documenting an archaizing Second Temple scribal tradition.
Genesis 50:26 · Exodus 1:1–6 · Exodus 3:1–4
Sermons
Blind Spots
In “Blind Spots,” Pastor Dean Odle presents a Scripture-centered message about family discipleship, the condition of the church, the condition of the heart. Drawing especially from Mark 7, Proverbs 17, Proverbs 24, Leviticus 18, the teaching emphasizes that faithfulness in the home requires instruction, loving correction, protection, and a consistent Christian example. Odle connects that foundation with the conviction that the church is called to recover biblical faithfulness instead of accommodating compromise.
Doctrine and DiscernmentSpiritual Warfare
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