Acts 7:17

7:17 “But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham, ¹  the people increased greatly in number ²  in Egypt,

Exodus 1:7-9

1:7 The Israelites, ³  however, ⁴  were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong, ⁵  so that the land was filled with them.

1:8 Then a new king, ⁶  who did not know about ⁷  Joseph, came to power ⁸  over Egypt. 1:9 He said ⁹  to his people, “Look at ¹⁰  the Israelite people, more numerous and stronger than we are!

Deuteronomy 10:22

10:22 When your ancestors went down to Egypt, they numbered only seventy, but now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky. ¹¹ 

Psalms 105:23-24

105:23 Israel moved to ¹²  Egypt;

Jacob lived for a time ¹³  in the land of Ham.

105:24 The Lord ¹⁴  made his people very fruitful,

and made them ¹⁵  more numerous than their ¹⁶  enemies.

[7:17]  ¹ tn Grk “But as the time for the fulfillment of the promise drew near that God had declared to Abraham.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to improve English style. See vv. 6-7 above.

[7:17]  ² tn Grk “the people increased and multiplied.”

[1:7]  ³ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

[1:7]  ⁴ tn The disjunctive vav marks a contrast with the note about the deaths of the first generation.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Using מְאֹד (mÿ’od) twice intensifies the idea of their becoming strong (see GKC 431-32 §133.k).

[1:8]  ⁶ sn It would be difficult to identify who this “new king” might be, since the chronology of ancient Israel and Egypt is continually debated. Scholars who take the numbers in the Bible more or less at face value would place the time of Jacob’s going down to Egypt in about 1876 b.c. This would put Joseph’s experience in the period prior to the Hyksos control of Egypt (1720-1570’s), and everything in the narrative about Joseph points to a native Egyptian setting and not a Hyksos one. Joseph’s death, then, would have been around 1806 b.c., just a few years prior to the end of the 12th Dynasty of Egypt. This marked the end of the mighty Middle Kingdom of Egypt. The relationship between the Hyksos (also Semites) and the Israelites may have been amicable, and the Hyksos then might very well be the enemies that the Egyptians feared in Exodus 1:10. It makes good sense to see the new king who did not know Joseph as either the founder (Amosis, 1570-1546) or an early king of the powerful 18th Dynasty (like Thutmose I). Egypt under this new leadership drove out the Hyksos and reestablished Egyptian sovereignty. The new rulers certainly would have been concerned about an increasing Semite population in their territory (see E. H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 49-55).

[1:8]  ⁷ tn The relative clause comes last in the verse in Hebrew. It simply clarifies that the new king had no knowledge about Joseph. It also introduces a major theme in the early portion of Exodus, as a later Pharaoh will claim not to know who Yahweh is. The Lord, however, will work to make sure that Pharaoh and all Egypt will know that he is the true God.

[1:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “arose.”

[1:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he said.”

[1:9]  ¹⁰ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the exhortation to follow by drawing the listeners’ attention to the Israelites. In other words, the exhortation that follows is based on this observation. The connection could be rendered “since, because,” or the like.

[10:22]  ¹¹ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[105:23]  ¹² tn Heb “entered.”

[105:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “lived as a resident alien.”

[105:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[105:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “him,” referring to “his people.”

[105:24]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his,” referring to “his people.”