Exodus 1:1

Blessing during Bondage in Egypt

1:1 ¹ These ²  are the names ³  of the sons of Israel ⁴  who entered Egypt – each man with his household ⁵  entered with Jacob:

Exodus 28:9

28:9 “You are to take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, ⁶ 

Exodus 6:16

6:16 Now these are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their records: ⁷  Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (The length of Levi’s life was 137 years.)

Exodus 28:10

28:10 six ⁸  of their names on one stone, and the six remaining names on the second stone, according to the order of their birth. ⁹ 

Exodus 28:29

28:29 Aaron will bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of decision over his heart ¹⁰  when he goes into the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.

Exodus 39:6

39:6 They set the onyx stones in gold filigree settings, engraved as with the engravings of a seal ¹¹  with the names of the sons of Israel. ¹² 

[1:1]  ¹ sn Chapter 1 introduces the theme of bondage in Egypt and shows the intensifying opposition to the fulfillment of promises given earlier to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The first seven verses announce the theme of Israel’s prosperity in Egypt. The second section (vv. 8-14) reports continued prosperity in the face of deliberate opposition. The third section (vv. 15-21) explains the prosperity as divine favor in spite of Pharaoh’s covert attempts at controlling the population. The final verse records a culmination in the developing tyranny and provides a transition to the next section – Pharaoh commands the open murder of the males. The power of God is revealed in the chapter as the people flourish under the forces of evil. However, by the turn of affairs at the end of the chapter, the reader is left with a question about the power of God – “What can God do?” This is good Hebrew narrative, moving the reader through tension after tension to reveal the sovereign power and majesty of the Lord God, but calling for faith every step of the way. See also D. W. Wicke, “The Literary Structure of Exodus 1:2–2:10,” JSOT 24 (1982): 99-107.

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “now these” or “and these.” The vav (ו) disjunctive marks a new beginning in the narrative begun in Genesis.

[1:1]  ³ sn The name of the book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible is שְׁמוֹת (shÿmot), the word for “Names,” drawn from the beginning of the book. The inclusion of the names at this point forms a literary connection to the book of Genesis. It indicates that the Israelites living in bondage had retained a knowledge of their ancestry, and with it, a knowledge of God’s promise.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn The expression בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (bÿne yisra’el, “sons of Israel”) in most places refers to the nation as a whole and can be translated “Israelites,” although traditionally it has been rendered “the children of Israel” or “the sons of Israel.” Here it refers primarily to the individual sons of the patriarch Israel, for they are named. But the expression is probably also intended to indicate that they are the Israelites (cf. Gen 29:1, “eastern people,” or “easterners,” lit., “sons of the east”).

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “a man and his house.” Since this serves to explain “the sons of Israel,” it has the distributive sense. So while the “sons of Israel” refers to the actual sons of the patriarch, the expression includes their families (cf. NIV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[28:9]  ⁶ tn Although this is normally translated “Israelites,” here a more literal translation is clearer because it refers to the names of the twelve tribes – the actual sons of Israel.

[6:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “generations.”

[28:10]  ¹⁶ tn This is in apposition to the direct object of the verb “engrave.” It further defines how the names were to be engraved – six on one and the other six on the other.

[28:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “according to their begettings” (the major word in the book of Genesis). What is meant is that the names would be listed in the order of their ages.

[28:29]  ²¹ sn So Aaron will have the names of the tribes on his shoulders (v. 12) which bear the weight and symbol of office (see Isa 9:6; 22:22), and over his heart (implying that they have a constant place in his thoughts [Deut 6:6]). Thus he was to enter the presence of God as the nation’s representative, ever mindful of the nation’s interests, and ever bringing the remembrance of it before God (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 306).

[39:6]  ²⁶ tn Or “as seals are engraved.”

[39:6]  ²⁷ sn The twelve names were those of Israel’s sons. The idea was not the remembrance of the twelve sons as such, but the twelve tribes that bore their names.