But as before Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he would not let the people go. A. Exodus 1:16 And 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. At the lowest range this would be approx 60,000 and at the highest around 150,000 so our total would be down to somewhere between 150,000 firstborns on the high end and 60,000 on the low end. 201 views Pharaoh whose own first born had died now officially lets the Hebrews go. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. let my people go, that they may serve me. Exodus 9-27 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Further highlighting the fact that Egyptians had followed Moses and more than likely avoided the plague of the death of the firstborns. 8And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. 21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. He had to have known about this act. He is still faithful. 10And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land. Now the servants of Pharaoh asked Pharaoh to let the hebrew people go fearing that if they were not Egypt would be destroyed. Jews in the Temple. So the deaths of the first bornes could simply be attributed to the consequences of this reciprocal morality. Follow this saviour, he will lead you out of slavery. The story of Moses starts in Exodus 2:1-10. Ex 7-8 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 9When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. The golden rule of reciprocity, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Pharaoh orders the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill all the Jewish male babies at birth. Our passage today is the first chapter. When this famine came, some of the sons of Israel went down into Egypt to buy some food, as Egypt was the only place that had stored food having been aware of the famine through Pharaoh and Joseph. The midwives however ‘feared God’. War in Germany. Pharoah as a moral governor would have bound himself by this very moral code that the Egyptians themselves lived by and would actually have expected as the rule would state, to reap what he sowed. And went into exile. Secondly the word for firstborn used is Bekor and it is masculine the female equivalent is bekirah , it would appear that this was limited to only male firstborns this would eliminate approximately 50 per cent of the households as the firstborn would have been female. This myth has been told about Krishna, Moses, Romulus, Perseus, Jesus, Herakles, and Buddha, among many others. So we have had a quick overview as to why Israel was in Egypt in the first place. 20And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Numerical differences between Ezra and Nehemiah. Despite the overlap in style with the bulk of the non-Priestly plague account, in content, vv. Pharaoh seemed to want the midwives to arrange for the death of the boy babies, making murder appear to be a result of the birth process. Or it could have been done this way to show Pharaoh’s heart what a hardened heart can do to others like he had when the former Pharaoh killed Israelite babies. Note that in verse 22, he adopts the "Rashi approach", based on the context of killing all males, even Egyptians. Moses was told to tell Pharaoh that f he didn’t let the hebrew people go then it would result in the death of all the first borns in Egypt. This wasn’t acceptable to Moses who wasn’t willing that the Hebrew people should return to Egypt. It must be noted that many Egyptians also left with the Hebrews. Leviticus 5:1-13 - More Laws Regarding Sin Offerings Moses throwing down the staff and it turning to a serpent would have been a sign that God was with him. Join our Patreon membership here or you can buy me a coffee through paypal  much appreciated 2 Chronicles 11:20 And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; Read more…, How many overseers did Solomon appoint for the work of building the temple? This was an attack on Heket, the Egyptian goddess of fertility who was depicted with a frog’s head. Often used to discredit the God of the Bible and show him to be a murderer of children and the innocent. So Pharaoh’s second strategy is to demand that the Hebrew midwives, Shiprah and Puah, kill all Hebrew male babies (but not female babies) as they are born. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. He also enslaved the Jews and ordered the Jewish baby … Leviticus 1:10-13 - Animal From The Flock. The children who died may well have been innocent, I want to point out that the children who died as a result of the 10th plague were not being punished by their deaths. So the Pharaoh had put the children of Israel the hebrew people to work, they were no longer simply living in Egypt they were now put to work for the Pharaoh. God ordered the deaths of the first-born because he warned Pharaoh that he would do so if he did not let Israel go. Similarities also exist between the Massacre of the Innocents and Pharaoh’s order to kill all Hebrew male infants at the time of Moses’ birth (Exodus 1:15–16). Exodus 2-1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. The driving force behinds God’s actions in saving his people is his covenant faithfulness and love. 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.” (Ex 1:19–22). And once more Pharaoh is warned of the consequences of not releasing the Hebrews from bondage. Joseph revealed himself to them and eventually Israel and the rest of the sons of Israel moved to Egypt to be with Joseph. And the pain that Pharaoh caused those families. Perhaps some were killed, but many Hebrew sons were spared because of their compassion. An Egyptian pharaoh, who didn’t know Jacob’s powerful son Joseph, became intimidated by the increasing population of Israelites in Egypt and subjected them to slavery—and then ordered Hebrew midwives to kill any baby boy born to an Israelite woman. Well as we will see with all the plagues they are actually judgements against the Gods of Egypt, the ones that Pharaoh himself would have worshipped. Bible Study Tools Bible Talk Discuss with your children or students: What… Exodus 10- 3And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? Their lives are in danger. 7And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. Whether we think this is right or wrong, God deals well with the midwives because they acted to save the young boys. If we consider Amenhotep II as the Pharaoh of the Exodus, it was his eldest son, the brother of his successor (Thutmose IV) who was killed by the angel of death at the tenth plague.. Aaron played key roles as Moses' spokesman and later as high priest. Then Pharaoh after finding out the midwives were not carrying out his command, charged the people of Egypt to kill the baby boys instead, ordering that they should be cast into the river and drowned. Exodus 9- 6 And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. Through all of Israel’s history God’s promises are remembered and celebrated. 19 The 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.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. Exodus 9-18 Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. The Magi visit Jerusalem to seek guidance as to where the king of the Jews has been born; King Herod directs them to Bethlehem and asks them to return to him and report, but they are warned in a dream and do not do so. The following is from Rohl’s book, Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest: In the New Chronology, these Asiatics have to be the proto-Israelites. So the Egyptians who joined with Israel were now able to be part of Israel. By the end of Exodus 1, the pharaoh of Egypt (perhaps Ramses II) had decreed that all the Hebrew boy babies were to be drowned at birth. So Moses spoke to the people warning of the last plague that would befall Egypt. Firstly it needs to be stated for anyone that isn’t aware of the story that this was actually plague number 10 of 10, it was the last plague that God sent to Egypt, there had been 9 previous plagues issued by God into Egypt before we even get to the deaths of the firstborns. 9And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. We have more evidence of this in exodus 11- 2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. He is sure he can find a use for them. Joshua 2 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. Then came the penultimate plague the last plague before the first borns would be killed. We cannot simply hide from the story or deny it, it is there for everyone to see clearly depicted in the bible. Exodus 1-22And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive. 7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? Plague 8 was an attack on Serapia the very God who was meant to defend Egypt against locusts. We have seen the sorcerers themselves state that God of the Hebrews was in fact God and we have scriptural evidence that Egyptians were now following Moses and not the Pharaoh. Pharaoh as a reward made him 2nd in charge of the whole of Egypt. Jesus like Moses was under threat. How did Aaron survive the killing of the Hebrew babies? The Pharaoh not only refused to hearken to the request to let the Hebrew people go, he increased the hardship and work upon them. The practice of infanticide has taken many forms over time. So Moses goes to the new Pharaoh and tells him that the God of Israel has asked that he let his people go. Moses grows up and at the age of 40 after killing an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite he fled Egypt. All Rights Reserved. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” -Exodus 2:11-12. Exodus 4- 22And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: 23And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son,even thy firstborn. It serves to show that this wasn’t now just one man’s oppression of the Hebrews, this was now what the Egyptian people had accepted as the way of life. 19And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. Leviticus 2:1-16 - The Grain Offering. Pharaoh issued an edict to kill all the Hebrew male babies. Exodus 8- 6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. His people copied the miracle of Moses staff into a serpent and Pharaoh refused to acknowledge the God of Israel. 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