The second book of the Torah is called “Shemot” meaning “Names” based on the first verse where it says, “These are the names.” It was originally called the “Book of the going out of Egypt” but later called simply “Shemot.” It was written by Moses after the Exodus and before his death at Nebo, and to understand the Tanak, we must have a thorough understanding of the concept of what is called the Egyptian, or the First, Redemption. We are going to examine this from various angles to get a deeper understanding and learn how it applies to the Messianic, or Second, Redemption. The first word in Hebrew is “And” so it is a natural continuation of Genesis and it relates how God fulfilled his promise to Abraham by multiplying his seed.
“The period of 400 years extends from Isaac’s birth until the Exodus. This total is arrived at because Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob was born (Gen 25.26); Jacob, as he himself stated (Gen 47.9), was 130 years old when he went down into Egypt, making a total of 190 years. They were actually in Egypt 210 years, making 400 years altogether. Rashi goes on to explain that the verse cannot intend to suggest that they were actually in Egypt for 400 years, For Kehath (Kohath), who accompanied Jacob to Egypt, lived 133 years (Exo 6.18); his son Amram lived 137 years (Exo 6.20), and Moses was 80 years old when the children of Israel left Egypt (Exo 7.7)-totaling 347 years. The actual figure, of course, is much less because their lifespans overlapped; the years that Kehath continued to live after Amram was born, and those that Amram lived after the birth of Moses must be deducted which will then yield the total of 210 years as above” (Bereshit, Mesorah Publications, p. 527).
We have the period of 430 years mentioned in Scripture (Exo 12.40; Gal 3.17), and that is broken down like this. From Gen 15 to Isaac is 25 years. From Isaac to Jacob is 60 years. Jacobs life was 147 years (Gen 47.25). From the death of Jacob to Joseph’s death was 55 years (Gen 37.2, 41.46, 50.22). From the death of Joseph to the Exodus (Exo 12.40) was 143 years. Keep this time context in mind. This book contains the birth, education and the escape of Moses from Pharaoh; his encounter with Yehovah and being sent to deliver Israel; the ten plagues; the crossing of the Red Sea; the giving of the Torah and the Mishkan on Mount Sinai.
Eschatologically, Egypt is a type of the world and Pharaoh is Ha Satan and the False Messiah; Pharaoh’s magicians are false prophets and Moses is a picture of Yeshua; the blood of the lamb is the blood of Yeshua; the crossing of the Red Sea is a type of the resurrection; the wilderness is a type of the trials of this life; the giving of the Torah is what we should come to after our deliverance and the building of the Mishkan are the steps in maturing with the Lord.
Exo 1.1-22 tells us about Israel’s affliction in Mizraim (Egypt); the nations grows rapidly and the Egyptians are afraid they would jon an adversary; Pharaoh orders the midwives to destroy newborn males, but they obeyed God and did not, and God blesses them; Pharaoh then commands that the parents kill their own newborn males, not knowing that this command was part of the plan of God that would bring forth the deliverer.
For a brief timeline, we will have the Exodus about 1441 BC, they were in Egypt 210 years, so Jacob enters in 1651 BC; add 9 years of seven good years and the second year of the famine, we have 1660 when Joseph begins to reign, add 13 years from the time Joseph was sold to his coronation, we have Joseph coming to Egypt in 1673 BC. In Genesis we saw how they got into Egypt, in Exodus we will see how they got out. Exodus will be God’s way of showing mankind who he is. God’s plan has always been beyond just Israel.
v 1…And these are the names (“shemot” where the book finds its title) of the sons of Jacob; they came each one with his household;
v 2…Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah (by Leah);
v 3…Issachar, Zebulon (by Leah) and Benjamin (by Rachel);
v 4…Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher (sons of Bilhah and Zilpah).
v 5…And all the persons (“nephesh” or souls) who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt.
v 6…And Joseph died (picks up from Gen 50) and all that generation (Israelites as well as Egyptians).
v 7…But the sons of Israel were fruitful, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them (in Goshen and other areas, even in territories under Egyptian control-Exo 1.12).
v 8…Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph (Joseph was in a city called ‘El-lisht; not just a one man but a new dynasty and a new capital; the 13th Dynasty).
v 9…And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.
v 10…Come, let us deal wisely (in some scheme) with them, lest they multiply and in the event of war, they join themselves with those who hate us; and fight against us, and depart from the land.”
v 11…So they appointed taskmasters (move number one to is stopping the Israelites; commissioners of taxes over them to afflict them (break their spirit) with hard labor. And they built Pharaoh’s storage cities (forts, granaries and arsenals) of Pithom and Rameses (Ra created him, a name that was used before the Pharaoh of that name; Goshen was called Rameses in Josephus).
v 12…But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel (plan one had failed).
v 13…And the Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously (with crushing oppression);
v 14…And they made their lives bitter (no peace, no comfort of life) with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.
v 15…Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah (fairness) and the other was named Puah (“pained” and they were probably the chief midwives of an organization of midwives);
v 16…and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put them to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
v 17…But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live (God always has his people in the right place and at the right time).
v 18…SO the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this thing and let the boys live?”
v 19…And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous (lively and more vitality; brought forth with little birth-pains and didn’t need help), and they give birth before the midwife can get to them (plan two failed).”
v 20…So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very mighty.
v 21…And it came about because the midwives feared God (and would not violate a law of God about murder) that he established households for them (built up their families and wealth).
v 22…Then Pharaoh commanded all the people, saying, “Every son who is born to you you are to cast into the Nile (this river was the last place to look for a baby and that will be why Moses is put there; later Pharaoh and their sons will be cast into the Red Sea), and every daughter you are to keep alive.”
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