¹These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who came with him to Egypt with their families: ²Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; ³Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; ⁴Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. ⁵Joseph was already in Egypt. The total number of Jacob’s descendants was 70.

⁶Eventually, Joseph, all his brothers, and that entire generation died. ⁷But the descendants of Israel had many children. They became so numerous and strong that the land was filled with them.

The Israelites Become Slaves

⁸Then a new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, began to rule in Egypt. ⁹He said to his people, “There are too many Israelites, and they are stronger than we are. ¹⁰We have to outsmart them, or they’ll increase in number. Then, if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

¹¹So the Egyptians put slave drivers in charge of them in order to oppress them through forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh. ¹²But the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they increased in number and spread out. The Egyptians couldn’t stand them ⸤any longer⸥. ¹³So they forced the Israelites to work hard as slaves. ¹⁴They made their lives bitter with back-breaking work in mortar and bricks and every kind of work in the fields. All the jobs the Egyptians gave them were brutally hard.

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