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Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 1:16-19

Exodus 1:16-19. The stools Seats used on that occasion. But the midwives feared God Dreaded his wrath more than Pharaoh’s, and therefore saved the men-children alive. The Hebrew women are lively We have no reason to doubt the truth of this; it is plain they were now under an extraordinary blessing of increase, which may well be supposed to have had this effect, that the women had quick and easy labour, and the mothers and children being both lively, they seldom needed the help of... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 1:1-22

1:1-4:31 PREPARATION OF MOSESEgypt’s oppression of Israel (1:1-22)The small community of Israelites who first settled in Egypt were all members of one family, the family of Jacob, and their early days were ones of happiness and prosperity (Genesis 46:1-7; Genesis 47:11-12). God had promised they would grow into a nation, and over the following centuries they increased in numbers and influence till they dominated the whole of the north-east corner of Egypt (1:1-7; cf. Genesis 13:16; Genesis... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Exodus 1:16

them : i.e. the children. stools . Hebrew "two stones". Probably the stone bath in which the children were bathed. kill him. This was another assault of Satan, to destroy the male children, and so prevent "the seed of the woman "from coming into the world. See App-23 , But God intervened by providing the Hebrew midwives, and preserving and preparing Moses. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Exodus 1:15-18

"And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: and he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the birthstool, if it be a son, then ye shall kill him, but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men-children alive. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Exodus 1:16

Exodus 1:16. See them upon the stools— The word אבנים abnim occurs only here, and Jeremiah 18:3. The LXX have not translated it. If it be a son,—ye shall kill him— The order itself was inhuman enough; but it becomes, if possible, ten times more so, by making the midwives the executioners; thus obliging them not only to be savagely bloody, but basely perfidious in the most tender trust. Josephus says, that a prophecy of a child to be born of the Hebrew race, who should greatly annoy the... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Exodus 1:16

16. if it be a son, then ye shall kill him—Opinions are divided, however, what was the method of destruction which the king did recommend. Some think that the "stools" were low seats on which these obstetric practitioners sat by the bedside of the Hebrew women; and that, as they might easily discover the sex, so, whenever a boy appeared, they were to strangle it, unknown to its parents; while others are of opinion that the "stools" were stone troughs, by the river side—into which, when the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 1:1-21

I. THE LIBERATION OF ISRAEL 1:1-15:21"The story of the first half of Exodus, in broad summary, is Rescue. The story of the second half, in equally broad summary, is Response, both immediate response and continuing response. And binding together and undergirding both Rescue and Response is Presence, the Presence of Yahweh from whom both Rescue and Response ultimately derive." [Note: Durham, p. xxiii.] A. God’s preparation of Israel and Moses chs. 1-4 read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 1:8-22

2. The Israelites’ bondage in Egypt 1:8-22This pericope serves a double purpose. It introduces the rigorous conditions under which the Egyptians forced the Israelites to live, and it sets the stage for the birth of Moses. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 1:15-22

Plan B consisted of ordering the Hebrew midwives to kill all the male Hebrew babies at birth. Albriight confirmed that these women’s names were Semitic. [Note: W. F. Albright, "Northwest-Semitic Names in a List of Egyptian Slaves from the Eighteenth Century B.C.," Journal of the American Oriental Society 74 (1954):233.] "They were to kill them, of course, secretly, in such a way that the parents and relatives would be unaware of the crime, and would think that the infant had died of natural... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 1:1-22

Oppression of the Israelites5. Seventy souls] Jacob himself is included in the number: cp. Genesis 46:8-27. Of the seventy, sixty-eight were males. If to the direct descendants of Jacob we add the wives of his sons and grandsons, and the husbands of his daughters and grand-daughters, and all their servants with their families, it appears that the total number of those who entered Egypt was very considerable, several hundreds if not thousands. This fact, as well as the acknowlodged prolificness... read more

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