The bondage of the Israelites in Egypt is a significant period in biblical history, marking the transition from the patriarchal narratives of Genesis to the national history of Israel in Exodus. This era is characterized by the Israelites' enslavement under Egyptian rule, their suffering, and eventual deliverance by God through Moses.

Historical Context

The Israelites' descent into Egypt is traced back to the time of Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel). Due to a severe famine, Jacob and his family moved to Egypt, where Joseph had risen to a position of power under Pharaoh (Genesis 46:6). Initially, the Israelites were well-received and settled in the land of Goshen, a fertile area suitable for their livestock (Genesis 47:6).

The Rise of a New Pharaoh

The situation changed dramatically with the rise of a new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph (Exodus 1:8). This Pharaoh perceived the growing population of Israelites as a threat to national security. In response, he subjected them to harsh labor, forcing them to build store cities, Pithom and Rameses, and to work in the fields (Exodus 1:11-14). Despite the oppression, the Israelite population continued to grow, which further alarmed the Egyptians.

Oppression and Infanticide

In an attempt to curb the Israelite population, Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all newborn Hebrew boys. However, the midwives feared God and disobeyed the king's orders, allowing the boys to live (Exodus 1:17). Pharaoh then commanded all his people to throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River (Exodus 1:22).

The Birth of Moses

During this time of oppression, Moses was born to a Levite family. His mother, Jochebed, hid him for three months and then placed him in a basket on the Nile, where he was discovered and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter (Exodus 2:1-10). Moses' upbringing in the Egyptian court uniquely positioned him for his future role as the deliverer of Israel.

God Hears the Cries of His People

The Israelites groaned under their bondage and cried out for help. God heard their cries and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 2:23-24). He appeared to Moses in a burning bush on Mount Horeb, commissioning him to lead His people out of Egypt (Exodus 3:1-10).

The Plagues and the Exodus

Moses, along with his brother Aaron, confronted Pharaoh, demanding the release of the Israelites. Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he refused, prompting God to send a series of ten plagues upon Egypt (Exodus 7-11). These plagues demonstrated God's power over the Egyptian gods and culminated in the death of the firstborn in Egypt, leading to the institution of the Passover (Exodus 12:1-30).

The Departure from Egypt

Following the final plague, Pharaoh relented and allowed the Israelites to leave. The Israelites departed in haste, taking with them the wealth of Egypt as God had promised (Exodus 12:31-36). This event marked the beginning of their journey to the Promised Land, a journey that would define their identity as God's chosen people.

Significance in Biblical Theology

The bondage and subsequent deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt is a foundational narrative in the Bible, symbolizing God's redemptive power and faithfulness. It prefigures the ultimate deliverance from sin through Jesus Christ and is commemorated annually in the Jewish festival of Passover. The Exodus narrative serves as a continual reminder of God's sovereignty, justice, and mercy.Exodus 1:14
And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor.
Nave's Topical Index

Exodus 2:23
And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God by reason of the bondage.
Nave's Topical Index

Exodus 6:6
Why say to the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
Nave's Topical Index

The Flight from Egypt.
... at the end of which time God appeared to him, and instructed him to return to Egypt;
where he was appointed by God to lead the Israelites from bondage to the ...
/.../anonymous/mother stories from the old testament/the flight from egypt.htm

The Israelites
... had possessed itself of the mountain-fastnesses of the Horite and the Amalekite,
long before the Israelites had escaped from their bondage in Egypt, or formed ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter i the israelites.htm

Introductory Chapter
... The story of the Israelites from their being in bondage in Egypt to their conquering
Canaan is a type of the experiences of a man from his bondage in sin to ...
/.../berry/adventures in the land of canaan/introductory chapter.htm

Egypt.
... Moses seems to have been aware that he was to be sent to put an end to the bondage
of his ... Moses was then sent to Egypt to lead out the Israelites on their ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson iii egypt.htm

The Training of a Statesman.
... not from the acts of the Israelites, but from the ... or natural calamities peculiar
to the land of Egypt? ... the opportune time for freeing his people from bondage. ...
/.../kent/the making of a nation/study viii the training of.htm

A Coffin in Egypt
... need, even more than Israel in its bondage did, to ... Further, that 'coffin in Egypt'
was a preacher of patience ... was lifted out of it by the departing Israelites. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/a coffin in egypt.htm

On the Commandments of God
... Every day while the Israelites were traveling in the desert God sent them ... thy God,
Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ...
/.../kinkead/baltimore catechism no 4/lesson 29 on the commandments.htm

General Index
... 364. E. Egyptian bondage . . . . . ... 129 History of the Israelites in Egypt . . . . . ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kinkead/baltimore catechism no 4/general index.htm

Moses the Type of Christ.
... Such is our state by nature. But Moses conducted the Israelites from the house of
bondage to their own land, from which their fathers had descended into Egypt. ...
/.../newman/parochial and plain sermons vol vii/sermon ix moses the type.htm

Sources of the Pentateuch.
... the two kinds of bricks; and thus we have before our eyes a most striking confirmation
of the truth of this story of the bondage of the Israelites in Egypt. ...
/.../gladden/who wrote the bible/chapter iii sources of the.htm

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