SUMMARY
The descendants of Jacob’s family, who had moved to Egypt to escape famine in the latter chapters of Genesis, continue to multiply and flourish there.
ANALYSIS
The opening verses of Exodus form a bridge with the end of the book of Genesis. They name the sons of JacobThe son of Isaac and Rebekah, renamed Israel, became the father of the twelve tribal families. (a.k.a. Israel, see Genesis 32:28), giving the book its Hebrew title, “Shemot,” which means “Names.” At the end of Genesis, Jacob and 11 of his sons had gone to Egypt to escape famine. There the sons had re-encountered their brother Joseph, who had risen to power in Egypt after his brothers sold him into slavery. After no small amount of drama, Joseph forgives his brothers, and the family continues to live and flourish in Egypt (Genesis 37-50). At the beginning of Exodus, the descendants of Jacob’s family continued to multiply in Egypt, and “the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7). The text frames the Israelites’ flourishing as an echo of God’s command in Genesis 1:28 to “be fruitful and multiply.” Given Joseph’s fame and fortune in Egypt, his descendants’ transition into slavery there would seem abrupt and nonsensical without some sort of explanation. That explanation will come in the next verse when, many generations later, “a new king arose in Egypt who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8).
