350 Years - Exodus 1:1-7

1:1-7 - New Year, new book of the Old Testament. I was despairing a little bit thinking that I had squandered two years just on Genesis, and while it’s true, I was not as vigilant as I could have been with writing, I went back through as saw that we had also gone through most of the Pearl of Great Price as well, so that at least counts for something. Anyway, the second book of the OT is called “Exodus” in English, which makes sense because it’s the account of the Hebrews “exiting” Egypt. Interestingly, however, the Hebrew name of this book is “Sh’mot” which means “names,” just like the first verse says, “Now these are the names of the children of Israel,” and it goes on to list the 12 sons of Israel, and then just kind of abruptly says, “And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.” So now we are on to Jacob’s grandkids, and they “were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.”

The IM brings up an interesting point in that in order for God’s purposes for Israel as a people to be fulfilled, they had to grow into a significant population, but that they wouldn’t have been able to do that in Canaan. The IM says, “The fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham required that Israel should become numerous. To accomplish this, the little family, numbering only 70 persons, needed sufficient time and a peaceful place in which to grow. Egypt was that place… Palestine was a battleground for warring nations that moved back and forth in their conquests between the Nile and the Euphrates. Israel would have found no peace there. They required stable conditions for their eventual growth and development.” I had never considered this aspect before and really puts into perspective my own moving around in life.

Additionally, in the Exodus introduction lecture, TB compares the 350 years that passed between the last chapter of Genesis and the first chapter of Exodus, to the Lord baking a cake. He had selected all the right ingredients (Hebrews), put them in the right position (Goshen), and then put them in the oven (200 years of prosperity followed by 150 years of oppression), and “when God opened the oven, out popped Israel.” He also notes that the Hebrews were placed in the land of Goshen, relatively isolated, in this incredibly rich, fertile, river valley that was unique in agriculture and perfectly suited for them as shepherds.

It says there were 70 people in the initial journey from Canaan to Egypt, but TB points out that this probably just means “the whole group” as opposed to 70 people specifically. He notes that all the wives and children and servants, etc surely would have numbered more than 70, but the number is symbolic in the Torah to indicate a completeness, meaning here, the complete group, everyone came, no one stayed behind. But the group is small, nevertheless, compared to the native Egyptian population. In 350 years, the Hebrews went from a couple hundred people to making up what TB guesstimates to be roughly 25% of the total Egyptian population. That is the power of God’s hand and will in prosperity.