Exodus 1:22 Made Simple

KJV ORIGINAL

And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, 'Every baby boy that is born, you must throw into the river, but let every baby girl live.'

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

Pharaoh ordered his people to kill all Hebrew baby boys by drowning them in the river, while sparing the girls.

📚 Historical Context

This was Pharaoh's final and most brutal attempt to control the rapidly growing Hebrew population in Egypt. When his earlier plans failed (forcing the Hebrew midwives to kill babies at birth), he escalated to genocide, commanding all Egyptians to participate in murdering Hebrew male infants by throwing them into the Nile River.

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2 Kings 23:35

Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but he had to tax his own land to get the money that Pharaoh demanded. He collected silver and gold from all the people of the land, each person paying according to what they were assessed, so he could give it to Pharaoh Necho.

Genesis 41:40

You will be in charge of my palace, and all my people will obey your commands. Only I, sitting on the throne, will have more authority than you.

Exodus 5:1

After this, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they can celebrate a festival to honor me in the wilderness.'

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