These are the names of the children of Israel, which came to Egypt with
Iacob, every man with his household: Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Iuda,
Isachar, Zabulon, Ben Iamin, Dan, Nephtali, Gad and Aser. All the souls
that came out of the loins of Iacob, were seventy, and Ioseph was in
Egypt already. When Ioseph was dead and all his brethren and all that
generation: the children of Israel grew, increased, multiplied and
waxed exceeding mighty: so that the land was full of them. Then there
rose up a new king in Egypt which knew not Ioseph. And he said unto his
folk: behold the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier
than we. Come on, let us play wisely with them: lest they multiply, and
then (if there chance any war) they join them selves unto our enemies
and fight against us, and so get them out of the land. And he set
taskmasters over them, to keep them under with burthens. And they built
unto Pharao treasure cities: Phiton and Raamses. But the more they
vexed them, the more they multiplied and grew: so that they abhorred
the children of Israel. And the Egyptians held the children of Israel
in bondage without mercy, and made their lives bitter unto them with
cruel labour in clay and brick, and all manner work in the fields, and
in all manner of service, which they caused them to work cruelly. And
the king of Egypt said unto the midwives of the Hebrews' women, of
which the one's name was Sephora and the other Phua: when ye midwife
the women of the Hebrews and see in the birth time that it is a boy,
kill it. But if it be a maid, let it live. Notwithstanding the midwives
feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them: but saved
the men children. Then the king of Egypt called for the midwives and
said unto them: why have ye dealt on this manner and have saved the men
children? And the midwives answered Pharao, that the Hebrews' women
were not as the women of Egypt: but were sturdy women, and were
delivered yer the midwives came at them. And God therefore dealt well
with the midwives. And the people multiplied and waxed very mighty. And
because the midwives feared God, he made them houses. Then Pharao
charged all his people saying: All the men children that are born, cast
into the river and save the maid children alive.
Chapter .ij.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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