Exodus 1 22

Exodus 1:22 kjv

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.

Exodus 1:22 nkjv

So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, "Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive."

Exodus 1:22 niv

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."

Exodus 1:22 esv

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live."

Exodus 1:22 nlt

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live."

Exodus 1 22 Cross References

Verse Text Reference
Ex 2:3-10 But she took a basket of papyrus ... put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank... God’s immediate counter-providence; Moses is saved from the very decree.
Acts 7:19-21 He dealt treacherously with our people... so that they threw out their infants, to prevent them from living... Stephen's account highlights the severity of the persecution and Pharaoh's malice.
Heb 11:23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents... Illustrates the faith required to defy Pharaoh’s order, risking everything.
Mat 2:16-18 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children... A chilling echo of Pharaoh's infanticide, demonstrating similar demonic opposition to God’s redemptive plan.
Gen 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great... Pharaoh’s decree is a direct assault on God’s Abrahamic covenant of national proliferation and blessing.
Ex 12:29-30 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon... Divine retribution against Egypt, where God answers Pharaoh’s decree by striking their own firstborn males.
Ps 105:25 He turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants. Explains the underlying spiritual animosity driving Pharaoh’s oppression.
Isa 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you... God’s promise to protect His people even amidst life-threatening waters.
Deut 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live... The principle of choosing life is starkly contrasted by Pharaoh's decree of death.
Jer 19:4-5 ...for they have filled this place with the blood of innocents... they have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings... Though different contexts, highlights the abomination of child sacrifice in God's eyes.
Job 24:12 From out of the city the dying groan, and the soul of the wounded cries for help... Captures the universal lamentation over innocent suffering caused by oppressors, reminiscent of the plight in Egypt.
Ex 1:17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. Precedes this verse, showing divine defiance of Pharaoh's initial order and the escalation of his malice.
Ps 124:1-5 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side... then they would have swallowed us up alive... then the flood would have swept us away... A psalm reflecting on God’s deliverance from overwhelming dangers, akin to Egypt’s oppression.
Lam 2:20 "Look, O Lord, and consider! To whom have you done such a thing? Should women eat their offspring, the children of their tender care?... Though a different scenario, emphasizes the extreme horror of child death and God's justice in such matters.
Jer 31:15 Thus says the Lord: "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children... A prophecy evoking the sorrow of mothers losing their children, a timeless suffering reflecting Pharoah's cruel act.
Ex 7:17-21 Thus says the Lord, "By this you shall know that I am the Lord: Behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood..." The Nile, commanded by Pharaoh to be a source of death, is supernaturally defiled by God, indicating His judgment over the false gods associated with the river.
Deut 7:1-6 When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you... you must devote them to complete destruction... Highlights God's absolute sovereignty over nations and His judgments, showing Pharaoh's attempts as futile against divine plans.
Rev 12:4 ...And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. A parallel in cosmic spiritual warfare: evil forces (dragon/Satan) seek to destroy the messianic male offspring.
Prov 29:2 When the righteous triumph, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. Illustrates the human experience under the cruel rule of Pharaoh, reflecting the groaning of the Israelites.
Rom 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Even amidst extreme evil, God ultimately works His plans for His people's good.
Ex 4:22-23 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son... If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.' God declares Israel His "firstborn" as a challenge to Pharaoh's actions, leading to the ultimate judgment against Egypt's firstborn.
Gal 3:16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ. The attack on the Israelite male line is an attack on the promised offspring, ultimately the lineage of Christ.

Exodus 1 verses

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Exodus 1 22 Meaning

Exodus 1:22 reveals the Pharaoh’s intensified and horrific decree against the multiplying Israelite population in Egypt. It mandates that all newborn Hebrew male infants must be thrown into the Nile River to drown, while female infants are permitted to live. This direct order of infanticide aims to prevent the growth of the Israelite male lineage, thereby eliminating a potential threat to Pharaoh’s power and maintaining a controlled, servile labor force.

Exodus 1 22 Context

Exodus 1:22 marks the chilling culmination of Pharaoh's increasing fear and hatred towards the multiplying Israelites. Initially, Pharaoh responded to Israel's growth by enslaving them and imposing harsh labor (Ex 1:8-14). When this failed to curb their numbers, he escalated his oppression by secretly commanding the Hebrew midwives to kill all newborn male infants (Ex 1:15-16). However, the midwives "feared God" more than Pharaoh and defied his orders (Ex 1:17-21). In response to their insubordination and the continued numerical growth of the Israelites, Pharaoh broadens his decree to "all his people," making infanticide a widespread state policy. This decree is a direct challenge to God's promise to Abraham (Gen 12:2; 15:5) that his descendants would become a great nation and as numerous as the stars, setting the stage for divine intervention and Moses' pivotal role as deliverer.

Exodus 1 22 Word analysis

  • Then Pharaoh commanded (וַיְצַו פַּרְעֹה - vaytzav Par'oh): The Hebrew verb for "commanded" (tsavah) implies a strong, absolute royal decree. This indicates Pharaoh's unwavering intent and his ultimate authority as perceived by his people. The shift from a secret order to midwives (Ex 1:15) to a public command reflects his heightened desperation and complete tyranny.
  • all his people (לְכָל-עַמּוֹ - l'chol-amo): This broadening of the mandate is crucial. It signifies a collective responsibility and enforcement across Egyptian society, making it virtually impossible for the Israelites to evade the decree without external help. It also reveals the extent of Pharaoh's power over his own people, who were expected to participate in this horrific act.
  • saying, ‘Every son (לֵאמֹר כָּל-הַבֵּן - lemor kol-habben): "Every son" (kol-habben) emphasizes the comprehensive nature of the target – no male child is exempt. The intent is to systematically eradicate the male Israelite lineage, thereby preventing future generations from leading, fighting, or perpetuating their identity as a distinct people.
  • who is born you shall cast into the Nile (הַיִּלּוֹד תַּשְׁלִיכֻהוּ הַיְאֹרָה - hayillod tashlikhuhu hay'orah):
    • who is born (hayillod): Literally, "the one who is born." This highlights the extreme vulnerability of the infants and the immediate danger they faced from the moment of birth.
    • cast into (tashlikhuhu): The verb implies a decisive, violent, and dismissive throwing. It signifies deliberate execution, not accidental death.
    • the Nile (הַיְאֹרָה - hay'orah, from ye’or): The Nile was Egypt’s lifeblood, revered as a source of fertility, prosperity, and even deity in Egyptian polytheism. Pharaoh turns this symbol of life into a mass grave, perverting its natural function. This action carries a strong theological polemic: the "god" of Egypt (the Nile, or the gods associated with its beneficence) is now commanded to become an agent of death against God's people. This sets the stage for God's judgment, particularly the turning of the Nile to blood (Ex 7:17-21) and the drowning of the Egyptian army in another body of water (the Red Sea), echoing divine justice for their treatment of the Israelites in the river.
  • but every daughter you shall keep alive’ (וְכָל-הַבַּת תְּחַיּוּן - v'chol-habat t'ḥayyun): The stark contrast highlights Pharaoh's strategic intent. By allowing females to live, he ensured a continued labor force and perhaps intended them to intermarry with Egyptians, assimilate, and serve as slave-wives, thereby dissolving Israel's distinct identity and severing the patriarchal lineage crucial to God's covenant promises.

Exodus 1 22 Bonus section

Pharaoh’s decree carries strong polemical undertones against the Egyptian deities. By commanding the Nile, considered divine by many Egyptians, to receive and destroy Israelite sons, Pharaoh effectively tests the "god" of the Nile. The subsequent actions of YHWH, turning the Nile to blood (Ex 7) and drowning the Egyptian army in the sea (Ex 14), powerfully demonstrate YHWH’s supremacy over all Egyptian gods and their alleged control over the waters. This incident also serves as a critical prefigurement. Pharaoh's attempt to wipe out Israel's male lineage foreshadows future attempts by adversaries to thwart God's redemptive plan by attacking key figures (like Herod's massacre in Bethlehem to kill Jesus, Mat 2). Furthermore, God's choosing of Israel as His "firstborn" (Ex 4:22-23) becomes a direct answer to Pharaoh's decree to kill Israel's literal firstborn, culminating in the Passover plague that targets Egypt’s firstborn. This demonstrates divine justice: life for life, son for son.

Exodus 1 22 Commentary

Exodus 1:22 encapsulates Pharaoh's extreme cruelty and strategic malevolence. His decree of infanticide against male Hebrew infants was not an act of blind rage but a calculated effort to prevent Israel's growth and effectively dismantle their identity, thus nullifying God's covenant promise of nationhood. By making the Nile—the very source of Egypt’s life and prosperity—the instrument of death, Pharaoh perverts creation and challenges divine order, directly assailing the sacredness of life. This wicked command serves as the darkest hour before the dawn of God's deliverance, immediately preceding the birth of Moses, who is divinely protected through the very waters intended to be his grave. The verse highlights the depth of human depravity and the profound challenge to God's plan, setting the stage for God to reveal His sovereign power through judgment on Egypt and salvation for Israel, transforming Pharaoh's curse into a catalyst for freedom.