Bible Strands
Exodus 1:12
But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The biblical narrator records the immediate aftermath of Pharaoh's officials imposing forced labor to build Pithom and Rameses, describing the moment Egyptian hostility meets the Israelites' demographic response.
The words — The Hebrew verb יְעַנּוּ (ye'anu) denotes the systematic affliction or oppression of the people, while יִפְרֹץ (yifrotz) literally means to break out, spread, or proliferate rapidly.
The thread — This dynamic of hostility producing growth appears in Exodus 1:9 and Psalm 105:24, where the stated increase of the Israelites directly counters Egyptian fear and aligns with divine fruitfulness.
Why it lands — The text states that intensified oppression directly caused intensified multiplication, requiring the reader to note that human coercion cannot reverse the recorded trajectory of the group's expansion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
Cross-references
- Psalms 105:24 And the LORD made His people very fruitful, more numerous than their foes,
- Exodus 1:9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us.
- Romans 8:28 And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Acts 5:28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”
- John 12:19 Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You can see that this is doing you no good. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!”
- Acts 4:2 greatly disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
- Proverbs 27:4 Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?
- Job 5:2 For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
- Hebrews 12:6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”
- Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.