Exodus 1:7

Exodus 1:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
• New International Version (NIV)but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.

Context of Exodus 1:7

5All the people who were directly descended from Jacob numbered seventy. But Joseph was already in Egypt, 6and in time Joseph and his brothers and all that generation died. The Israelites, however, were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong, so that the land was filled with them. 8Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power over Egypt. 9He said to his people, “Look at the Israelite people, more numerous and stronger than we are!

Exodus 1:7 word by word

וּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל פָּר֧וּ וַֽיִּשְׁרְצ֛וּ וַיִּרְבּ֥וּ וַיַּֽעַצְמ֖וּ בִּמְאֹ֣ד מְאֹ֑ד וַתִּמָּלֵ֥א הָאָ֖רֶץ אֹתָֽם׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• were fruitfulפָּרָהpârâh · be fruitfulH6509
• and increased abundantlyשָׁרַץshârats · to swarmH8317
• and multipliedרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• and waxed exceedingמְאֹדme'ôd · muchH3966
• mightyעָצֹם‛âtsam · be vastH6105
• and the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• was filledמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390

Cross-references for Exodus 1:7

• Exodus 12:37The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men on foot, plus their dependants.
• Genesis 1:20God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”
• Genesis 9:1Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
• Genesis 12:2Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing.
• Genesis 13:16And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted.
• Genesis 15:5The Lord took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
• Genesis 17:4“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations.
• Genesis 22:17I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the strongholds of their enemies.
• Genesis 26:4I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants.
• Genesis 28:3May the sovereign God bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! Then you will become a large nation.
• Genesis 35:11Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants!
• Genesis 46:3He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.
• Genesis 47:27Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they owned land there. They were fruitful and increased rapidly in number.
• Genesis 48:4He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and will multiply you. I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants as an everlasting possession.’
• Deuteronomy 10:22When your ancestors went down to Egypt, they numbered only seventy, but now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky.
• Deuteronomy 26:5Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor, and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number, but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people.

Commentaries on Exodus 1:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7The children of Israel were fruitful - פרו paru, a general term, signifying that they were like healthy trees, bringing forth an abundance of fruit. And increased - ישרץ yishretsu, they increased like fishes, as the original word implies. See Genesis 1:20; (note), and the note there. Abundantly - ירבו yirbu, they multiplied; this is a separate term, and should not have been used as an adverb by our translators. And waxed exceeding mighty - מאד במאד ויעצמו…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7In no province does the population increase so rapidly as in that which was occupied by the Israelites. See the note at Genesis 47:6. At present it has more flocks and herds than any province in Egypt, and more fishermen, though many villages are deserted. Until the accession of the new king, the relations between the Egyptians and the Israelites were undoubtedly friendly. The expressions used in this verse imply the lapse of a considerable period after…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-7Jacob’s family stayed in Egypt for a long time as part of God's plan. God told Abraham that his descendants would not receive the land of Canaan for 400 years, until the Canaanites' sins were complete (Genesis 15:13–16). Even in Egypt, God's promises were working. The descendants of the elderly Abraham and barren Sarah multiplied … exceedingly, just as God had said (Genesis 15:5). This was because God blessed them (Psalm 105:24).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. children of Israel were fruitful--They were living in a land where, according to the testimony of an ancient author, mothers produced three and four sometimes at a birth; and a modern writer declares "the females in Egypt, as well among the human race as among animals, surpass all others in fruitfulness." To this natural circumstance must be added the fulfilment of the promise made to Abraham.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 1:7

• Israel

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Arise
• Bitter
• Exodus
• Hard
• Hebrew
• Moses

Commentaries on Exodus 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings