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was rereading the Exodus story bc Passover and so
weird/punny/mysterious/etc. stuff in Exodus that either doesn& #39;t really translate or doesn& #39;t *get* translated for some reason, a thread
weird/punny/mysterious/etc. stuff in Exodus that either doesn& #39;t really translate or doesn& #39;t *get* translated for some reason, a thread
1:5 the term used for "of Jacob& #39;s issue" is actually יצא; it& #39;s "those who went out from Jacob& #39;s thighs."
It& #39;s the same term that& #39;s going to get used for the Israelites& #39; leaving Egypt in 12:31 and 12:41. It& #39;s a nice little foreshadowing bit of wordplay.
It& #39;s the same term that& #39;s going to get used for the Israelites& #39; leaving Egypt in 12:31 and 12:41. It& #39;s a nice little foreshadowing bit of wordplay.
A couple verses later, we& #39;ve got a description of how many babies the Israelites are having.
it& #39;s literally, "they fruited, they swarmed, they [became] a lot, they became very very mighty, and the land was full of them"
![A couple verses later, we& #39;ve got a description of how many babies the Israelites are having.it& #39;s literally, "they fruited, they swarmed, they [became] a lot, they became very very mighty, and the land was full of them"](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWLk22jVcAEWqDj.png "A couple verses later, we& #39;ve got a description of how many babies the Israelites are having.it& #39;s literally, \"they fruited, they swarmed, they [became] a lot, they became very very mighty, and the land was full of them\"")
it& #39;s literally, "they fruited, they swarmed, they [became] a lot, they became very very mighty, and the land was full of them"
that "swarmed" verb? it& #39;s a callback to Gen 1:20 with the waters swarming with creatures
so on one hand, right here it& #39;s about birth (and the birth of a people vs a family), but Pharaoh& #39;s about to make the waters swarm with babies thrown into the Nile, so the use is dual-edged
so on one hand, right here it& #39;s about birth (and the birth of a people vs a family), but Pharaoh& #39;s about to make the waters swarm with babies thrown into the Nile, so the use is dual-edged
In 1:8 we get told that there& #39;s a new king of Egypt, who didn& #39;t know Joseph.
In 1:10, Pharaoh& #39;s worried they& #39;re going to "join [his] enemies," but the term for join is actually יסף, which is the shoresh (3-letter root most Hebrew words are based on) for Joseph& #39;s name.
![In 1:8 we get told that there& #39;s a new king of Egypt, who didn& #39;t know Joseph.In 1:10, Pharaoh& #39;s worried they& #39;re going to "join [his] enemies," but the term for join is actually יסף, which is the shoresh (3-letter root most Hebrew words are based on) for Joseph& #39;s name.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWLoZanUwAImrnI.png "In 1:8 we get told that there& #39;s a new king of Egypt, who didn& #39;t know Joseph.In 1:10, Pharaoh& #39;s worried they& #39;re going to \"join [his] enemies,\" but the term for join is actually יסף, which is the shoresh (3-letter root most Hebrew words are based on) for Joseph& #39;s name.")
In 1:10, Pharaoh& #39;s worried they& #39;re going to "join [his] enemies," but the term for join is actually יסף, which is the shoresh (3-letter root most Hebrew words are based on) for Joseph& #39;s name.
HE didn& #39;t know Joseph (who probably saved his family& #39;s throne, if he& #39;s a descendant of Joseph& #39;s pharaoh and not from a different dynasty), but if he& #39;s not careful, one of his enemies may benefit from a relationship with the Israelites like that Pharaoh had.
He& #39;s worried about them "going up from the land," v& #39;alah min haaretz. The old JPS translation has "rise up from the ground," but it& #39;s also worth noting that in the text, one goes up to the land of Israel from outside it (and up to Jerusalem from within it).
So on one hand, there& #39;s this eerie image of the Israelites rising up out of the ground (like the plague of frogs will do), like the dragon& #39;s teeth soldiers in Greek myth, or like the resurrected dead.
On the other hand, more foreshadowing.
On the other hand, more foreshadowing.
Then in 1:11, we& #39;ve got affliction & burdens. The term used for "afflict" here is ענה (which I believe is the root of the modern Hebrew word for "poor"). Same term for what Sarah does to Hagar, the Egyptian.
There& #39;s something maybe a little karmic, or at least cyclical, here.
There& #39;s something maybe a little karmic, or at least cyclical, here.
The other thing that& #39;s a little weird here is that the Israelites are referred to as "he" or "it" here, rather than "they."
Before the Israelites really conceptualize themselves as a nation, Pharaoh& #39;s treating them as a unit.
Before the Israelites really conceptualize themselves as a nation, Pharaoh& #39;s treating them as a unit.
