(from The New Jerusalem Bible, p.81; pub. by Doubleday, 1990)


>Thutmose I(1525-1512 BC) a professional soldier
>put egypt ona war footing
>and launched invasions as far
>as the euphrates river- he
>feared Israelite disloyalty, we know
>this from egyptian inscriptions stating
>“when a war shall be
>called, they(israelites) shall join our
>enemies” and ordered therefore the
>killing of all new born
>israelite male babies…supported by bothe
>exodus 1: 9-16) and the inscriptions
>of Thutmose I himself…

Exodus 1:11 footnote: "Egypt does not seem to have had a regular system of forced labour, though the manpower for major undertakings was provided in part by prisoners of war and by serfs attached to the royal domains, see for Israel, 2 Samuel 12:31. The Israelites regarded being reduced to theese inferior categories as an intolerable from of oppression. It is not surprising that they wanted to return to their free way of life in the desert; nor that the Egyptians took the suggestion as a form of slave revolt."

Exodus 1:12 footnote: "Residence in the Delta of Pharaoh Rameses II; to be identified either with Tanis or with Qantir. The reference indicates Ramses II (1290-1224) as the oppressive Pharaoh and gives an approximate date for the Exodus." (see my other post titled "for example" for reasons why it may be difficult to pinpoint when the Hebrews left Egypt)

Exodus 1:14 footnote: "The story of oppression is continued at 5:6-23. In the following verses, the measures taken for the destruction of the male children do not tally with the requirements of forced labor, but prepare the ground for the story of the birth of Moses."


as poetx said in another post, why would the Egyptians kill all those newborns if they needed so many slaves? It seems to boil down to a matter of perspective...the Hebrews my have seen their status in Egypt as negative and wrote their story accordingly.

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*moment of silence for all those lost & those yet to be found*