Genesis closed with the descendants of Jacob living in the land of Egypt, waiting out the period of famine that had overtaken the region. What started as a temporary move turned into a centuries-long stay. We do not know the exact time interval separating Joseph from Moses. The Bible says a Pharaoh arose who “did not know Joseph” (1:8). The new Pharaoh was not beholden to the Israelites. The history of Joseph’s service was long forgotten, which meant the Israelites lost their protected status as the relatives of a national hero.

Goshen no longer hosted just Jacob and his descendants. That original generation of 70 refugees passed away. But they were an “exceedingly fruitful” people, fanning out over the Nile Delta. They grew so large that the native Egyptians felt threatened by their size. The first words out of the new Pharaoh’s mouth were: “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land” (1:9–10).

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