Chapter 1. The Sufferings of Israel (Exodus 1:1-22).
This chapter is the background to what follows and can be analysed thus:
a The growth of the children of Israel (Exodus 1:1-5).
b Pharaoh fears that they will multiply and puts them to hard labour (Exodus 1:6-11).
b The children of Israel multiply and are put to hard service (Exodus 1:12-14).
a Pharaoh seeks to destroy the growth of Israel through its midwives (Exodus 1:15-22).
Note how ‘a' contrasts with its parallel ‘a', while ‘b' and ‘b' demonstrate an ongoing situation.
The chapter describes briefly how the children of Israel arrived in Egypt and began to multiply. Then follows the suspicion that resulted because of the threat that Pharaoh felt that they might pose to Egypt in case of war, resulting in their being put to hard labour. But in spite of the afflictions they continued to multiply so that the Egyptians then set them to hard service. And finally the Pharaoh decided that measures must be taken to curtail their growth and called on first the midwives, and then the people of Egypt, to arrange for the slaughter of their male children.