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At the end of the last study we observed how the book of Genesis concludes in a way that anticipates a sequel. The book of Exodus provides that sequel, the action starting perhaps two to four centuries after Joseph. The first verse of Exodus con- nects back to Genesis. In the first place, Exodus begins with the conjunction “and” (not usually represented in English trans- lations of the book), reminding us that Exodus is a continuation of the story of Genesis. And the rest of the verse repeats Genesis 46:8, reminding us that the ori- gins of Israel in Egypt are found in the de- scent of Jacob and his family at the time of a severe famine. But conditions have radically changed since the time Joseph was an important leader in Egypt. The descendants of Abra- ham have been “exceedingly fruitful,” and thus they have “multiplied greatly, in- creased in numbers and became so nu- merous that the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7). This language should sound familiar after studying Genesis, coming both from the mandate to Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28) as well as the divine promise to Abraham “I will make you into a great nation” (Gen- esis 12:2). On a darker note, the relationship be- tween Egypt and the Israelites has also changed. No longer is it characterized by good will and respect, but now the Egyp- tians are fearful of Israel and thus oppress them. An unnamed “new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing” (Exodus 1:8) has come to power. He enslaved the Israelites and also issued a command that all the baby boys born to the Hebrews should be put to death. Who is this “new king,” and when do the events of Exodus 1–18 take place? The honest answer is that we do not know. Nei- ther this king nor the king Moses later challenges is mentioned by name. Schol- ars debate the issue, typically suggesting a time from the exodus itself in either the fifteenth or the thirteenth century b.c., but that is a subject for a different type of study than we are engaged in now (see “Evidence of the Exodus Event,” in How to Read Exodus). In this terrifying environment, Moses is born. The story of the midwives appears to answer the question how he survived birth in spite of the Pharaoh’s command. The midwives refused to follow through by killing the baby boys and then lied to cover up their actions. The ninth command- ment appears to prohibit all lying, but in the light of this story, where God honors the midwives’ actions, as well as other sto- ries of lying (for example, Rahab in Joshua 2), it appears that lying is permitted on oc- casions when the person asking for infor- mation wants to use it to harm people (Exodus 1:15-22).