Exodus 1:7 – They Were Fruitful

The family of Jacob came to Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan. That generation died and things began to change for the children of Israel.

Tremendous Growth

Here’s how the growth of Jacob’s descendants is described:

This translation is more literal than most translations of this verse. I’m trying to capture the Hebrew as accurately as possible, even though the English is awkward.

Here’s a less awkward translation (Jewish Publication Society 1917): And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

Overview of Exodus 1:7

Rabbi Steinsaltz writes that Exodus 1:7 describes the children of Israel growing from a small family into a tribe. In a short time they grew into a large tribe and became a powerful presence in Egypt.

This growth set the stage for the persecutions that were to come.

Swarmed

The word “swarmed” (Hebrew: vayishretzu) is from the 3-letter root shin-reish-tzade.

As Rabbi Steinsaltz writes, the Hebrew vayishretzu “is suited more for describing the breeding of animals than humans.”

Let’s look at how several commentators explain why the word is used in this context.

Rashi, based on a midrash, writes that the Jewish women gave birth to six children at a time.

Ibn Ezra HaKatzar points out a similar command was given to Noah after they left the ark. The same 3-letter root is used:

We see from this verse that when the world needed to be repopulated God commanded Noah’s family to be prolific.

Exodus 1:7 is not a command to the obeyed, rather it is a blessing from God so that Jacob’s descendants will grow from a family into a nation.

Ibn Ezra HaAruch explains vayishretzu means a woman giving birth to twins or more at one time. He writes that he saw a case of a woman giving birth to 4 babies. Also, the doctors of his time claimed that up to 7 could be born at one time.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch points to points to a miracle hidden in the fact of multiple births. He writes:

… they [the children of Israel] were as prolific as the lower creatures; the lower the animal, the greater the number at each birth. With human beings, however, twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc., are usually weaker, and frequently do not survive. Such births, then, do not bring about an increase in the population; in any case, they bring into the world weaker offspring. Here, however, Scripture adds: ‘and multiplied, and became mighty’ – their infants survived and were strong and healthy.

The Land was Filled with Them

The commentators argue over whether “the land” in Exodus 1:7 means Goshen or all of Egypt.

Even before Jacob descended to Egypt, Joseph had wanted his father and brothers to live in Goshen.

Pharaoh granted Joseph the right to chose where to settle his family. Joseph chose Goshen since it was fertile, suitable for grazing, and separate from the rest of Egypt.

Both Rav Saadia Gaon and Ibn Ezra HaAruch write that that the children of Israel filled Goshen.

R. Hirsch agrees and adds, “The Hebrew’s mentality and occupation were repugnant to the Egyptians.” Therefore, it was good for them to be separated from each other.

But Ibn Ezra in his other commentary, HaKatzar, writes they filled all the land of Egypt, contrary to what he wrote in HaAruch.

Rabbi Steinsaltz writes that most of the Jews stayed in Goshen. However, some were living in other regions in contact with the Egyptians.

R. Sorotzkin explains that the Egyptians wanted the children of Israel to live separately in a ghetto. But they increased in number so much that Goshen became too crowded and they spread into the entire land of Egypt.

Exodus 1:7 – The Big Picture

Let’s look separately at the approach of Rashbam and Vilna Gaon to explain Exodus 1:7. They explain the verse as a whole and fit it into the context of the Book of Exodus.

Rashbam – Progression

The Rashbam points out a progression in each phrase of the verse.

were fruitful – with pregnancies.

and swarmed – giving birth and the womb did not become barren.

We would expect women to have more difficulty becoming pregnant after bearing so many children.

and multiplied – the children grew and became adults. They did not die during infancy.

We would expect the babies to be smaller and more likely to die early.

and became mighty very, very much – the adults did not die, rather they were many and strong.

and the land was filled with them – due to the above factors.

Vilna Gaon in Aderet Eliyahu

The Vilna Gaon (GRA) points out that Egypt subjected the Jewish people to 7 forms of oppression. They are stated in Exodus 1:13-14:

1. with hardwork
2. with mortar
3. with bricks
4. with every labor in the field
5. all their labors
6. with rigor
7. the Egyptians made the people of Israel serve with rigor

The GRA takes the first 6 from Exodus 1:14. The seventh is from the previous verse, Exodus 1:13.

The “rigor” stated in 1:14 is the breaking of the body. All of the first six oppressions are hard physical work that breakdown the body. One method the Egyptians used to make the work more oppressive was to have men do work usually performed by women and the opposite.

The “rigor” in Exodus 1:13 is the Egyptians forced the Jews to do work that was not necessary. It is mentally demoralizing and physically draining to do work that clearly serves no purpose.

The GRA writes that Exodus 1:7 describes 7 positive blessings that God gave the children of Israel to negate the seven forms of oppression:

1. fruitful – neither men nor women were barren
2. swarmed – every birth was twins or greater
3. multiplied – each woman gave birth multiple times one after another
4. became mighty – the multiple births should have weakened the offspring, but instead they were strong
5. very [Hebrew: bimeod] – the previous 4 blessings happened many times
6. very much [Hebrew: meod] – there was no greater blessing for the children of Israel than this
7. the land was filled with them – because they did not experience miscarriages or premature deaths

God gave these blessings to the children of Israel before the oppression and subjugation began.