exodus 1

Question	Answer	Note---10-02-2016
What is the significance of the way the names appears in these verses.
		1:7 Seventy souls came to Egypt, and they grew exponentially given that each were having out their lot of children. Within a few short years they became a great number.
If according to the scripture the children of Israel were more than the Egyptians, how/why could they have allowed themselves to be enslaved to the point of torture? Especially since they were heirs to land in Cannaan	The temperament of the Israelites were different from that of the Egyptians. The Israelites were humble and meek/peaceful people. The Egyptians were warlike (bellicose) and there was an implied (tacit) authority which the Egyptians exercised over the Israelites. It seems that the enslavement was gradual rather than instantaneous.	1:8-12
What was the Midwife stool? The stool upon which the mothers had children		1:16
Why was this order given to the midwives?	It would have been easier for the midwives to carry this out rather than soldiers.
		1:17 Note that the midwives feared God rather than men, because these midwives were of Hebrew descent and knew of the God of heaven. It is unlikely that the Israelites had Egyptian midwives.
The excuse given to pharaoh does not seem to hold any weight, could not the midwives have killed the baby still if the mother had already delivered it?	It seems that the midwives were supposed to have killed the baby prior to giving it to the mom, otherwise this excuse indeed does not hold any bearing on the question asked of them.
	New International Version And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.	1:20-21 God dealt with the midwives so that he multiplied them, and gave them families of their own.
Why didn’t the pharaoh kill/punish the midwives who dis-obeyed his commands?		1:22 Seeing that his orders were dis-obeyed by the midwives, pharaoh now turn to “his” people to execute his orders.
Were “his” people the soldiers?