The pronoun they is indefinite. It may be understood as referring to “the Egyptians,” but more specifically it means the king and his officials. It is possible, then, to render the phrase Therefore they as “Therefore the king and his officials….” They set taskmasters over them: it is also possible to say that “taskmasters were set over the Israelites” (New American Bible [New American Bible]), without having to identify who did it. But in languages that do not employ the passive voice, Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation‘s model will be helpful.

Taskmasters translates a technical term for supervisors of forced labor gangs. These are the Egyptian “slave drivers” (Good News Translation) mentioned in Exodus 5 and not the Israelite foremen whom they later appointed. A different Hebrew term is used for taskmasters in 5.6 and 5.14, but it should be rendered the same way there. However, it is important to distinguish between the taskmasters and the foremen. (See the comment on slavery under the section heading at 1.8.) Taskmasters may be translated as “people who force laborers to do hard work.” It is better not to use “slaves” or “slave drivers” in this chapter.

The word for afflict also carries the meaning of humiliating someone, or causing one to feel dependent on another. Hence “to crush their spirits” (Good News Translation) is a more precise rendering of the Hebrew. The one word for heavy burdens (literally “their burdens”) refers to the “forced labor” (New American Bible, New International Version) that was intended to place them completely under the control of the Egyptians. Other ways to translate to afflict them with heavy burdens are “cause them to suffer by doing heavy labor,” or idiomatically, “to make them do hard labor [or, work very hard] until their spirits [or hearts, or liver] were sore [or, broken].”

Pharaoh is a title rather than a name, although it came to be used as a name. Originally it was the Egyptian word for “great house,” referring to the palace of the king. Egyptians gradually began to use it in reference to the king himself. All kings were given this title, but they also kept their individual names. In the Old Testament, however, this word is never used with the article (for example, “the Pharaoh”), so it has frequently been understood as a personal name. In some languages a choice will have to be made to mark it either as a personal name or as a title. In order to avoid this confusion, Good News Translation has chosen to translate it as “the king” rather than transliterate it, and many translators will find this a good way to solve the problem. (See the comment on “king” at verse 8.)

The store-cities were special centers built as warehouses for storing grain and other supplies for the government. If such centers are unknown in the receptor culture, it is possible to translate this word as “cities in which to store supplies,” or “cities … to serve as supply centers,” as in Good News Translation. In cultures where the only large human settlements are villages surrounded by fences, translators will need other more descriptive ways to translate store-cities; for example, “large villages with high walls [or, fences] around them, where supplies are stored” or “large places with high fences around them, where they store grain and other things.” Pithom and Raamses should be transliterated as names of cities. The alternate “Rameses” in Good News Translation and New Revised Standard Version represents the more common spelling for the city and for the king who established the nineteenth Egyptian dynasty (see the comment at verse 8).

An alternative translation model for verse 11b is:

• The Israelites built Pithom and Rameses for the king. They were special cities [or, villages with high walls around them] for him to use for storing grain and other things.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The pronoun they in the first sentence may need to be identified as the Israelites to make it clear that “the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites” (Good News Translation), and the Israelites “increased in number” (Good News Translation). To spread abroad means that there were so many of them that they were seen throughout the land of Egypt. The more … the more … the more … means that when the Egyptians increased the oppression, the Israelites became even more numerous and were seen even more frequently throughout Egypt. Oppressed may also be expressed as “treated violently,” “were cruel toward,” or “hurt.” In a number of languages this will be described in a way similar to “the Egyptians held their necks down.” In some languages it is difficult to express the comparative “the more this, then the more that.” In such cases it is possible to say, for example, “But just as the Egyptians were making it difficult for them, just so they became many and spread out” (Ilokano), or even “The Egyptians treated the Israelites very cruelly. But the families of the Israelites still continued to grow in number and spread out to places in Egypt where they had not been before.”

The verb translated as were in dread of is not a common Hebrew word, so its meaning must be determined by the context in which it is used. Good News Translation has “the Egyptians came to fear the Israelites.” In Num 22.3 it also means to fear or dread, and in Isa 7.6 it means to terrify. But in Lev 20.23 and Num 21.5 it means to hate or loathe. Most translations choose either one meaning or the other, either to fear or to hate. However, both meanings seem to be intended here, in the sense that the Egyptians had strong racial feelings against them as an ethnic group. In context, then, the Egyptians “came to fear” (Good News Translation) and “to loathe” (New English Bible) the Israelites because they continued to increase in number. Using both of these meanings one may render the second part of this verse as “The Egyptians began to hate and fear the Israelites.” This hatred by the Egyptians was the result of the Israelites’ rapid increase in population. In some languages it will be helpful to begin this final sentence with the equivalent of “So” or “Therefore” and say “So the Egyptians began to hate….”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The meaning of the Hebrew word translated as birthstool is not certain. In Jer 18.3 it refers to the potter’s wheel. It suggests the meaning of two stones, so it may indicate a kind of “delivery stool” (New International Version) consisting of two stones on which Egyptian women sat or knelt while giving birth. The context is clear enough, however, so it is possible to translate the intended meaning as in New English Bible, “watch as the child is delivered.” Good News Translation omits the entire phrase, and see them upon the birthstool, leaving this information implicit.

You shall kill him and she shall live are both commands. Therefore it may be necessary to translate “you shall not kill her” or “let her live” (New English Bible). The “it” in Good News Translation refers to “the baby,” whether boy or girl.

In some languages it will be helpful to place “he said to them” (Good News Translation) at the beginning of the verse, as suggested in the comment at verse 15. An alternative model, then, for the verse is the following:

• He said to them, “When you help the Hebrew women bear children, if you see that the baby is a male, kill it. But if the baby is a girl, let it live.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The king … called the midwives simply means that “the king sent for the midwives” (Good News Translation). In some languages this will be rendered as “had people go and bring the midwives to him.” The king’s question is asking only one thing, not two. The this in Why have you done this refers to what follows, namely, “Why have you … let the male children live?” The Hebrew style suggests the king’s feeling of desperation. If this is not otherwise clear, the question may be made into two questions as Good News Translation does: “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the boys live?” Or the second clause may be introduced with a participle: “Why have you acted thus, allowing the boys to live?” (New American Bible). However, in certain languages a way to show this desperation is to combine the two clauses and say, for example, “Why have you let the male children live like this?” where the words “like this” are equivalent to Why have you done this …? In some languages the question “Why have you let the male children live” may give the impression that they killed the female children. In such a case one may use the model “Why have you not killed the male children?”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The expression they are vigorous, literally “they are alive,” may be translated as “they are hardy” (Jerusalem Bible) or “they are robust” (New American Bible). But the meaning of the whole clause is clear: “they give birth easily.”

Before the midwife comes to them suggests the speed in delivery rather than the slowness of the midwives. Midwife is singular in the Hebrew. The word “either” in Good News Translation assumes that there were only two midwives: “their babies are born before either of us gets there.” With only two midwives caring for so many Israelite women, their excuse would be reasonable. It is better to allow for the possibility that there were more than two midwives; then the excuse given can be understood as flimsy, and the real reason is clear, namely, that the midwives feared God (verses 17 and 21). (This is Brevard Childs’ interpretation.) In some languages it will be more natural style to put the clause before the midwife comes to them first and say “… And before the midwife gets there, they have already given birth [or, delivered a baby].” Contemporary English Version‘s model will be useful for many translators: “They answered, ‘Hebrew women have their babies much quicker than Egyptian women. By the time we arrive, the babies are already born.’ ”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .