# Exodus 1.22 **Book:** [Exodus](/codex/exodus/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 20. And God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. 21. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them households. > > **22. And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.** (Exodus 1:20-22, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 20. God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty. 21. Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. > > **22. Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”** (Exodus 1:20-22, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 20. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. 21. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. > > **22. And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.** (Exodus 1:20-22, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 20. And God doth good to the midwives, and the people multiply, and are very mighty; 21. and it cometh to pass, because the midwives have feared God, that He maketh for them households; > > **22. and Pharaoh layeth a charge on all his people, saying, 'Every son who is born, into the River ye do cast him, and every daughter ye do keep alive.'** (Exodus 1:20-22, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** Moses (traditional) - **Audience:** Israelite congregation post-Exodus - **Location:** Egypt → Sinai wilderness - **Time period:** events c. 1446-1445 BC; composed c. 1446-1406 BC ## Theological reading ## Key words - [H1121 - ben](/codex/h1121-ben/), *ben* (Strong's H1121). Also appears in: [Genesis 3](/codex/genesis-3/), [Genesis 4.26](/codex/genesis-4-26/), [Genesis 6.2](/codex/genesis-6-2/). ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses. ## Quoted in **Arguments and defeaters:** - [Hardening Pharaohs Heart Objection Defeater](/codex/hardening-pharaohs-heart-objection-defeater/) **Concepts:** - [Divine Wipeouts and Their Justification](/codex/divine-wipeouts-and-their-justification/) - [God and the Killing of Children](/codex/god-and-the-killing-of-children/), via [Exodus 1.15-22](/codex/exodus-1-15-22/) - [Hardening Pharaohs Heart](/codex/hardening-pharaohs-heart/), via [Exodus 1.15-22](/codex/exodus-1-15-22/)