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Exodus 1:8

in Exodus 1

Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.

KJV

Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

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This verse in Exodus 1

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

There arose up a new king - Who this was it is difficult to say. It was probably Ramesses Miamun, or his son Amenophis, who succeeded him in the government of Egypt about A. M. 2400, before Christ 1604. Which knew not Joseph - The verb ידע yada, which we translate to know, often signifies to acknowledge or approve. See Jdg 2:10; Psa 1:6; Psa 31:7; Hos 2:8; Amo 3:2. The Greek verbs ειδω and γινωσκω are used precisely in the same sense in the New Testament. See Mat 25:12, and 1Jn 3:

This site's exposition

there arose up a new king over Egypt

Stephen quotes this verse at Acts 7:18 when he tells Israel's story to the council, another king arose, which knew not Joseph. The Hebrew verb rendered knew often carries the sense of acknowledging rather than being informed, so what the verse reports may be a policy rather than a gap in the records. Which Pharaoh this was is disputed and the text gives no name: an earlier date puts the oppression under the eighteenth dynasty, and a later date puts it under Rameses II, whose name stands on one of the cities in the next verses. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown reckon a change of dynasty about sixty years after Joseph died.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Now there arose up a new king over Egypt,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

All that knew him loved him, and were kind to his relations for his sake; but when he was dead he was soon forgotten, and the remembrance of the good offices he had done was either not retained or not regarded, nor had it any influence upon their councils.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Now there arose up a new king--About sixty years after the death of Joseph a revolution took place--by which the old dynasty was overthrown, and upper and lower Egypt were united into one kingdom.
The expressions in this verse are special and emphatic. “A new king” is a phrase not found elsewhere. It is understood by most commentators to imply that he did not succeed his predecessor in the natural order of descent and inheritance. He “arose up over Egypt,” occupying the land, as it would seem, on different terms from the king whose place he took, either by usurpation or conquest. The fact that he knew not Joseph implies a complete separation from the traditions of Lower Egypt. At present the generality of Egyptian scholars identify this Pharaoh with Rameses II, but all the conditions of the narrative are fulfilled in the person of Amosis I (or, Aahmes), the head of the 18th Dynasty. He was the descendant of the old Theban sovereigns, but his family was tributary to the Dynasty of the Shepherds, the Hyksos of Manetho, then ruling in the North of Egypt. Amosis married an Ethiopian princess, and in the third year of his reign captured Avaris, or Zoan, the capital of the Hyksos, and completed the expulsion of that race.

The words behind it

10 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

6 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Acts 7:18Then another king, who knew nothing of Joseph, arose over Egypt.10 worksEcclesiastes 2:18–19I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.5 worksEcclesiastes 2:16For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!3 worksEcclesiastes 9:15Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.2 worksEcclesiastes 9:6Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun.2 worksExodus 2:25God saw the Israelites and took notice.1 works

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Ecclesiastes 9:15

    Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

    it leads to

    • Ecclesiastes 4:13

      Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.

    • Genesis 40:23

      The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot all about him.

    • Esther 6:2–3

      And there it was found recorded that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the king’s entrance, when they had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.

    • 2 Samuel 20:22

      Then the woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn…

    • Ecclesiastes 2:16

      For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

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About Exodus

The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Exodus: the study guide →Read Exodus 1 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Exodus 1 →