1. The sons of Jacob who went to Egypt with him, each with his family, were
2. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
3. Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin,
4. Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5. The total number of these people directly descended from Jacob was seventy. His son Joseph was already in Egypt.
6. In the course of time Joseph, his brothers, and all the rest of that generation died,
7. but their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and became so numerous and strong that Egypt was filled with them.
8. Then, a new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, came to power in Egypt.
9. He said to his people, “These Israelites are so numerous and strong that they are a threat to us.
10. In case of war they might join our enemies in order to fight against us, and might escape from the country. We must find some way to keep them from becoming even more numerous.”