ClericCourageous resistance

Exodus 1 — Hebrew and Greek compared

Saints-Translation_Exodus-1-20_V2

Same 7 Similar 6 Different 5 Divergent 3 Disparate 1

Disparate in this chapter: 1:21

Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.

Chapter 1

The Proliferation of Israel

Verse 1:1 Similar

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

1 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; each man came with his household:

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who entered Egypt with Jacob their father; each came with his whole household:

Classification & Notes

Similar — Greek explicitly calls Jacob their father and describes the whole household [G1].
Rabbinic: Rashi on 1:1 understands the renewed naming and counting as an expression of God’s affection, comparing the naming of the stars. This is a homiletic explanation of the repetition [R1].

Verse 1:2 Same

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

Classification & Notes

Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.

Verse 1:3 Same

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

Classification & Notes

Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.

Verse 1:4 Same

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

Classification & Notes

Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.

Verse 1:5 Different

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

5 All the souls who came from Jacob’s loins were seventy souls; Joseph was already in Egypt.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:5 Joseph was already in Egypt. All the souls descended from Jacob were seventy-five.

Classification & Notes

Different — The totals are seventy and seventy-five; the Greek also places Joseph’s location first [H1; G1]. The expanded Greek genealogy in Genesis 46 provides relevant context. V1’s unverified manuscript and chronology claims are removed.
Saints: Acts 7:14 also gives seventy-five in Stephen’s retelling of Jacob’s migration. This is a corresponding narrative total, not a direct quotation of this verse [S1].

Verse 1:6 Same

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation.

Classification & Notes

Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.

Verse 1:7 Different

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

7 The sons of Israel were fruitful and teemed and multiplied, and became very, very strong; the land was filled with them.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:7 The sons of Israel grew and multiplied and became numerous, and grew very, very strong; the land multiplied them.

Classification & Notes

Different — Hebrew says that they filled the land; Greek makes the land the subject of multiplied them [H1; G1]. The wording is retained without supplying a theory of fertility.

The Enslavement of Israel

Verse 1:8 Similar

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

8 A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:8 Another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.

Classification & Notes

Similar — New and another differ in expression; neither word alone establishes a change of dynasty.
Rabbinic: Rashi on 1:8 records a disagreement between Rav and Samuel: a genuinely new ruler, or the same ruler instituting new decrees. He preserves both readings [R1].

Verse 1:9 Similar

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of the sons of Israel are more numerous and stronger than we are.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:9 He said to his nation, “Look, the people of the sons of Israel are a great multitude and are stronger than we are.

Classification & Notes

Similar — The Hebrew and Greek collective expressions describe the same people. Pharaoh’s claim is reported speech.

Verse 1:10 Similar

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

10 “Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply and, if war breaks out, join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the land.”

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:10 “Come then, let us deal craftily with them, lest they multiply and, whenever war comes upon us, join our adversaries, make war against us, and leave the land.”

Classification & Notes

Similar — Hebrew shifts through collective singular forms; natural English uses they. The Greek military expression can carry the sense of prevailing in war [G1].

Verse 1:11 Divergent

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

11 They set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built store cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Rameses.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:11 He set overseers of labor over them to afflict them with their work. They built fortified cities for Pharaoh: Pithom, Rameses, and On, which is the City of the Sun.

Classification & Notes

Divergent — Greek includes On and identifies it as the City of the Sun; store cities and fortified cities also differ [H1; G1]. No historical direction of expansion is asserted.

Verse 1:12 Different

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and spread abroad. The Egyptians dreaded the sons of Israel.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:12 But the more they humbled them, the more numerous they became, and they grew very, very strong. The Egyptians loathed the sons of Israel.

Classification & Notes

Different — Spreading and growing strong differ; dread and loathing express distinct reactions [H1; G1].

Verse 1:13 Similar

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

13 The Egyptians ruthlessly enslaved the sons of Israel.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:13 The Egyptians oppressed the sons of Israel by force.

Classification & Notes

Similar — Both describe coercive domination; the Greek wording does not make the Hebrew treatment mild.

Verse 1:14 Similar

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

14 They made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and brick, and with all kinds of labor in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly enslaved them.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:14 They made their lives painful with hard labor in clay and brickmaking, and with all the work in the plains, in every task in which they enslaved them by force.

Classification & Notes

Similar — The labor and violence agree; field and plains differ in expression [G1].

The Infanticide of Israel

Verse 1:15 Different

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

15 The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one named Shiphrah and the other Puah.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:15 The king of the Egyptians spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews, one named Sepphora and the other Puah.

Classification & Notes

Different — Greek Sepphora is preserved against Hebrew Shiphrah [H1; G1]. Its resemblance to Zipporah’s Greek name does not identify the two women.

Verse 1:16 Different

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

16 He said, “When you assist the Hebrew women in childbirth and look upon the birthstool, if it is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:16 He said, “When you assist the Hebrew women in childbirth and they are about to give birth, if it is a male child, kill him; but if it is a female child, preserve her.”

Classification & Notes

Different — Hebrew names the birthstool, literally the two stones; Greek describes the time of delivery [H1; G1].

Verse 1:17 Same

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

17 But the midwives feared God. They did not do as the king of Egypt had told them, and they kept the boys alive.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:17 But the midwives feared God. They did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, and they kept the boys alive.

Classification & Notes

Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.

Verse 1:18 Same

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

18 The king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and kept the boys alive?”

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:18 The king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and kept the boys alive?”

Classification & Notes

Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.

Verse 1:19 Divergent

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they give birth before the midwives come to them.” And they bore children.

Classification & Notes

Divergent — Greek lacks the Hebrew description vigorous and has a closing birth clause [H1; G1]. The explanation is attributed to the midwives.

Verse 1:20 Same

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

20 God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:20 God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong.

Classification & Notes

Same — The corresponding meaning and content agree.

Verse 1:21 Disparate

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

21 Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:21 Because the midwives feared God, they established households for themselves.

Classification & Notes

Disparate — Hebrew attributes making households for the midwives to a singular agent, contextually God; Greek says they made households for themselves. The agency of the narrative’s outcome differs, without asserting that the accounts cannot coexist.
Rabbinic: Rashi on 1:21 reads the houses as priestly, Levitical, and royal lines arising from the midwives. This is a midrashic dynastic interpretation, beyond the verse’s explicit identification [R1].

Verse 1:22 Divergent

Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth(Rabbinic Priority)

22 Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son who is born you shall throw into the river, but every daughter you shall keep alive.”

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth(Saints Priority)

1:22 Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every male child born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the river, but every female child you shall keep alive.”

Classification & Notes

Divergent — Greek explicitly includes to the Hebrews [G1]. The shorter Hebrew wording must be read in context; its scope is not mechanically extended to every Egyptian child.