The Book of Exodus Chapter 1: Israel Oppressed in Egypt Summary After Israel died, time passed. Joseph and all his 11 brothers died as well. Their generation came and went like the blink of an eye. But the Israelites--the descendants of the 12 sons of Israel--were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous so that the land of Egypt was filled with them. A new king/Pharaoh now rules the land of Egypt. This king does not even know about Joseph as he has died already. This new king of Egypt saw the Israelites as a threat to Egypt, so he forced them into slavery and made them suffer with toiling forced labor. The king made the Israelites build two new supply cities for Egypt: Pithom and Rameses. Pharaoh hates the Israelites so much he tells the Hebrew midwives who help deliver the Israelite babies to kill the baby if it is a boy and to only let the girls live. The midwives feared God, however, and did not do what the Pharaoh told them. So, afte