The Meaning of Exodus 1:1 Explained

Exodus 1:1

KJV: Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.

YLT: And these are the names of the sons of Israel who are coming into Egypt with Jacob; a man and his household have they come;

Darby: And these are the names of the sons of Israel who had come into Egypt; with Jacob had they come, each with his household:

ASV: Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt (every man and his household came with Jacob):

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Now these [are] the names  of the children  of Israel,  which came  into Egypt;  every man  and his household  came  with Jacob. 

What does Exodus 1:1 Mean?

Context Summary

Exodus 1:1-14 - The Children Of Israel Afflicted
The buried seed began to bear an abundant harvest, notwithstanding the efforts of Pharaoh and his people. The kings of the earth take counsel together to thwart the divine purpose. They might as well seek to arrest the incoming tide. The days of persecution and opposition have always been the growing days of the Church.
The new king probably belonged to a great dynasty, intent on preventing the recurrence of shepherd domination. The first move of the new policy was to embitter Israel's existence by cruel bondage. The pictured walls of the Pyramids bear witness to sufferings inflicted on slaves of a Hebrew cast of face by taskmasters armed with whips. Pharaoh and his counselors had to learn that they were not only dealing with a subject nation, but with the Eternal God. [source]

Chapter Summary: Exodus 1

1  The children of Israel, after Joseph's death, increase
8  The more they are oppressed by a new king, the more they multiply
15  The godliness of the midwives in saving the male children alive
22  Pharaoh commands the male children to be cast into the river

What do the individual words in Exodus 1:1 mean?

And these [are] the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob each man and his household came
וְאֵ֗לֶּה שְׁמוֹת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הַבָּאִ֖ים מִצְרָ֑יְמָה אֵ֣ת יַעֲקֹ֔ב אִ֥ישׁ וּבֵית֖וֹ בָּֽאוּ

וְאֵ֗לֶּה  And  these 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, common plural
Root: אֵהֶל 
Sense: these.
שְׁמוֹת֙  [are]  the  names 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
בְּנֵ֣י  of  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
הַבָּאִ֖ים  who  came 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
מִצְרָ֑יְמָה  to  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
יַעֲקֹ֔ב  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
אִ֥ישׁ  each  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
וּבֵית֖וֹ  and  his  household 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
בָּֽאוּ  came 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.