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Exodus 1:13

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 1:13 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:
Exodus 1:13 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 1

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
10come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land.
11Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
13And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:
14and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field, all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor.
15And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
16and he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the birth-stool; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour. Or with breach f28, with what might tend to break their strength; they laid heavier burdens upon them, obliged them to harder service, used them more cruelly and with greater fierceness, adding to their hard service ill words, and perhaps blows.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The Egyptians . . . made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick--Ruins of great brick buildings are found in all parts of Egypt. The use of crude brick, baked in the sun, was universal in upper and lower Egypt, both for public and private buildings; all but the temples themselves were of crude brick. It is worthy of remark that more bricks bearing the name of Thothmes III, who is supposed to have been the king of Egypt at the time of the Exodus, have been discovered than of any other period [WILKINSON]. Parties of these brickmakers are seen depicted on the ancient monuments with "taskmasters," some standing, others in a sitting posture beside the laborers, with their…”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification