What does Exodus 1:6 mean?

Moses continues his overview of Israel's history. After describing Jacob's move into Egypt, he refers to the pivotal event of Joseph's death. Joseph's dramatic rise into a leadership role in Egypt had allowed Jacob and his family to settle in Egypt during seven years of severe famine. Their family both survived and thrived during a time when many died or became slaves of Pharaoh. However, much time passed and Joseph was no longer alive. Neither were his brothers or any of the other people from "that generation." An entirely new population had replaced the first Israeli settlers in Egypt.

This passage of time is significant. Joseph lived 110 years according to Genesis 50:26. Since he had been enslaved at seventeen years old, he had lived in Egypt for about ninety-three years. He was about thirty-nine years old when Jacob and his family moved to Egypt. Jacob's family had been greatly respected during his time, but 400 years later there was a new king who apparently did not know Joseph (Exodus 1:8). He will see the exploding Israelite population as a threat, and resort to forced labor and infanticide to slow population growth. Yet God will work in a miraculous way, raising up Moses as a leader to rescue the Jewish people and lead them out of bondage.