'People' in the Bible

All the people who were directly descended from Jacob numbered seventy. But Joseph was already in Egypt,

He said to his people, "Look at the Israelite people, more numerous and stronger than we are!

So God treated the midwives well, and the people multiplied and became very strong.

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "All sons that are born you must throw into the river, but all daughters you may let live."

In those days, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and observed their hard labor, and he saw an Egyptian man attacking a Hebrew man, one of his own people.

The Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

So now go, and I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."

He replied, "Surely I will be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve God on this mountain."

"I will grant this people favor with the Egyptians, so that when you depart you will not leave empty-handed.

He will speak for you to the people, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were his God.

The Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control. But I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.

Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people,

and the people believed. When they heard that the Lord had attended to the Israelites and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed down close to the ground.

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Release my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast to me in the desert.'"

The king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you cause the people to refrain from their work? Return to your labor!"

Pharaoh was thinking, "The people of the land are now many, and you are giving them rest from their labor."

That same day Pharaoh commanded the slave masters and foremen who were over the people:

"You must no longer give straw to the people for making bricks as before. Let them go and collect straw for themselves.

So the slave masters of the people and their foremen went to the Israelites and said, "Thus says Pharaoh: 'I am not giving you straw.

So the people spread out through all the land of Egypt to collect stubble for straw.

No straw is given to your servants, but we are told, 'Make bricks!' Your servants are even being beaten, but the fault is with your people."

Moses returned to the Lord, and said, "Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? Why did you ever send me?

From the time I went to speak to Pharaoh in your name, he has caused trouble for this people, and you have certainly not rescued them!"

I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians.

Pharaoh will not listen to you. I will reach into Egypt and bring out my regiments, my people the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment.

The Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hard; he refuses to release the people.

Tell him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you to say, "Release my people, that they may serve me in the desert!" But until now you have not listened.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Thus says the Lord: "Release my people in order that they may serve me!

The Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will come up and go into your house, in your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading troughs.

Frogs will come up against you, your people, and all your servants."'"

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to the Lord that he may take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will release the people that they may sacrifice to the Lord."

Moses said to Pharaoh, "You may have the honor over me -- when shall I pray for you, your servants, and your people, for the frogs to be removed from you and your houses, so that they will be left only in the Nile?"

The frogs will depart from you, your houses, your servants, and your people; they will be left only in the Nile."

They did so; Aaron extended his hand with his staff, he struck the dust of the ground, and it became gnats on people and on animals. All the dust of the ground became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.

When the magicians attempted to bring forth gnats by their secret arts, they could not. So there were gnats on people and on animals.

The Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and position yourself before Pharaoh as he goes out to the water, and tell him, 'Thus says the Lord, "Release my people that they may serve me!

If you do not release my people, then I am going to send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and in your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies, and even the ground they stand on.

But on that day I will mark off the land of Goshen, where my people are staying, so that no swarms of flies will be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of this land.

I will put a division between my people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow."'"

Moses said, "I am going to go out from you and pray to the Lord, and the swarms of flies will go away from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. Only do not let Pharaoh deal falsely again by not releasing the people to sacrifice to the Lord."

and the Lord did as Moses asked -- he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained!

But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not release the people.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people that they may serve me!

Pharaoh sent representatives to investigate, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of Israel had died. But Pharaoh's heart remained hard, and he did not release the people.

It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and will cause boils to break out and fester on both people and animals in all the land of Egypt."

So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh, Moses threw it into the air, and it caused festering boils to break out on both people and animals.

The Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: "Release my people so that they may serve me!

For this time I will send all my plagues on your very self and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.

For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with plague, and you would have been destroyed from the earth.

You are still exalting yourself against my people by not releasing them.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Extend your hand toward the sky that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on people and on animals, and on everything that grows in the field in the land of Egypt."

The hail struck everything in the open fields, both people and animals, throughout all the land of Egypt. The hail struck everything that grows in the field, and it broke all the trees of the field to pieces.

So Pharaoh sent and summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, "I have sinned this time! The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are guilty.

So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and told him, "Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: 'How long do you refuse to humble yourself before me? Release my people so that they may serve me!

But if you refuse to release my people, I am going to bring locusts into your territory tomorrow.

Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long will this man be a menace to us? Release the people so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not know that Egypt is destroyed?"

Instruct the people that each man and each woman is to request from his or her neighbor items of silver and gold."

(Now the Lord granted the people favor with the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, respected by Pharaoh's servants and by the Egyptian people.)

But against any of the Israelites not even a dog will bark against either people or animals, so that you may know that the Lord distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.'

All these your servants will come down to me and bow down to me, saying, 'Go, you and all the people who follow you,' and after that I will go out." Then Moses went out from Pharaoh in great anger.

If any household is too small for a lamb, the man and his next-door neighbor are to take a lamb according to the number of people -- you will make your count for the lamb according to how much each one can eat.

then you will say, 'It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, when he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck Egypt and delivered our households.'" The people bowed down low to the ground,

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, "Get up, get out from among my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, serve the Lord as you have requested!

The Egyptians were urging the people on, in order to send them out of the land quickly, for they were saying, "We are all dead!"

So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, with their kneading troughs bound up in their clothing on their shoulders.

The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and they gave them whatever they wanted, and so they plundered Egypt.

Moses said to the people, "Remember this day on which you came out from Egypt, from the place where you were enslaved, for the Lord brought you out of there with a mighty hand -- and no bread made with yeast may be eaten.

When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals. That is why I am sacrificing to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.'

When Pharaoh released the people, God did not lead them by the way to the land of the Philistines, although that was nearby, for God said, "Lest the people change their minds and return to Egypt when they experience war."

So God brought the people around by the way of the desert to the Red Sea, and the Israelites went up from the land of Egypt prepared for battle.

He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

When it was reported to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and the king and his servants said, "What in the world have we done? For we have released the people of Israel from serving us!"

Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord that he will provide for you today; for the Egyptians that you see today you will never, ever see again.

By your loyal love you will lead the people whom you have redeemed; you will guide them by your strength to your holy dwelling place.

Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of your arm they will be as still as stone until your people pass by, O Lord, until the people whom you have bought pass by.

So the people murmured against Moses, saying, "What can we drink?"

Then the Lord said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them. Will they will walk in my law or not?

"This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Each person is to gather from it what he can eat, an omer per person according to the number of your people; each one will pick it up for whoever lives in his tent.'"

On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they found nothing.

So the people rested on the seventh day.

The whole community of the Israelites traveled on their journey from the Desert of Sin according to the Lord's instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim. Now there was no water for the people to drink.

So the people contended with Moses, and they said, "Give us water to drink!" Moses said to them, "Why do you contend with me? Why do you test the Lord?"

But the people were very thirsty there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, "Why in the world did you bring us up out of Egypt -- to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?"

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, "What will I do with this people? -- a little more and they will stone me!"

The Lord said to Moses, "Go over before the people; take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go.

I will be standing before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you will strike the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink." And Moses did so in plain view of the elders of Israel.

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.

Jethro said, "Blessed be the Lord who has delivered you from the hand of Egypt, and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has delivered the people from the Egyptians' control!

On the next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning until evening.

When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?"

Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

You will surely wear out, both you and these people who are with you, for this is too heavy a burden for you; you are not able to do it by yourself.

Now listen to me, I will give you advice, and may God be with you: You be a representative for the people to God, and you bring their disputes to God;

But you choose from the people capable men, God-fearing, men of truth, those who hate bribes, and put them over the people as rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

They will judge the people under normal circumstances, and every difficult case they will bring to you, but every small case they themselves will judge, so that you may make it easier for yourself, and they will bear the burden with you.

If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will be able to go home satisfied."

Moses chose capable men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.

Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, "Thus you will tell the house of Jacob, and declare to the people of Israel:

and all the people answered together, "All that the Lord has commanded we will do!" So Moses brought the words of the people back to the Lord.