Just as Joseph endured years of suffering in preparation for the work that God had for him to accomplish, so also Moses endured years and even decades of suffering in preparation for the work that God had chosen for him. In the years after Joseph’s death, the Israelite population multiplied greatly in Egypt. After a time, another Pharaoh came to power in Egypt, one who did not know Joseph.
The Israelites had become so numerous that the Egyptians feared they might one day side with Egypt’s enemies in the event of a war. They therefore enslaved the Israelites, putting them to forced labor building with bricks and mortar and working in the fields. Despite their slavery, they multiplied even more. At this point, out of fear that the Israelites might one day become powerful enough to overcome the Egyptians, Pharaoh commanded that all newborn Hebrew male children must be killed. It was during this time that Moses was born.