But as time rolled on, the great man to whom Egypt owed so much, and the generation blessed by his labors, passed to the grave. And "there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph." Not that he was ignorant of Joseph's services to the nation, but he wished to make no recognition of them, and, so far as possible, to bury them in oblivion. "And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land."

Men som tiden gik, blev den store mand, som Ægypten skyldte så meget, og det slægtled, der nød velsignelsen af hans arbejde, lagt i graven. Og "der kom en ny konge over Ægypten, som ikke vidste noget om Josef". Det vil ikke sige, at han var uvidende om de fortjenester, Josef havde ydet nationen; han ønskede blot ikke at vedkende sig dem, men så vidt muligt at begrave dem i glemselen. "Og han sagde til sit folk: "Se, Israels folk bliver talrigere og stærkere end vi. Velan, lad os gå klogt til værks imod dem, for at de ikke skal blive for mange; ellers kan det hænde, når vi kommer i krig, at de går over til vore modstandere og kæmper mod os og til sidst forlader landet!"