He went down to Egypt with meager numbers …but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Haggadah tells us that the Israelites did not settle in Egypt as unrecognizable residents but were dignified and easily recognizable because of their beauty and splendor. They became a great and mighty nation: as is written elsewhere: The Children of Israel were fruitful, increased abundantly, multiplied and became exceedingly mighty… at first they gave birth to sextuplets, afterwards to twelve at a time and finally they gave birth to sixty at a time! There was even one woman in Egypt who gave birth to six hundred thousand. In Song of Songs Rabbah we learn that Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi was expounding and the community was falling asleep. He wanted to wake them up so he said: There was one woman in Egypt who gave birth to six hundred thousand at once. There was a student there by the name of Rabbi Ishmael ben Rabbi Yossi. He said: “Who could that be?” Said Rabbi Yehudah, "It was Yocheved who gave birth to Moses. For Moses was equal to six hundred thousand Israelites, as we learn: 'Then Moses and the people of Israel sang...'” How could he be equal all the Israelites? In Midrash Rabba Vayechi, we learn that "Six hundred Israelite woman all became pregnant on the same night, and all of their offspring were destined to be thrown into the Nile. But they were slaved through the merit of Moses, as is written, I am in the midst of the six hundred thousand people. Moses was given the honor of being considered equal to the rest of Israel."