Exodus2
King James Version · Public Domain
1And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
2And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
3And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
4And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
5And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.
6And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.
7Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
8And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.
9And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.
10And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
11And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
13And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?
14And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
15Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
17And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?
19And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.
20And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.
21And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
22And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
23And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Exodus 2.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Moses is born, and exposed on the river. (1–4). He is found, and brought up by Pharaoh's daughter. (5–10). Moses slays an Egyptian, and flees to Midian. (11–15). Moses marries the daughter of Jethro. (16–22). God hears the Israelites. (23–25).
vv1-4
Observe the order of Providence: just at the time when Pharaoh's cruelty rose to its height by ordering the Hebrew children to be drowned, the deliverer was born. When men are contriving the ruin of the church, God is preparing for its salvation. The parents of Moses saw he was a goodly child. A lively faith can take encouragement from the least hint of the Divine favour. It is said, Heb 11:23, that the parents of Moses hid him by faith; they had the promise that Israel should be preserved, which they relied upon. Faith in God's promise quickens to the use of lawful means for obtaining mercy. Duty is ours, events are God's. Faith in God will set us above the fear of man. At three months' end, when they could not hide the infant any longer, they put him in an ark of bulrushes by the river's brink, and set his sister to watch. And if the weak affection of a mother were thus careful, what shall we think of Him, whose love, whose compassion is, as himself, boundless. Moses never had a stronger protection about him, no, not when all the Israelites were round his tent in the wilderness, than now, when he lay alone, a helpless babe upon the waves. No water, no Egyptian can hurt him. When we seem most neglected and forlorn, God is most present with us.
vv5-10
Come, see the place where that great man, Moses, lay, when he was a little child; it was in a bulrush basket by the river's side. Had he been left there long, he must have perished. But Providence brings Pharaoh's daughter to the place where this poor forlorn infant lay, and inclines her heart to pity it, which she dares do, when none else durst. God's care of us in our infancy ought to be often mentioned by us to his praise. Pharaoh cruelly sought to destroy Israel, but his own daughter had pity on a Hebrew child, and not only so, but, without knowing it, preserved Israel's deliverer, and provided Moses with a good nurse, even his own mother. That he should have a Hebrew nurse, the sister of Moses brought the mother into the place of a nurse. Moses was treated as the son of Pharoah's daughter. Many who, by their birth, are obscure and poor, by surprising events of Providence, are raised high in the world, to make men know that God rules.
vv11-15
Moses boldly owned the cause of God's people. It is plain from Heb 11. that this was done in faith, with the full purpose of leaving the honours, wealth, and pleasures of his rank among the Egyptians. By the grace of God he was a partaker of faith in Christ, which overcomes the world. He was willing, not only to risk all, but to suffer for his sake; being assured that Israel were the people of God. By special warrant from Heaven, which makes no rule for other cases, Moses slew an Egyptian, and rescued an oppressed Israelites. Also, he tried to end a dispute between two Hebrews. The reproof Moses gave, may still be of use. May we not apply it to disputants, who, by their fierce debates, divide and weaken the Christian church? They forget that they are brethren. He that did wrong quarreled with Moses. It is a sign of guilt to be angry at reproof. Men know not what they do, nor what enemies they are to themselves, when they resist and despise faithful reproofs and reprovers. Moses might have said, if this be the spirit of the Hebrews, I will go to court again, and be the son of Pharaoh's daughter. But we must take heed of being set against the ways and people of God, by the follies and peevishness of some persons that profess religion. Moses was obliged to flee into the land of Midian. God ordered this for wise and holy ends.
Key Words
אִישׁ: a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)
בַּיִת: a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.)
לֵוִי: Levi, a son of Jacob
יָלַךְ: to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses)
לָקַח: to take (in the widest variety of applications)
בַּת: a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)
אִשָּׁה: a woman
הָרָה: to be (or become) pregnant, conceive (literally or figuratively)
יָלַד: to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
Cross References
Exodus 2NT commentary explaining that Moses was hidden by his parents in faith.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Notes Moses's faith in refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
NT confirmation of Moses being adopted and brought up by Pharaoh's daughter.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Inspired commentary stating Moses was forty years old when he visited his brethren.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Highlighting Stephen's sermon regarding Israel's rejection of Moses as prince and judge.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Stephen's speech directly references Moses' flight and his begetting of two sons in Midian.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Explicates the naming of Gershom and the meaning behind 'a stranger in a strange land'.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Stephen explicitly quotes God hearing the groaning of Israel and coming down to deliver them.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Explicitly names Moses's parents as Amram and Jochebed, both of the tribe of Levi.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
NT text describing baby Moses as 'exceeding fair' or beautiful to God.
Supported by Matthew Poole
NT record of Moses defending the oppressed Hebrew and slaying the Egyptian.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Explains Moses's departure from Egypt from the perspective of faith overcoming fear.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Direct continuation where God tells Moses at the bush that He has seen the oppression.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
The precise covenant God 'remembered'—His promise to Abraham to judge their oppressing nation.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
God explicitly restates that He has heard the groaning and remembered His covenant.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Genealogical confirmation of Amram marrying his father's sister Jochebed.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Confirms the ancient historical use of vessels made of bulrushes or papyrus.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Confirms Moses's flight to Midian and his becoming a stranger there.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Strong parallel of women (Rachel) meeting a future husband while watering sheep at a well.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallel structure where God's remembrance of the patriarchal covenant drives His saving actions.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Zechariah's song links the coming of Christ with God remembering His holy covenant.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Identifies Moses's father-in-law as Jethro, the priest of Midian.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Echoes the duty of hospitality shown to strangers, as Reuel invites Moses.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Details Zipporah and her return to her father Jethro (Reuel) during the Exodus.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
The spiritual mindset of the patriarchs and Moses confessing they were strangers on earth.
Supported by Matthew Henry