Exodus2
New King James Version
1And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi.
2So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.
3But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.
4And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
5Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.
6And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
7Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”
8And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother.
9Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.
10And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
11Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”
14Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”
15When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill 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 they filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?”
19And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.”
20So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”
21Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.
22And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”
23Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
24So 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 acknowledged 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