14 And he said, H559 Who made H7760 thee H376 a prince H8269 and a judge H8199 over us? intendest H559 thou to kill H2026 me, as thou killedst H2026 the Egyptian? H4713 And Moses H4872 feared, H3372 and said, H559 Surely H403 this thing H1697 is known. H3045
And G1161 he said G2036 unto him, G846 Man, G444 who G5101 made G2525 me G3165 a judge G1348 or G2228 a divider G3312 over G1909 you? G5209
And they said, H559 Stand H5066 back. H1973 And they said H559 again, This one H259 fellow came in H935 to sojourn, H1481 and he will needs H8199 be a judge: H8199 now will we deal worse H7489 with thee, than with them. And they pressed H6484 sore H3966 upon the man, H376 even Lot, H3876 and came near H5066 to break H7665 the door. H1817
And G2532 when he G846 was come G2064 into G1519 the temple, G2411 the chief priests G749 and G2532 the elders G4245 of the people G2992 came G4334 unto him G846 as he was teaching, G1321 and said, G3004 By G1722 what G4169 authority G1849 doest thou G4160 these things? G5023 and G2532 who G5101 gave G1325 thee G4671 this G5026 authority? G1849
And Abram H87 said H559 unto Lot, H3876 Let there be H1961 no H408 strife, H4808 I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen H7462 and thy herdmen; H7462 for we H582 be brethren. H251
And his brethren H251 said H559 to him, Shalt thou indeed H4427 reign H4427 over us? or shalt thou indeed H4910 have dominion H4910 over us? And they hated H8130 him yet the more H3254 for his dreams, H2472 and for his words. H1697 And he dreamed H2492 yet another H312 dream, H2472 and told H5608 it his brethren, H251 and said, H559 Behold, I have dreamed H2492 a dream H2472 more; and, behold, the sun H8121 and the moon H3394 and the eleven H6240 H259 stars H3556 made obeisance H7812 to me. And he told H5608 it to his father, H1 and to his brethren: H251 and his father H1 rebuked H1605 him, and said H559 unto him, What is this dream H2472 that thou hast dreamed? H2492 Shall I and thy mother H517 and thy brethren H251 indeed H935 come H935 to bow down H7812 ourselves to thee to the earth? H776 And his brethren H251 envied H7065 him; but his father H1 observed H8104 the saying. H1697
And they said H559 one H376 to another, H251 Behold, this H1976 dreamer H1167 H2472 cometh. H935 Come H3212 now therefore, and let us slay H2026 him, and cast H7993 him into some H259 pit, H953 and we will say, H559 Some evil H7451 beast H2416 hath devoured H398 him: and we shall see H7200 what will become of his dreams. H2472
And they gathered themselves together H6950 against Moses H4872 and against Aaron, H175 and said H559 unto them, Ye take too much H7227 upon you, seeing all the congregation H5712 are holy, H6918 every one of them, and the LORD H3068 is among H8432 them: wherefore then lift ye up H5375 yourselves above the congregation H6951 of the LORD? H3068
Is it a small thing H4592 that H3588 thou hast brought us up H5927 out of a land H776 that floweth H2100 with milk H2461 and honey, H1706 to kill H4191 us in the wilderness, H4057 except thou make H8323 thyself altogether H8323 a prince H8323 over us?
The kings H4428 of the earth H776 set H3320 themselves, and the rulers H7336 take counsel H3245 together, H3162 against the LORD, H3068 and against his anointed, H4899 saying, Let us break H5423 their bands H4147 asunder, H5423 and cast away H7993 their cords H5688 from us. He that sitteth H3427 in the heavens H8064 shall laugh: H7832 the Lord H136 shall have them in derision. H3932 Then shall he speak H1696 unto them in his wrath, H639 and vex H926 them in his sore displeasure. H2740 Yet have I set H5258 my king H4428 upon my holy H6944 hill H2022 of Zion. H6726
The king's H4428 wrath H2197 is as the roaring H5099 of a lion; H3715 but his favour H7522 is as dew H2919 upon the grass. H6212
And G5037 the next G1966 day G2250 he shewed himself G3700 unto them G846 as they strove, G3164 and G2532 would have set G4900 them G846 at G1519 one again, G1515 saying, G2036 Sirs, G435 ye G5210 are G2075 brethren; G80 why G2444 do ye wrong G91 one to another? G240 But G1161 he that did G91 his neighbour G4139 wrong G91 thrust G683 him G846 away, G683 saying, G2036 Who G5101 made G2525 thee G4571 a ruler G758 and G2532 a judge G1348 over G1909 us? G2248 Wilt G3361 G2309 thou G4771 kill G337 me, G3165 as G3739 G5158 thou diddest G337 the Egyptian G124 yesterday? G5504
This G5126 Moses G3475 whom G3739 they refused, G720 saying, G2036 Who G5101 made G2525 thee G4571 a ruler G758 and G2532 a judge? G1348 the same G5126 did God G2316 send G649 to be a ruler G758 and G2532 a deliverer G3086 by G1722 the hand G5495 of the angel G32 which G3588 appeared G3700 to him G846 in G1722 the bush. G942
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 2
Commentary on Exodus 2 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 2
Ex 2:1-10. Birth and Preservation of Moses.
1. there went a man of the house of Levi, &c. Amram was the husband and Jochebed the wife (compare Ex 6:2; Nu 26:59). The marriage took place, and two children, Miriam and Aaron, were born some years before the infanticidal edict.
2. the woman … bare a son, &c.—Some extraordinary appearance of remarkable comeliness led his parents to augur his future greatness. Beauty was regarded by the ancients as a mark of the divine favor.
hid him three months—The parents were a pious couple, and the measures they took were prompted not only by parental attachment, but by a strong faith in the blessing of God prospering their endeavors to save the infant.
3. she took for him an ark of bulrushes—papyrus, a thick, strong, and tough reed.
slime—the mud of the Nile, which, when hardened, is very tenacious.
pitch—mineral tar. Boats of this description are seen daily floating on the surface of the river, with no other caulking than Nile mud (compare Isa 18:2), and they are perfectly watertight, unless the coating is forced off by stormy weather.
flags—a general term for sea or river weed. The chest was not, as is often represented, committed to the bosom of the water but laid on the bank, where it would naturally appear to have been drifted by the current and arrested by the reedy thicket. The spot is traditionally said to be the Isle of Rodah, near Old Cairo.
4. his sister—Miriam would probably be a girl of ten or twelve years of age at the time.
5. the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river—The occasion is thought to have been a religious solemnity which the royal family opened by bathing in the sacred stream. Peculiar sacredness was attached to those portions of the Nile which flowed near the temples. The water was there fenced off as a protection from the crocodiles; and doubtless the princess had an enclosure reserved for her own use, the road to which seems to have been well known to Jochebed.
walked along—in procession or in file.
she sent her maid—her immediate attendant. The term is different from that rendered "maidens."
6-9. when she had opened it, she saw the child—The narrative is picturesque. No tale of romance ever described a plot more skilfully laid or more full of interest in the development. The expedient of the ark, the slime and pitch, the choice of the time and place, the appeal to the sensibilities of the female breast, the stationing of the sister as a watch of the proceedings, her timely suggestion of a nurse, and the engagement of the mother herself—all bespeak a more than ordinary measure of ingenuity as well as intense solicitude on the part of the parents. But the origin of the scheme was most probably owing to a divine suggestion, as its success was due to an overruling Providence, who not only preserved the child's life, but provided for his being trained in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Hence it is said to have been done by faith (Heb 11:23), either in the general promise of deliverance, or some special revelation made to Amram and Jochebed—and in this view, the pious couple gave a beautiful example of a firm reliance on the word of God, united with an active use of the most suitable means.
10. she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter—Though it must have been nearly as severe a trial for Jochebed to part with him the second time as the first, she was doubtless reconciled to it by her belief in his high destination as the future deliverer of Israel. His age when removed to the palace is not stated; but he was old enough to be well instructed in the principles of the true religion; and those early impressions, deepened by the power of divine grace, were never forgotten or effaced.
he became her son—by adoption, and his high rank afforded him advantages in education, which in the Providence of God were made subservient to far different purposes from what his royal patroness intended.
she called his name Moses—His parents might, as usual, at the time of his circumcision, have given him a name, which is traditionally said to have been Joachim. But the name chosen by the princess, whether of Egyptian or Hebrew origin, is the only one by which he has ever been known to the church; and it is a permanent memorial of the painful incidents of his birth and infancy.
Ex 2:11-25. His Sympathy with the Hebrews.
11. in those days, when Moses was grown—not in age and stature only, but in power as well as in renown for accomplishments and military prowess (Ac 7:22). There is a gap here in the sacred history which, however, is supplied by the inspired commentary of Paul, who has fully detailed the reasons as well as extent of the change that took place in his worldly condition; and whether, as some say, his royal mother had proposed to make him coregent and successor to the crown, or some other circumstances, led to a declaration of his mind, he determined to renounce the palace and identify himself with the suffering people of God (Heb 11:24-29). The descent of some great sovereigns, like Diocletian and Charles V, from a throne into private life, is nothing to the sacrifice which Moses made through the power of faith.
he went out unto his brethren—to make a full and systematic inspection of their condition in the various parts of the country where they were dispersed (Ac 7:23), and he adopted this proceeding in pursuance of the patriotic purpose that the faith, which is of the operation of God, was even then forming in his heart.
he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew—one of the taskmasters scourging a Hebrew slave without any just cause (Ac 7:24), and in so cruel a manner, that he seems to have died under the barbarous treatment—for the conditions of the sacred story imply such a fatal issue. The sight was new and strange to him, and though pre-eminent for meekness (Nu 12:3), he was fired with indignation.
12. he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand—This act of Moses may seem and indeed by some has been condemned as rash and unjustifiable—in plain terms, a deed of assassination. But we must not judge of his action in such a country and age by the standard of law and the notions of right which prevail in our Christian land; and, besides, not only is it not spoken of as a crime in Scripture or as distressing the perpetrator with remorse, but according to existing customs among nomadic tribes, he was bound to avenge the blood of a brother. The person he slew, however, being a government officer, he had rendered himself amenable to the laws of Egypt, and therefore he endeavored to screen himself from the consequences by concealment of the corpse.
13, 14. two men of the Hebrews strove together—His benevolent mediation in this strife, though made in the kindest and mildest manner, was resented, and the taunt of the aggressor showing that Moses' conduct on the preceding day had become generally known, he determined to consult his safety by immediate flight (Heb 11:27). These two incidents prove that neither were the Israelites yet ready to go out of Egypt, nor Moses prepared to be their leader (Jas 1:20). It was by the staff and not the sword—by the meekness, and not the wrath of Moses that God was to accomplish that great work of deliverance. Both he and the people of Israel were for forty years more to be cast into the furnace of affliction, yet it was therein that He had chosen them (Isa 48:10).
15. Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh—His flight took place in the second year of Thothmes I.
dwelt in the land of Midian—situated on the eastern shore of the gulf of the Red Sea and occupied by the posterity of Midian the son of Cush. The territory extended northward to the top of the gulf and westward far across the desert of Sinai. And from their position near the sea, they early combined trading with pastoral pursuits (Ge 37:28). The headquarters of Jethro are supposed to have been where Dahab-Madian now stands; and from Moses coming direct to that place, he may have travelled with a caravan of merchants. But another place is fixed by tradition in Wady Shuweib, or Jethro's valley, on the east of the mountain of Moses.
sat down by a well—(See on Ge 29:3).
16-22. the priest of Midian—or, "prince of Midian." As the officers were usually conjoined, he was the ruler also of the people called Cushites or Ethiopians, and like many other chiefs of pastoral people in that early age, he still retained the faith and worship of the true God.
seven daughters—were shepherdesses to whom Moses was favorably introduced by an act of courtesy and courage in protecting them from the rude shepherds of some neighboring tribe at a well. He afterwards formed a close and permanent alliance with this family by marrying one of the daughters, Zipporah, "a little bird," called a Cushite or Ethiopian (Nu 12:1), and whom Moses doubtless obtained in the manner of Jacob by service [see Ex 3:1]. He had by her two sons, whose names were, according to common practice, commemorative of incidents in the family history [Ex 18:3, 4].
23. the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage—The language seems to imply that the Israelites had experienced a partial relaxation, probably through the influence of Moses' royal patroness; but in the reign of her father's successor the persecution was renewed with increased severity.