16 Now the priest H3548 of Midian H4080 had seven H7651 daughters: H1323 and they came H935 and drew H1802 water, and filled H4390 the troughs H7298 to water H8248 their father's H1 flock. H6629
And he made H1288 his camels H1581 to kneel down H1288 without H2351 the city H5892 by H413 a well H875 of water H4325 at the time H6256 of the evening, H6153 even the time H6256 that women go out H3318 to draw H7579 water.
And Melchizedek H4442 king H4428 of Salem H8004 brought forth H3318 bread H3899 and wine: H3196 and he was the priest H3548 of the most high H5945 God. H410
And let it come to pass, that the damsel H5291 to whom I shall say, H559 Let down H5186 thy pitcher, H3537 I pray thee, that I may drink; H8354 and she shall say, H559 Drink, H8354 and I will give H8248 thy camels H1581 drink H8248 also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed H3198 for thy servant H5650 Isaac; H3327 and thereby shall I know H3045 that thou hast shewed H6213 kindness H2617 unto my master. H113 And it came to pass, before he had done H3615 speaking, H1696 that, behold, Rebekah H7259 came out, H3318 who H834 was born H3205 to Bethuel, H1328 son H1121 of Milcah, H4435 the wife H802 of Nahor, H5152 Abraham's H85 brother, H251 with her pitcher H3537 upon her shoulder. H7926 And the damsel H5291 was very H3966 fair H2896 to look upon, H4758 a virgin, H1330 neither had any man H376 known H3045 her: and she went down H3381 to the well, H5869 and filled H4390 her pitcher, H3537 and came up. H5927 And the servant H5650 ran H7323 to meet her, H7125 and said, H559 Let me, I pray thee, drink H1572 a little H4592 water H4325 of thy pitcher. H3537 And she said, H559 Drink, H8354 my lord: H113 and she hasted, H4116 and let down H3381 her pitcher H3537 upon her hand, H3027 and gave him drink. H8248 And when she had done H3615 giving him drink, H8248 she said, H559 I will draw H7579 water for thy camels H1581 also, until they have done H3615 drinking. H8354 And she hasted, H4116 and emptied H6168 her pitcher H3537 into the trough, H8268 and ran H7323 again unto the well H875 to draw H7579 water, and drew H7579 for all his camels. H1581
And he said H559 unto them, Is he well? H7965 And they said, H559 He is well: H7965 and, behold, Rachel H7354 his daughter H1323 cometh H935 with the sheep. H6629 And he said, H559 Lo, H2005 it is yet high H1419 day, H3117 neither is it time H6256 that the cattle H4735 should be gathered together: H622 water H8248 ye the sheep, H6629 and go H3212 and feed H7462 them. And they said, H559 We cannot, H3201 until all the flocks H5739 be gathered together, H622 and till they roll H1556 the stone H68 from the well's H875 mouth; H6310 then we water H8248 the sheep. H6629 And while he yet H5750 spake H1696 with them, Rachel H7354 came H935 with her father's H1 sheep: H6629 for she kept them. H7462 And it came to pass, when Jacob H3290 saw H7200 Rachel H7354 the daughter H1323 of Laban H3837 his mother's H517 brother, H251 and the sheep H6629 of Laban H3837 his mother's H517 brother, H251 that Jacob H3290 went near, H5066 and rolled H1556 the stone H68 from the well's H875 mouth, H6310 and watered H8248 the flock H6629 of Laban H3837 his mother's H517 brother. H251
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.