4 And his sister H269 stood H3320 afar off, H7350 to wit H3045 what would be done H6213 to him.
And Miriam H4813 the prophetess, H5031 the sister H269 of Aaron, H175 took H3947 a timbrel H8596 in her hand; H3027 and all the women H802 went out H3318 after H310 her with timbrels H8596 and with dances. H4246
And the name H8034 of Amram's H6019 wife H802 was Jochebed, H3115 the daughter H1323 of Levi, H3878 whom her mother bare H3205 to Levi H3878 in Egypt: H4714 and she bare H3205 unto Amram H6019 Aaron H175 and Moses, H4872 and Miriam H4813 their sister. H269
And Miriam H4813 and Aaron H175 spake H1696 against Moses H4872 because of H182 the Ethiopian H3571 woman H802 whom he had married: H3947 for he had married H3947 an Ethiopian H3571 woman. H802 And they said, H559 Hath the LORD H3068 indeed spoken H1696 only by Moses? H4872 hath he not spoken H1696 also by us? And the LORD H3068 heard H8085 it. (Now the man H376 Moses H4872 was very H3966 meek, H6035 H6035 above all the men H120 which were upon the face H6440 of the earth.) H127 And the LORD H3068 spake H559 suddenly H6597 unto Moses, H4872 and unto Aaron, H175 and unto Miriam, H4813 Come out H3318 ye three H7969 unto the tabernacle H168 of the congregation. H4150 And they three H7969 came out. H3318 And the LORD H3068 came down H3381 in the pillar H5982 of the cloud, H6051 and stood H5975 in the door H6607 of the tabernacle, H168 and called H7121 Aaron H175 and Miriam: H4813 and they both H8147 came forth. H3318 And he said, H559 Hear H8085 now my words: H1697 If there be a prophet H5030 among you, I the LORD H3068 will make myself known H3045 unto him in a vision, H4759 and will speak H1696 unto him in a dream. H2472 My servant H5650 Moses H4872 is not so, who is faithful H539 in all mine house. H1004 With him will I speak H1696 mouth H6310 to mouth, H6310 even apparently, H4758 and not in dark speeches; H2420 and the similitude H8544 of the LORD H3068 shall he behold: H5027 wherefore then were ye not afraid H3372 to speak H1696 against my servant H5650 Moses? H4872 And the anger H639 of the LORD H3068 was kindled H2734 against them; and he departed. H3212 And the cloud H6051 departed H5493 from off the tabernacle; H168 and, behold, Miriam H4813 became leprous, H6879 white as snow: H7950 and Aaron H175 looked H6437 upon Miriam, H4813 and, behold, she was leprous. H6879 And Aaron H175 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 Alas, H994 my lord, H113 I beseech thee, lay H7896 not the sin H2403 upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, H2973 and wherein we have sinned. H2398 Let her not be as one dead, H4994 H4191 of whom the flesh H1320 is half H2677 consumed H398 when he cometh out H3318 of his mother's H517 womb. H7358 And Moses H4872 cried H6817 unto the LORD, H3068 saying, H559 Heal H7495 her now, O God, H410 I beseech thee. And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 If her father H1 had but H3417 spit H3417 in her face, H6440 should she not be ashamed H3637 seven H7651 days? H3117 let her be shut H5462 out H2351 from the camp H4264 seven H7651 days, H3117 and after H310 that let her be received H622 in again. And Miriam H4813 was shut H5462 out H2351 from the camp H4264 seven H7651 days: H3117 and the people H5971 journeyed H5265 not till Miriam H4813 was brought H622 in again.
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.