1 A man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi as his wife.
2 The woman conceived, and bore a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.
3 When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him, and coated it with tar and with pitch. She put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank.
4 His sister stood far off, to see what would be done to him.
5 Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe at the river. Her maidens walked along by the riverside. She saw the basket among the reeds, and sent her handmaid to get it.
6 She opened it, and saw the child, and, behold, the baby cried. She had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Should I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?"
8 Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." The maiden went and called the child's mother.
9 Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." The woman took the child, and nursed it.
10 The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses,{"Moses" sounds like the Hebrew for "draw out".} and said, "Because I drew him out of the water."
11 It happened in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brothers, and looked at their burdens. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his brothers.
12 He looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no one, he killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
13 He went out the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews were fighting with each other. He said to him who did the wrong, "Why do you strike your fellow?"
14 He said, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you plan to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses was afraid, and said, "Surely this thing is known."
15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and lived in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
17 The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18 When they came to Reuel, their father, he said, "How is it that you have returned so early today?"
19 They said, "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock."
20 He said to his daughters, "Where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread."
21 Moses was content to dwell with the man. He gave Moses Zipporah, his daughter.
22 She bore a son, and he named him Gershom,{"Gershom" sounds like the Hebrew for "an alien there."} for he said, "I have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land."
23 It happened in the course of those many days, that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
24 God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 God saw the children of Israel, and God was concerned about them.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 2
Commentary on Exodus 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 2
This chapter begins the story of Moses, that man of renown, famed for his intimate acquaintance with Heaven and his eminent usefulness on earth, and the most remarkable type of Christ, as a prophet, saviour, lawgiver, and mediator, in all the Old Testament. The Jews have a book among them of the life of Moses, which tells a great many stories concerning him, which we have reason to think are mere fictions; what he has recorded concerning himself is what we may rely upon, for we know that his record is true; and it is what we may be satisfied with, for it is what Infinite Wisdom thought fit to preserve and transmit to us. In this chapter we have,
Exd 2:1-4
Moses was a Levite, both by father and mother. Jacob left Levi under marks of disgrace (Gen. 49:5); and yet, soon after, Moses appears a descendant from him, that he might typify Christ, who came in the likeness of sinful flesh and was made a curse for us. This tribe began to be distinguished from the rest by the birth of Moses, as afterwards it became remarkable in many other instances. Observe, concerning this newborn infant,
Exd 2:5-10
Here is,
Exd 2:11-15
Moses had now passed the first forty years of his life in the court of Pharaoh, preparing himself for business; and now it was time for him to enter upon action, and,
Exd 2:16-22
Moses here gains a settlement in Midian, just as his father Jacob had gained one in Syria, Gen. 29:2, etc. And both these instances should encourage us to trust Providence, and to follow it. Events that seem inconsiderable, and purely accidental, afterwards appear to have been designed by the wisdom of God for very good purposes, and of great consequence to his people. A casual transient occurrence has sometimes occasioned the greatest and happiest turns of a man's life. Observe,
Exd 2:23-25
Here is,