Exodus 2
2
Moses Is Born
1A man and a woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2She became pregnant and had a son by her husband. She saw that her baby was a fine child. And she hid him for three months. 3After that, she couldn’t hide him any longer. So she got a basket made out of the stems of tall grass. She coated the basket with tar. She placed the child in the basket. Then she put it in the tall grass that grew along the bank of the Nile River. 4The child’s sister wasn’t very far away. She wanted to see what would happen to him.
5Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile River to take a bath. Her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket in the tall grass. So she sent her female slave to get it. 6When she opened it, Pharaoh’s daughter saw the baby. He was crying. She felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
7Then his sister spoke to Pharaoh’s daughter. She asked, “Do you want me to go and get one of the Hebrew women? She could breast-feed the baby for you.”
8“Yes. Go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and feed him for me. I’ll pay you.” So the woman took the baby and fed him. 10When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter. And he became her son. She named him Moses. She said, “I pulled him out of the water.”
Moses Escapes to Midian
11Moses grew up. One day, he went out to where his own people were. He watched them while they were hard at work. He saw an Egyptian hitting a Hebrew man. The man was one of Moses’ own people. 12Moses looked around and didn’t see anyone. So he killed the Egyptian. Then he hid his body in the sand. 13The next day Moses went out again. He saw two Hebrew men fighting. He asked the one who had started the fight a question. He said, “Why are you hitting another Hebrew man?”
14The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking about killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses became afraid. He thought, “People must have heard about what I did.”
15When Pharaoh heard about what had happened, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses escaped from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian. There he sat down by a well. 16A priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to fill the stone tubs with water. They wanted to give water to their father’s flock. 17Some shepherds came along and chased the girls away. But Moses got up and helped them. Then he gave water to their flock.
18The girls returned to their father Reuel. He asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”
19They answered, “An Egyptian saved us from the shepherds. He even got water for us and gave it to the flock.”
20“Where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”
21Moses agreed to stay with the man. And the man gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to be his wife. 22Zipporah had a son by him. Moses named him Gershom. That’s because Moses said, “I’m an outsider in a strange land.”
23After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel groaned because they were slaves. They also cried out to God. Their cry for help went up to him. 24God heard their groans. He remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 25So God looked on the Israelites with concern for them.
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Exodus 2
2
Moses Is Born
1A man from the Levi tribe married a woman from the same tribe, 2#Ac 7.20; He 11.23. and she later had a baby boy. He was a beautiful child, and she kept him inside for three months. 3But when she could no longer keep him hidden, she made a basket out of reeds and covered it with tar. She put him in the basket and placed it in the tall grass along the edge of the Nile River. 4The baby's older sister#2.4 older sister: Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron. stood off at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5About that time one of the king's#2.5 the king's: See the note at 1.11. daughters came down to take a bath in the river, while her servant women walked along the river bank. She saw the basket in the tall grass and sent one of them to pull it out of the water. 6When the king's daughter opened the basket, she saw the baby crying and felt sorry for him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”
7At once the baby's older sister came up and asked, “Do you want me to get a Hebrew woman to take care of the baby for you?”
8“Yes,” the king's daughter answered.
So the girl brought the baby's mother, 9and the king's daughter told her, “Take care of this child, and I will pay you.”
The baby's mother carried him home and took care of him. 10#3 Macc 3.24; Ac 7.21. And when he was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him. She named him Moses#2.10 Moses: In Hebrew “Moses” sounds like “pull out.” because she said, “I pulled him out of the water.”
Moses Escapes from Egypt
11 #
Ac 7.23-28. #He 11.24. After Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were hard at work, and he saw an Egyptian beating one of them. 12Moses looked around to see if anyone was watching, then he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
13When Moses went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting. So he went to the man who had started the fight and asked, “Why are you beating up one of your own people?”
14The man answered, “Who put you in charge of us and made you our judge? Are you planning to kill me, just like you killed that Egyptian?”
This frightened Moses because he was sure that people must have found out what had happened. 15#Ac 7.29; He 11.27. When the king#2.15 the king: See the note at 1.11. heard what Moses had done, he wanted to kill him. But Moses escaped and went to the land of Midian.
One day, when Moses was sitting by a well, 16the seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian,#2.16 Jethro, the priest of Midian: Hebrew “the priest of Midian.” But see 3.1; 4.18; 18.1,2-4 where his name is given. In the Hebrew of verse 18 he is spoken of as “Reuel,” which may have been the name of the tribe to which Jethro belonged. came up to water their father's sheep and goats. 17Some shepherds tried to chase them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their animals. 18When Jethro's daughters returned home, their father asked, “Why have you come back so early today?”
19They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds, and he even watered our sheep and goats.”
20“Where is he?” Jethro asked. “Why did you leave him out there? Invite him to eat with us.”
21Moses agreed to stay on with Jethro, who later let his daughter Zipporah marry Moses. 22And when she had a son, Moses said, “I will name him Gershom,#2.22 Gershom: In Hebrew “Gershom” sounds like “foreigner.” since I am a foreigner in this country.”
23After the death of the king of Egypt, the Israelites still complained because they were forced to be slaves. They cried out for help, 24#Gn 15.13-15. and God heard their loud cries. He did not forget the promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 25and because he knew what was happening to his people, he felt sorry for them.
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