Exodus 2
2
Moses’s Birth and Adoption
1Now a man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman.#Ex 6:20; Nm 26:59; 1Ch 23:14 2The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son; when she saw that he was beautiful,#2:2 Or healthy she hid him for three months.#Ac 7:20; Heb 11:23 3But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with asphalt and pitch. She placed the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4Then his sister#Ex 15:20; Nm 26:59 stood at a distance in order to see what would happen to him.
5Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe at the Nile while her servant girls walked along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds, sent her slave girl, took it, 6opened it, and saw him, the child — and there he was, a little boy, crying. She felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.”
7Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and call a Hebrew woman who is nursing to nurse the boy for you?”
8“Go,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. So the girl went and called the boy’s mother. 9Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him. 10When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses,#2:10 The name Moses sounds like “drawing out” in Hb and “born” in Egyptian. “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
Moses in Midian
11Years later,#2:11 Lit And it was in those days after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people#2:11 Lit his brothers and observed their forced labor.#Ex 1:11; Ac 7:23; Heb 11:24–26 He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his people. 12Looking all around and seeing no one, he struck the Egyptian dead and hid him in the sand. 13The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your neighbor?” #2:13 Or fellow Hebrew
14“Who made you a commander and judge over us?” the man replied. “Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”
Then Moses became afraid and thought, “What I did is certainly known.”
15When Pharaoh heard about this, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian,#Ac 7:29; Heb 11:27 and sat down by a well.#Gn 24:11; 29:2
16Now the priest of Midian#Ex 3:1; 1Sm 9:11 had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17Then some shepherds arrived and drove them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their flock. 18When they returned to their father Reuel,#2:18 Jethro’s clan or last name was Reuel; Ex 3:1.#Ex 3:1; 4:18; Nm 10:29 he asked, “Why have you come back so quickly today?”
19They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”
20“So where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why then did you leave the man behind? Invite him to eat dinner.”
21Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah#Ex 4:25; 18:2 to Moses in marriage. 22She gave birth to a son whom he named Gershom,#2:22 In Hb the name Gershom sounds like the phrase “a stranger there.” for he said, “I have been a resident alien#Ex 18:3–4; Ac 7:29; Heb 11:13 in a foreign land.”
23After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, they cried out,#Ex 3:7,9; Dt 26:7; Jms 5:4 and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. 24God heard their groaning, and God remembered#Gn 9:15; Ex 6:5; 1Ch 16:15; Ps 105:8; 106:45; 111:4 his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.#Ps 22:23; Lk 1:33,55 25God saw the Israelites, and God knew.#Ex 3:7; 4:31; Lk 1:25
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
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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