Chapter Two
Birth of Moses
2:1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.
Even with the pagan influences, some of the Israelites still desired to retain their godly integrity and their tribal identity. The tribe of Levi will become a prominent and significant tribe, however at this time they were not yet considered unique. A Levite man married a Levite woman and they bore a son, but due to Pharaoh’s edict (as there were probably spies everywhere), they could not hide him any longer after three months. When the child had grown too big to easily hide, the mother took a basket made of bulrushes (papyrus stalk) and coated it with bitumen and pitch to make it watertight.
The Hebrew word translated here as ‘basket’, is ‘tē·ḇǎṯ’,[1] meaning a chest or basket. The word is usually translated as ‘ark’, like the one Noah built[2] which, interestingly, was also coated with pitch (although a different Hebrew word). Once the basket was waterproofed, the child’s mother placed the infant boy in the basket and placed it among the reeds growing near the water’s edge. The author of the book of Hebrews adds this about the parents, “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.” (Hebrews 11:23).
2:4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
Moses’ sister, who we later learn is Miriam (see Exodus 15:20), was watching at a distance. Nearby the daughter of Pharaoh came down to the river to bathe, she saw the basket and had her servant retrieve it. When the basket was opened, the baby boy began to cry. Pharaoh’s daughter took pity (Hebrew word ‘tǎḥ·mōl’,[3] meaning to spare or have compassion) on the child as she recognized the baby was a Hebrew infant. Not much information is given regarding the location, however, the baby’s sister felt it was safe enough for her to approach Pharaoh’s daughter and ask if she would be interested in her finding a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for her. Pharaoh’s daughter immediately said, “Go,” and Miriam brought back their mother. Pharaoh’s daughter then hired her to nurse Moses. The time elapsed is not mentioned, many believe Moses remained in his mother’s care for several years.
The true etymology of the name “Moses” is often debated as it is similar to the Hebrew phrase “to draw out,” (the Greek in the Septuagint can be interpreted as “saved from the water,” or similar). There are some that believe that the name is based on an Egyptian root word that refers to a child being born.
There is a significant time gap between verse ten and eleven. During this time Moses was educated as an Egyptian, “And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.” (Acts 7:22) However, Moses later chose to retain his identity as a Hebrew instead of being Egyptian royalty. “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” (Hebrews 11:24-25)
Considerations
One cannot be a student of the Bible without learning about Moses. There are few people in Scripture that are as highly regarded and influential as he was. He is considered a prophet, a liberator, and a teacher. As mentioned earlier, he is the author of the first five books of the Bible, also known as the Torah.
Moses’ life could easily be defined by many contrasts, he was a child of a slave then became the son of a queen; born in a poor home yet was raised in a palace; trained as a warrior, but later became gentle and compassionate; was highly educated but he chose to live in the desert; had difficulty in speaking, but he eloquently spoke for God.
Perhaps the most remarkable attribute about Moses was that he was willing to sacrifice his own eternal salvation for the sake of the Israelites. An attribute that is only shared by one other person in the Bible, and that was the apostle Paul (compare Exodus 32:32 with Romans 9:3). That doesn’t mean that he was without weaknesses and other issues, as it will take time for him to understand the role God had in mind for him (remember God only uses flawed and imperfect humans for leaders)[4].
One of the greatest insults to God would be to acknowledge that things happen only by chance. The Bible often speaks about how God is in control and that nothing happens by chance (see Psalms 37:23; Proverbs 16:9; 20:24; Jeremiah 10:23). Life didn’t occur by chance as evolutionists want to suggest, nor did the upbringing of Moses happen by chance. Pharaoh’s daughter did not just happen to be at the right place at the right time. The historian Josephus tells us that this daughter of Pharaoh was more than likely “Thermuthis,” who had no offspring of her own.
Thermuthis, therefore, perceiving him to be so remarkable a child, adopted him for her son, having no child of her own. And when one time she had carried Moses to her father, she showed him to him, and said she thought to make him her father’s successor, if it should please God she should have no legitimate child of her own; and said to him, “I have brought up a child who is of a divine form, and of a generous mind; and as I have received him from the bounty of the river, in a wonderful manner, I thought proper to adopt him for my son and the heir of thy kingdom.”[5]
Moses Flees
2:11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
We fast-forward to a time when Moses was now an adult, the book of Acts records his age to be forty years old (see Acts 7:23, quoted below). He may have gone out to the location where they were making bricks and saw several things that disagreed with him. He noted their burdens (forced labor) and witnessed an Egyptian beating one of his people, a fellow Hebrew. Seeing that no one was around, Moses then killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.
2:13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.
The next day Moses encounters two Hebrews fighting each other. This confuses Moses and he tries to intervene. He asks the Israelite that was identified as the man in the wrong, why was he fighting a fellow Hebrew? Was Moses so naïve to think that there would never be quarrels between people of the same group or nationality? Perhaps, however, more than likely he was hoping his people would be more interested in working together to help alleviate the effects of the Egyptian oppression, than on personal gains. Moses then hears that the man knew what he did to the Egyptian the day before. If he knew, then everyone must now know. Soon Pharaoh heard about Moses murdering the Egyptian, who now wanted to kill Moses.
So, Moses fled Egypt and came into the land of Midian, which is located on the east side of the Gulf of Aqaba, and he sits down near a well.
In Stephen’s New Testament account of this story, he mentions that Moses was hoping that his fellow Israelites would see him as some form of savior, but his plan apparently backfired, which is often the case when man doesn’t seek God first or when plans don’t include God. “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.” (Acts 7:23-29)
2:16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and 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 saved them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”
While Moses is sitting down by the well, all seven daughters of the priest of Midian came to the well to draw water (while the Hebrew word ‘ḵō·hēn’,[6] indeed refers to a priest,[7] some believe that since the etymology is unknown, the word can also refer to a principal officer or chief ruler). Before they finish drawing water for their father’s flock, some shepherds bully their way to the well and force the seven daughters to leave. The text doesn’t explain how Moses was able to save them, but he was able to water their flock. Apparently all this was done in record time as their father Reuel noted they returned home sooner than expected. They told him that an Egyptian had delivered (Hebrew word ‘hiṣ·ṣî·lā’,[8] power to overcome another) them from the shepherds and drew the water for them. Reuel then asks them why they left him and instructs them to go and bring him home to share a meal.
Since the text will later refer to their father as Jethro (see Exodus 3:1; 18:1), some question the identity of Reuel (“friend of God”). Was he the father or grandfather, as there is no word in the Hebrew language for grandfather (or any other generation). Some suggest that Reuel was his name, and Jethro was a title (similar to the word that means “an abundance,” giving it the possible meaning like “his excellency”).
2:21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”
The text does not offer a lot of details regarding Moses’ encounter with Reuel other than that both men became friends, and Moses decides to stay and dwell with his family. At some point Moses marries one of his daughters and has a son name Gershom (root word ‘gēr’,[9] meaning sojourner or stranger).
It is interesting to note that much of this story seems to parallel Abraham’s servant Eliezer’s adventure in seeking a wife for Isaac (see Genesis chapter 24).
God Hears
2:23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
Once again, the narrative fast forwards in time, this time forty years ahead (see Acts 7:30). In this time period the king of Egypt had died. Instead of getting a reprieve from the Pharaoh’s brutal slavery, the opposite apparently occurred. As a result, the Israelites groaned in pain and cried out for help and their cry was heard by God.
The phrase, “God remembered,” is expressed several times in Genesis (see Genesis 8:1; 19:29; 30:22) and is heard several more times in Scripture. This does not imply that He can forget something, as previously discussed (see commentary under Genesis 8:1-2), it is a reference to God’s timing. God saw what was going on and He was now ready to do something about the situation.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 8392.
[2] See commentary under Genesis 6:14-17.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 2550.
[4] See Considerations under Genesis 9:28-29 for discussion regarding God’s chosen leaders.
[5] Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged (p. 68). Peabody: Hendrickson.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 3548.
[7] See Considerations under Genesis 14:19-24.
[8] Strong’s Hebrew 5337.
[9] Strong’s Hebrew 1616.