Moses born, saved, and exiled
|
|
|
| .1
¶ And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter
of Levi.
2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. .3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. .4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. |
1
- There went a man The text should read "a man had gone."
Aaron had been born earlier ex0707.
1 - House of Levi This is significant. We are not told the name of the man (Amram) and the woman (Jochebed) until chapter 6 when Moses is called to bring the Hebrews out of Egypt. 2 - A goodly child Moses was a healthy baby ac0720.  3
- An ark The word tebah is from the Egyptian tebet.
It is apparent that the author (Moses) had a good knowledge of both Hebrew
and Egyptian. Elsewhere the word tebah is used only in Genesis 6
for the ark of Noah. |
5 ¶ And
the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her
maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among
the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.
 .6
And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept.
And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.
7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. 9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. .10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water. . 5 - Wash herself This was done by important women at that time. The Nile was worshipped as a god and we may assume she had religious motives. 7 - Call a nurse And you know the story or can read it here. God provides for His children and the advancement of truth even under apparently hopeless circumstances. ..10 - Named him Moses Names were given to Egyptian rulers as if they were born of one of their gods. Thutmose thus means "one born of the god Thoh. It's possible that Pharaoh's daughter added "mose" to the name of a river god making his name Hapmose or Irumose. When refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter (Heb 11:24), he may have dropped the part with the name of the God. Or she may have simply called him "Mose" which, in Egyptian, means drawn out as is implied in our text. The Hebrew name is "Mosheh" which is like the verb mashah which means "to draw out" and English translators may have simplified it little to get "Moses." Image
© goodsalt
|
|
| .11
¶ And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he
went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an
Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.
.12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. .13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? 14 And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. .15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. |
11
- 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)." (JFB Commentary).
15 - Fled While trusting God. See he1124-27. 15 - Land of Midian The people were nomadic. Principle settlements were apparently on the east side of the gulf of Aqaba. |
| .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 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. .18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day? 19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. 20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. |
16
- Priest of Midian The Midianites descended from Abraham
through his marriage to Keturah ge2501.
16 - Moses stood up He may have learned some fighting arts in Egypt v12. We should avoid things that help us hurt people. 18 - Reuel The name means "friend of God" and indicates that he believed in the Creator God who is one de0604. Reuel was also known as Jethro ex0301. |
| .21
And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah
his daughter.
.22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. |
Zipporah
The name means "bird."
Gershom The name means "banishment." His new career and home were far different from what he had known in Egypt. |
| .23
¶ And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died:
and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried,
and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
.24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them. |
23
- Process of time About 40 years ac0730.
23 - King of Egypt died This would have been Thutmose III, 1450 BC. His son Amenhotep II was a more cruel and apparently became the Pharaoh of the exodus. 25 - God looked He would work to rescue His people and clarify the wickedness of the Egyptian ruler. |
|
|
|
|
|
|