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Esodo 2
Conferenza Episcopale Italiana

2. GIOVINEZZA E VOCAZIONE DI MOSE'

Nascita di Mosè

2 Un uomo della famiglia di Levi andò a prendere in moglie una figlia di Levi. 2 La donna concepì e partorì un figlio; vide che era bello e lo tenne nascosto per tre mesi. 3 Ma non potendo tenerlo nascosto più oltre, prese un cestello di papiro, lo spalmò di bitume e di pece, vi mise dentro il bambino e lo depose fra i giunchi sulla riva del Nilo. 4 La sorella del bambino si pose ad osservare da lontano che cosa gli sarebbe accaduto. 5 Ora la figlia del faraone scese al Nilo per fare il bagno, mentre le sue ancelle passeggiavano lungo la sponda del Nilo. Essa vide il cestello fra i giunchi e mandò la sua schiava a prenderlo. 6 L'aprì e vide il bambino: ecco, era un fanciullino che piangeva. Ne ebbe compassione e disse: «E' un bambino degli Ebrei». 7 La sorella del bambino disse allora alla figlia del faraone: «Devo andarti a chiamare una nutrice tra le donne ebree, perché allatti per te il bambino?». 8 «Và», le disse la figlia del faraone. La fanciulla andò a chiamare la madre del bambino. 9 La figlia del faraone le disse: «Porta con te questo bambino e allattalo per me; io ti darò un salario». La donna prese il bambino e lo allattò. 10 Quando il bambino fu cresciuto, lo condusse alla figlia del faraone. Egli divenne un figlio per lei ed ella lo chiamò Mosè, dicendo: «Io l'ho salvato dalle acque!».

Fuga di Mosè in Madian

11 In quei giorni, Mosè, cresciuto in età, si recò dai suoi fratelli e notò i lavori pesanti da cui erano oppressi. Vide un Egiziano che colpiva un Ebreo, uno dei suoi fratelli. 12 Voltatosi attorno e visto che non c'era nessuno, colpì a morte l'Egiziano e lo seppellì nella sabbia. 13 Il giorno dopo, uscì di nuovo e, vedendo due Ebrei che stavano rissando, disse a quello che aveva torto: «Perché percuoti il tuo fratello?». 14 Quegli rispose: «Chi ti ha costituito capo e giudice su di noi? Pensi forse di uccidermi, come hai ucciso l'Egiziano?». Allora Mosè ebbe paura e pensò: «Certamente la cosa si è risaputa». 15 Poi il faraone sentì parlare di questo fatto e cercò di mettere a morte Mosè. Allora Mosè si allontanò dal faraone e si stabilì nel paese di Madian e sedette presso un pozzo.

16 Ora il sacerdote di Madian aveva sette figlie. Esse vennero ad attingere acqua per riempire gli abbeveratoi e far bere il gregge del padre. 17 Ma arrivarono alcuni pastori e le scacciarono. Allora Mosè si levò a difenderle e fece bere il loro bestiame. 18 Tornate dal loro padre Reuel, questi disse loro: «Perché oggi avete fatto ritorno così in fretta?». 19 Risposero: «Un Egiziano ci ha liberate dalle mani dei pastori; è stato lui che ha attinto per noi e ha dato da bere al gregge». 20 Quegli disse alle figlie: «Dov'è? Perché avete lasciato là quell'uomo? Chiamatelo a mangiare il nostro cibo!». 21 Così Mosè accettò di abitare con quell'uomo, che gli diede in moglie la propria figlia Zippora. 22 Ella gli partorì un figlio ed egli lo chiamò Gherson, perché diceva: «Sono un emigrato in terra straniera!».

VOCAZIONE DI MOSE'

23 Nel lungo corso di quegli anni, il re d'Egitto morì. Gli Israeliti gemettero per la loro schiavitù, alzarono grida di lamento e il loro grido dalla schiavitù salì a Dio. 24 Allora Dio ascoltò il loro lamento, si ricordò della sua alleanza con Abramo e Giacobbe. 25 Dio guardò la condizione degli Israeliti e se ne prese pensiero.

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Exodus 2
New American Standard Bible

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a man from (A)the house of Levi went and [a]married a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived and gave birth to a son; and when she saw [b]that he was [c](B)beautiful, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a (C)papyrus [d]basket and covered it with tar and pitch. Then she put the child in it and set it among the (D)reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4 (E)And his sister stood at a distance to [e]find out what would [f]happen to him.

5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down (F)to bathe at the Nile, with her female attendants walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the [g]basket among the reeds and sent her slave woman, and she brought it to her. 6 When she opened it, she [h]saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had 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 a woman for you who is nursing from the Hebrew women, so that she may nurse the child for you?” 8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then 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 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and (G)he became her son. And she named him [i]Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

11 Now it came about in those days, (H)when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his [j]fellow Hebrews and looked at their [k](I)hard labors; and (J)he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his [l]fellow Hebrews. 12 So he [m]looked this way and that, and when he saw that there was no one around, he (K)struck and killed the Egyptian, and hid [n]his body in the sand. 13 Now he went out (L)the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were [o]fighting with each other; and he said to the [p]offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 But he said, “(M)Who made you a [q]ruler and a judge over us? Do you [r]intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known!”

Moses Escapes to Midian

15 When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But (N)Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and [s]settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down (O)by a well.

16 Now (P)the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and (Q)they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but (R)Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. 18 When they came to their father (S)Reuel, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian saved us from [t]the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 So he said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him [u]to have something to eat.” 21 And (T)Moses was willing to live with the man. And he gave his daughter (U)Zipporah to Moses. 22 Then she gave birth to (V)a son, and he named him [v]Gershom, for he said, “I have been (W)a stranger in a foreign land.”

23 Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel (X)groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and (Y)their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God. 24 So (Z)God heard their groaning; and God remembered (AA)His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 And (AB)God saw the sons of Israel, and God [w]took notice of them.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 2:1 Lit took
  2. Exodus 2:2 Lit him that
  3. Exodus 2:2 Lit good
  4. Exodus 2:3 Or chest
  5. Exodus 2:4 Lit know
  6. Exodus 2:4 Lit be done
  7. Exodus 2:5 Or chest
  8. Exodus 2:6 Heb saw it, the child
  9. Exodus 2:10 Heb Mosheh, from a verb meaning to draw out
  10. Exodus 2:11 Lit brothers
  11. Exodus 2:11 Lit burdens
  12. Exodus 2:11 Lit brothers
  13. Exodus 2:12 Lit turned
  14. Exodus 2:12 Lit him
  15. Exodus 2:13 Or quarreling
  16. Exodus 2:13 Or the guilty one
  17. Exodus 2:14 Lit man, a ruler
  18. Exodus 2:14 Lit say
  19. Exodus 2:15 Lit dwelt
  20. Exodus 2:19 Lit the hand of the
  21. Exodus 2:20 Lit that he may eat bread
  22. Exodus 2:22 Cf. Heb ger sham, a stranger there
  23. Exodus 2:25 Lit knew them
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Exodus 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 2

Birth and Adoption of Moses. 1 Now a man[a] of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,(A) 2 and the woman conceived and bore a son. Seeing what a fine child he was, she hid him for three months.(B) 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket,[b] daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him.

5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe at the Nile, while her attendants walked along the bank of the Nile. Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it. 6 On opening it, she looked, and there was a baby boy crying! She was moved with pity for him and said, “It is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and summon a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for you?” 8 Pharaoh’s daughter answered her, “Go.” So the young woman went and called the child’s own mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.”[c] So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew,[d] she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.(C) She named him Moses; for she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Moses’ Flight to Midian. 11 (D)On one occasion, after Moses had grown up,[e] when he had gone out to his kinsmen and witnessed their forced labor, he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own kinsmen. 12 Looking about and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out again, and now two Hebrews were fighting! So he asked the culprit, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 But he replied, “Who has appointed you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses became afraid and thought, “The affair must certainly be known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of the affair, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian.[f](E) There he sat down by a well.

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 But shepherds came and drove them away. So Moses rose up in their defense and watered their flock. 18 When they returned to their father Reuel,[g] he said to them, “How is it you have returned so soon today?” 19 They answered, “An Egyptian[h] delivered us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock!” 20 “Where is he?” he asked his daughters. “Why did you leave the man there? Invite him to have something to eat.” 21 Moses agreed to stay with him, and the man gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. 22 She conceived and bore a son, whom he named Gershom;[i] for he said, “I am a stranger residing in a foreign land.”(F)

II. The Call and Commission of Moses

The Burning Bush. 23 A long time passed, during which the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their bondage and cried out, and from their bondage their cry for help went up to God.(G) 24 God heard their moaning and God was mindful of his covenant(H) with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 25 God saw the Israelites, and God knew….[j]

Footnotes

  1. 2:1 Now a man: the chapter begins abruptly, without names for the man or woman (in contrast to the midwives of 1:15), who in 6:20 are identified as Amram and Jochebed.
  2. 2:3 Basket: the same Hebrew word is used in Gn 6:14 and throughout the flood narrative for Noah’s ark, but nowhere else in the Bible. Here, however, the “ark” or “chest” was made of papyrus stalks. Presumably the allusion to Genesis is intentional. Just as Noah and his family were preserved safe from the threatening waters of the flood in the ark he built, so now Moses is preserved from the threatening waters of the Nile in the ark prepared by his mother. Among the reeds: the Hebrew noun for “reed” is overwhelmingly used in the phrase “Reed Sea,” traditionally translated “Red Sea.”
  3. 2:9 And I will pay your wages: the idea that the child’s mother will be paid for nursing her child—and by Pharaoh’s own daughter—heightens the narrative’s irony.
  4. 2:10 When the child grew: while v. 9 implies that the boy’s mother cared for him as long as he needed to be nursed (presumably, between two and four years), the same verb appears in v. 11 to describe the attainment of adulthood. And he became her son: Pharaoh’s daughter adopts Moses, thus adding to the irony of the account. The king of Egypt had ordered the killing of all the sons of the Hebrews, and one now becomes the son of his own daughter! Moses: in Hebrew, mosheh. There is a play on words here: Hebrew mosheh echoes meshithihu (“I drew him out”). However, the name Moses actually has nothing to do with that Hebrew verb, but is probably derived from Egyptian “beloved” or “has been born,” preserved in such Pharaonic names as Thutmoses (meaning approximately “Beloved of the god Thoth” or “The god Thoth is born, has given birth to [the child]”). The original meaning of Moses’ name was no longer remembered (if it was Egyptian, it may have contained an Egyptian divine element as well, perhaps the name of the Nile god Hapi), and a secondary explanation was derived from this story (or gave rise to it, if the drawing from the water of the Nile was intended to foreshadow the Israelites’ escape from Egypt through the Red Sea).
  5. 2:11 After Moses had grown up: cf. 7:7, where Moses is said to be eighty years old at the time of his mission to Pharaoh. Striking: probably in the sense of “flogging”; in v. 12, however, the same verb is used in the sense of “killing.”
  6. 2:15 Land of Midian: the territory under the control of a confederation made up, according to Nm 31:8, of five Midianite tribes. According to Gn 25:1–2, Midian was a son of Abraham by Keturah. In view of the extreme hostility in later periods between Israel and Midian (cf. Nm 31; Jgs 6–8), the relationship is striking, as is the account here in Exodus of good relations between Moses and no less than a Midianite priest.
  7. 2:18 Reuel: also called Jethro. Cf. 3:1; 4:18; 18:1.
  8. 2:19 An Egyptian: Moses was probably wearing Egyptian dress, or spoke Egyptian to Reuel’s daughters.
  9. 2:22 Gershom: the name is explained unscientifically as if it came from the Hebrew word ger, “sojourner, resident alien,” and the Hebrew word sham, “there.” Stranger residing: Hebrew ger, one who seeks and finds shelter and a home away from his or her own people or land.
  10. 2:25 God knew: in response to the people’s cry, God, mindful of the covenant, looks on their plight and acknowledges firsthand the depth of their suffering (see 3:7). In vv. 23–25, traditionally attributed to the Priestly writer, God is mentioned five times, in contrast to the rest of chaps. 1–2, where God is rarely mentioned. These verses serve as a fitting transition to Moses’ call in chap. 3.
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