Exodus 2
Amplified Bible
The Birth of Moses
2 Now a [a]man of the house of Levi [the priestly tribe] went and took as his wife a daughter of Levi.(A) 2 The woman conceived and gave birth to a son; and when she saw that he was [especially] beautiful and healthy, she hid him for three months [to protect him from the Egyptians].(B) 3 When she could no longer hide him, she got him a basket (chest) made of papyrus reeds and covered it with tar and pitch [making it waterproof]. Then she put the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4 And his sister [Miriam] stood some distance away to find out what would happen to him.
5 Now the [b]daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, and [she, together with] her maidens walked along the river’s bank; she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid [to get it], and she brought it to her. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. And 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 a [c]wet-nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And 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 he became her son. And she named him [d]Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
11 One day, after Moses had grown [into adulthood], it happened that he went to his countrymen and looked [with compassion] at their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his countrymen. 12 He turned to look around, and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 He went out the next day and saw two Hebrew men fighting with each other; and he said to the aggressor, “Why are you striking your friend?” 14 But the man said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Certainly this incident is known.”
Moses Escapes to Midian
15 When [e]Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. Then Moses fled from Pharaoh’s presence and took refuge in the land of [f]Midian, where he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew water [from the well where Moses was resting] and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. 18 When they came to [g]Reuel (Jethro) their father, he said, “How is it that you have come back so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian saved us from the shepherds. He even drew water [from the well] for us and watered the flock.” 20 Then he said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why have you left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.” 21 Moses was willing to remain with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah [to be his wife]. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom (stranger); for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”
23 Now it happened after a long time [about forty years] that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel (Jacob) groaned and sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out. And their cry for help because of their bondage [h]ascended to God. 24 So God heard their groaning and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel).(C) 25 God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice [of them] and was concerned about them [knowing all, understanding all, remembering all].(D)
Footnotes
- Exodus 2:1 I.e. Amram; Ex 6:20 identifies Amram and Jochebed as the parents of Aaron and Moses.
- Exodus 2:5 If the pharaoh is Thutmose I, then this is likely his daughter, Hatshepsut.
- Exodus 2:7 Lit a nursing woman.
- Exodus 2:10 The name Moses is a wonderful choice. It means “drawing out” in Hebrew, but in Egyptian, a similar word means “man of royalty” (e.g. the syllable “mose” in names like Thutmose).
- Exodus 2:15 This pharaoh is likely to be identified as Thutmose III (1483-1450 b.c.).
- Exodus 2:15 After Sarah died Abraham took Keturah his concubine (see note Gen 22:24) as a secondary wife. Midian was the fourth of six sons born to Keturah. Abraham gave gifts to Isaac’s half brothers and sent them eastward so that they would have no claim on Isaac’s position as Abraham’s only heir and the son of promise.
- Exodus 2:18 Reuel’s other name, Jethro (Excellency), may have been a title indicating his rank in the tribe.
- Exodus 2:23 The description of God in this passage (vv 23-25) attributes human qualities to God, including human emotions and ways of thinking or decision-making. It is meant to relate to a human point of view, without concern for a strict theological accounting of God’s nature. In reality, God is present everywhere, and is always aware of everything that has happened and will happen.
Exodus 2
Contemporary English Version
Moses Is Born
2 A man from the Levi tribe married a woman from the same tribe, 2 (A) and she later had a baby boy. He was a beautiful child, and she kept him inside for three months. 3 But 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. 4 The baby's older sister[a] stood off at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5 About that time one of the king's[b] 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. 6 When 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.”
7 At 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, 9 and 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 (B) And when he was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him. She named him Moses[c] because she said, “I pulled him out of the water.”
Moses Escapes from Egypt
11 (C)(D) 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. 12 Moses looked around to see if anyone was watching, then he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
13 When 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?”
14 The 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 (E) When the king[d] 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, 16 the seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian,[e] came up to water their father's sheep and goats. 17 Some shepherds tried to chase them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their animals. 18 When Jethro's daughters returned home, their father asked, “Why have you come back so early today?”
19 They 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.”
21 Moses agreed to stay on with Jethro, who later let his daughter Zipporah marry Moses. 22 And when she had a son, Moses said, “I will name him Gershom,[f] since I am a foreigner in this country.”
23 After the death of the king of Egypt, the Israelites still complained because they were forced to be slaves. They cried out for help, 24 (F) and God heard their loud cries. He did not forget the promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 25 and because he knew what was happening to his people, he felt sorry for them.
Footnotes
- 2.4 older sister: Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron.
- 2.5 the king's: See the note at 1.11.
- 2.10 Moses: In Hebrew “Moses” sounds like “pull out.”
- 2.15 the king: See the note at 1.11.
- 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.
- 2.22 Gershom: In Hebrew “Gershom” sounds like “foreigner.”
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