Exodus 2

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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Glossary

Levi Person v. 1: Adhesion. (1. ) The third son of Jacob by Leah. The origin of the name is found in Leah’s words ( Gen. 29:34 ).
Ark Object v. 3, 5: Noah’s ark, a building of gopher-wood, and covered with pitch, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high.
Nile Place v. 3, 5: Biblical river. Modern identification: Nile River.
Midian Place v. 15-16: Biblical region. Modern identification: Al Bad.
Reuel Person v. 18: Friend of God. (1. ) A son of Esau and Bashemath ( Gen. 36:4 , 10; 1 Chr. 1:35 ). (2. ) “The priest of Midian,” Moses’ father-in-law ( Ex. 2:18 )=Raguel ( Num. 10:29 ). If he be identified with Jethro.
Zipporah Person v. 21: A female bird. Reuel’s daughter, who became the wife of Moses ( Ex. 2:21 ). In consequence of the event recorded in Ex.
Gershom Person v. 22: Expulsion. (1. ) The eldest son of Levi ( 1 Chr. 6:16 , 17, 20, 43, 62, 71; 15:7)=GERSHON (q. v. ). (2. ) The elder of the two sons of Moses born to him in Midian ( Ex. 2:22 ; 18:3 ).
Egypt Place v. 23: The land of the Nile and the pyramids, the oldest kingdom of which we have any record, holds a place of great significance in Scripture. Modern identification: Ain Shams.
Abraham Person v. 24: Father of a multitude, son of Terah, named ( Gen. 11:27 ) before his older brothers Nahor and Haran, because he was the heir of the promises.
Isaac Person v. 24: Laughter. (1) Israel, or the kingdom of the ten tribes ( Amos 7:9 , 16). (2. ) The only son of Abraham by Sarah. He was the longest lived of the three patriarchs ( Gen. 21:1-3 ).