1 And there goeth a man of the house of Levi, and he taketh the daughter of Levi, 2 and the woman conceiveth, and beareth a son, and she seeth him that he [is] fair, and she hideth him three months, 3 and she hath not been able any more to hide him, and she taketh for him an ark of rushes, and daubeth it with bitumen and with pitch, and putteth the lad in it, and putteth [it] in the weeds by the edge of the River; 4 and his sister stationeth herself afar off, to know what is done to him. 5 And a daughter of Pharaoh cometh down to bathe at the River, and her damsels are walking by the side of the River, and she seeth the ark in the midst of the weeds, and sendeth her handmaid, and she taketh it, 6 and openeth, and seeth him — the lad, and lo, a child weeping! and she hath pity on him, and saith, 'This is [one] of the Hebrews' children.' 7 And his sister saith unto the daughter of Pharaoh, 'Do I go? when I have called for thee a suckling woman of the Hebrews, then she doth suckle the lad for thee;' 8 and the daughter of Pharaoh saith to her, 'Go;' and the virgin goeth, and calleth the mother of the lad, 9 and the daughter of Pharaoh saith to her, 'Take this lad away, and suckle him for me, and I — I give thy hire;' and the woman taketh the lad, and suckleth him. 10 And the lad groweth, and she bringeth him in to the daughter of Pharaoh, and he is to her for a son, and she calleth his name Moses, and saith, 'Because — from the water I have drawn him.' 11 And it cometh to pass, in those days, that Moses is grown, and he goeth out unto his brethren, and looketh on their burdens, and seeth a man, an Egyptian, smiting a man, a Hebrew, [one] of his brethren, 12 and he turneth hither and thither, and seeth that there is no man, and smiteth the Egyptian, and hideth him in the sand. 13 And he goeth out on the second day, and lo, two men, Hebrews, striving! and he saith to the wrong-doer, 'Why dost thou smite thy neighbour?' 14 and he saith, 'Who set thee for a head and a judge over us? to slay me art thou saying [it], as thou hast slain the Egyptian?' and Moses feareth, and saith, 'Surely the thing hath been known.' 15 And Pharaoh heareth of this thing, and seeketh to slay Moses, and Moses fleeth from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelleth in the land of Midian, and dwelleth by the well. 16 And to a priest of Midian [are] seven daughters, and they come and draw, and fill the troughs, to water the flock of their father, 17 and the shepherds come and drive them away, and Moses ariseth, and saveth them, and watereth their flock. 18 And they come in to Reuel their father, and he saith, 'Wherefore have ye hastened to come in to-day?' 19 and they say, 'A man, an Egyptian, hath delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also hath diligently drawn for us, and watereth the flock;' 20 and he saith unto his daughters, 'And where [is] he? why [is] this? — ye left the man! call for him, and he doth eat bread.' 21 And Moses is willing to dwell with the man, and he giveth Zipporah his daughter to Moses, 22 and she beareth a son, and he calleth his name Gershom, for he said, 'A sojourner I have been in a strange land.' 23 And it cometh to pass during these many days, that the king of Egypt dieth, and the sons of Israel sigh because of the service, and cry, and their cry goeth up unto God, because of the service; 24 and God heareth their groaning, and God remembereth His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob; 25 and God seeth the sons of Israel, and God knoweth.
Exodus · Young's Literal Translation
Exodus 2 Young's Literal Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Gershom
Moses' firstborn son, born during his years of exile in the land of Midian.
Cited in the guide: Exodus 2:22; Exodus 18:3
Moses
Drawn from the Nile, he led Israel out of Egypt and received God's Law.
Cited in the guide: Exodus 2–Deuteronomy 34
Zipporah
The Midianite daughter of Jethro who became Moses' wife in the wilderness.
Cited in the guide: Exodus 2:16-22; Exodus 4:24-26; Exodus 18
Cross references (24)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Numbers 26:59; Exodus 6:16–20; 1 Chronicles 23:12–14; 1 Chronicles 6:1–3
- 2 Hebrews 11:23; Acts 7:20
- 3 Exodus 1:22; Acts 7:19; Genesis 6:14; Isaiah 18:2; Matthew 2:16
- 4 Numbers 26:59; Exodus 15:20; Micah 6:4; Numbers 20:1; Numbers 12:1–15
- 5 Acts 7:21; Psalm 12:5; Psalm 9:9; Exodus 8:20; Psalm 46:1
- 6 1 Kings 8:50; 1 Peter 3:8; Acts 7:21; Nehemiah 1:11; Psalm 106:46
- 7 Exodus 2:4; Numbers 26:59; Numbers 12:1; Exodus 15:20
- 8 Isaiah 46:3–4; Psalm 27:10; Exodus 6:20; Ezekiel 16:8
- 10 Hebrews 11:24; Acts 7:21–22; Genesis 16:11; 1 Samuel 1:20; Matthew 1:21
- 11 Hebrews 11:24–26; Acts 7:22–24; Exodus 1:11; Matthew 11:28; Luke 4:18
- 12 Acts 7:24–26
- 13 Acts 7:26–28; 1 Corinthians 6:7–8
- 14 Luke 12:14; Matthew 21:23; Genesis 37:19–20; Psalm 2:2–6; Genesis 19:9
- 15 Hebrews 11:27; Acts 7:29; Genesis 24:11; Genesis 29:2; 1 Kings 19:1–3
- 16 Genesis 24:11; Exodus 3:1; 1 Samuel 9:11; Genesis 24:14–20; Genesis 29:6–10
- 17 Genesis 29:10; Genesis 21:25; Exodus 2:12; Genesis 26:15–22
- 18 Exodus 3:1; Numbers 10:29; Exodus 4:18; Exodus 18:1–12; Numbers 19:20
- 19 Genesis 29:10; Genesis 50:11
- 20 Genesis 31:54; Genesis 43:25; Genesis 18:5; Hebrews 13:2; Job 31:32
- 21 Genesis 31:38–40; Hebrews 13:5; 1 Timothy 6:6; Exodus 2:10; Exodus 18:2–6
- 22 Hebrews 11:13–14; Acts 7:29; Exodus 22:21; Psalm 119:19; Psalm 39:12
- 23 Genesis 18:20–21; James 5:4; Exodus 3:7–9; Acts 7:30; Exodus 22:22–27
- 24 Genesis 26:3; Psalm 105:42; Exodus 6:5; Genesis 15:14–18; Luke 1:72–73
- 25 Exodus 4:31; Psalm 55:22; Exodus 3:7–8; Luke 1:25; Psalm 1:6
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… saith: "The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband; and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife." Moses too, who was born of a Hebrew mother and was exposed, was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. There were not then indeed the same forms of law as now, but the choice …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
For with respect to the patriarch it is said, "I remembered my covenant with Abraham;" but here He saith not "the covenant," but how?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
That perhaps the early life of Moses was sinful; for he fled from Egypt, after slaying a man. The early life of Aaron also was such as would displease God; for he allowed a maddened and infatuated people to make an idol to worship; and an idol was made for God's people to worship.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)