1. there went a man of the house of Levi, c. Amram was the husband and Jochebed the wife (compare Exodus 6:2 Numbers 26:59). The marriage took place, and two children, Miriam and Aaron, were born some years before the infanticidal edict. read more
2. the woman . . . bare a son, &c.—Some extraordinary appearance of remarkable comeliness led his parents to augur his future greatness. Beauty was regarded by the ancients as a mark of the divine favor. hid him three months—The parents were a pious couple, and the measures they took were prompted not only by parental attachment, but by a strong faith in the blessing of God prospering their endeavors to save the infant. read more
3. she took for him an ark of bulrushes—papyrus, a thick, strong, and tough reed. slime—the mud of the Nile, which, when hardened, is very tenacious. pitch—mineral tar. Boats of this description are seen daily floating on the surface of the river, with no other caulking than Nile mud (compare :-), and they are perfectly watertight, unless the coating is forced off by stormy weather. flags—a general term for sea or river weed. The chest was not, as is often represented, committed to the bosom... read more
4. his sister—Miriam would probably be a girl of ten or twelve years of age at the time. read more
5. the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river—The occasion is thought to have been a religious solemnity which the royal family opened by bathing in the sacred stream. Peculiar sacredness was attached to those portions of the Nile which flowed near the temples. The water was there fenced off as a protection from the crocodiles; and doubtless the princess had an enclosure reserved for her own use, the road to which seems to have been well known to Jochebed. walked along—in... read more
6-9. when she had opened it, she saw the child—The narrative is picturesque. No tale of romance ever described a plot more skilfully laid or more full of interest in the development. The expedient of the ark, the slime and pitch, the choice of the time and place, the appeal to the sensibilities of the female breast, the stationing of the sister as a watch of the proceedings, her timely suggestion of a nurse, and the engagement of the mother herself—all bespeak a more than ordinary measure of... read more
10. she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter—Though it must have been nearly as severe a trial for Jochebed to part with him the second time as the first, she was doubtless reconciled to it by her belief in his high destination as the future deliverer of Israel. His age when removed to the palace is not stated; but he was old enough to be well instructed in the principles of the true religion; and those early impressions, deepened by the power of divine grace, were never forgotten or effaced. he... read more
11. in those days, when Moses was grown—not in age and stature only, but in power as well as in renown for accomplishments and military prowess ( :-). 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,... read more
12. he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand—This act of Moses may seem and indeed by some has been condemned as rash and unjustifiable—in plain terms, a deed of assassination. But we must not judge of his action in such a country and age by the standard of law and the notions of right which prevail in our Christian land; and, besides, not only is it not spoken of as a crime in Scripture or as distressing the perpetrator with remorse, but according to existing customs among nomadic tribes,... read more
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Exodus 2
CHAPTER 2 :-. BIRTH AND PRESERVATION OF MOSES. read more