Exodus 2-The Birth Of Moses And His Escape To Midian
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday September 18, 2011
Journey Through The Bible Series: Exodus Chapter Two-The Birth and Protection of Moses
Lesson # 2
Please turn in your Bibles to Exodus 2:1.
Exodus chapter two records the birth and protection of Moses who would be used by God to deliver Israel from Egypt.
Exodus 2:1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. (NASB95)
Exodus 2 does not identify the father or mother of Moses but Exodus 6:20 and Numbers 26:59 reveal that his mother’s name was Jochebed and Exodus 6:20, Numbers 26:59 and 1 Chronicles 6:3 reveal that his father’s name was Amram.
Exodus 2:1 only tells us that Moses was from the tribe of Levi, which descended from the third child that Leah bore to Jacob.
Exodus 2:2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. (NASB95)
Verse 2 describes Moses as being a “beautiful’ child, which translates the Hebrew adjective ṭôḇ (טֹוב), which means that Moses as an infant was not only beautiful in appearance but also that he was healthy.
Acts 7:20 records Stephen describing Moses as “no ordinary child” in that he was lovely in the sight of the Lord.
Hebrews 11:23 reveals that it was by faith that Jochebed hid Moses from the Egyptian authorities.
Exodus 2:3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. (NASB95)
“Basket” is the noun tē∙ḇā(h) (תֵּבָה), which was not a flimsy container but rather it was a covered papyrus box, which undoubtedly was modified with air holes and or insect netting so as to give protection from insects and the sun.
It obviously had a secure lid because it would need to be opened eventually and was of course water-proofed to float.
So the word depicts a chest shape vessel, which was designed only to float and would have certain sloped edges in order to remain in the water without floundering.
Exodus 2:4 His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. (NASB95)
Moses’ sister is used by his mother to hide him from the Egyptian authorities as they were making their sweeps.
His sister is also not named but Exodus 15:20-21 reveals that her name was Miriam.
She must have been eleven or twelve years of age and smart too, which is evidenced by the fact that she had the presence of mind to suggest to Pharaoh’s daughter that Moses be provided with a nurse from the Israelite women and of course, Miriam got her mother.
The tiny ark that Moses was placed in was not meant to be discovered, nor was it planted in area deliberately to get the attention of Pharaoh’s daughter since for an Egyptian to discover the child would put the child in harm’s way.
So this is a totally unexpected turn of events which looked like it would result in the death of the child but instead it resulted in the deliverance of the child.
Exodus 2:5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her. (NASB95)
The daughter of Pharaoh is Hatshepsut whose father was Thutmose I (1526-1512) and she may have been in her early teens by 1526 B.C., which is the date of the birth of Moses.
Exodus 2:6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” (NASB95)
The fact that Moses was crying indicates why he was discovered by the Egyptians.
The response of Pharaoh’s daughter to finding Moses makes clear that she was not in agreement with her father’s decree to kill the Israelite infant boys for she has compassion for him.
Exodus 2:7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” (NASB95)
The response of Pharaoh’s daughter is totally unexpected for one would expect her to be in agreement with her father’s decree but she is not.
Miriam jumps into action and suggests an Israelite woman be brought in to nurse the child.
Exodus 2:8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. (NASB95)
The worst fears of Jochebed and Miriam were realized, namely that the Egyptians had discovered Moses and in fact, he was discovered by the king’s own teen age daughter but this would deliver Moses from death and would preserve him alive.
So here we have Pharaoh’s own teen age daughter violating her father’s decree by sparing this Hebrew baby boy and not only that but in fact adopting the child.
Exodus 2:9 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. (NASB95)
Verse 9 records a nursing contract since Hatshepsut states that she will compensate financially the woman who nurses Moses but the legal possession of Moses would remain with Hatshepsut who was making the payment.
In the ancient world, children were nursed for three or four years before being weaned.
Exodus 2:10 The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.” (NASB95)
“Moses” is the Hebrew noun mō∙šě(h) (מֹשֶׁה), which is the Hebrew equivalent of the Egyptian noun ms ‘boy-child,’ from the verb msi˒ “bear, give birth.”
Hatshepsut’s motivation for this name comes from the fact that she drew him out from the Nile, which is the source of life in Egypt.
The sound of the name from the perspective of the Hebrews would correspond to their verb which means “to draw out.”
Hatshepsut’s words produced a Hebrew wordplay to capture the significance of the story of Moses’ deliverance in the sound of the name.
Therefore, Hatshepsut would be thinking of Moses being born out of the Nile, which is the source of life to the Egyptians.
However, the Israelites would think of Moses from the perspective that he was drawn out of water by Pharaoh’s daughter so as to draw them out of Egypt.
Acts 7:21-22 records Stephen as teaching the Jews that Hatshepsut raised Moses as her adopted child and gave him an Egyptian education fit for royalty.
Exodus 2:11 Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. (NASB95)
“His brethren” appears twice in this verse in order to inform the reader that Moses identified with the suffering of his people, Israel and was very sympathetic and concerned about them and outraged at the treatment of them by the Egyptians.
Exodus 2:12 So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. (NASB95)
The fact that Moses looked in all directions before killing the Egyptian indicates that this was premeditated murder.
Stephen gives us insight into the motivation of Moses in killing the Egyptian by teaching Moses thought that the Israelites understood that God was going to use him to give them deliverance from the bondage of Egypt (Acts 7:23-25).
Hebrews 11:24-26 comments on Moses’ actions as recorded in Exodus 2:11-12.
Exodus 2:13 He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 But he said, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.” (NASB95)
This passage reveals that the Israelites did not acknowledge Moses as their deliverer, though he defended and killed an Egyptian on behalf of one of them at great risk to himself and his future in Egypt.
Exodus 2:15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well. (NASB95)
When Moses fled Egypt, he was truly a man without a country for the Egyptians had rejected him for the murder of a fellow Egyptian and his own people, the nation of Israel had rejected him as well.
The Midianites occupied portions of the central and northern Sinai peninsula in addition to their primary location which was in northwestern Arabia.
Exodus 2:16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and 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 Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. (NASB95)
These two verses reveal further the great character of Moses in that he stands up again for the oppressed.
Evidently, Moses was physically imposing because he intimidates a group of shepherds by himself.
He did not know these women but this did not prevent him from helping strangers.
So he was a man who acted based upon principle rather than personal loyalty.
Exodus 2:18 When they came to Reuel their father, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” 19 So they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew the water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.” (NASB95)
Interestingly, in verse 16, Jethro is simply called “the priest of Midian” where as in verse 17 his clan name is given.
This is significant because it indicates he was a believer in Yahweh, who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses or in other words, it means that he worshipped Yahweh.
Evidently, the girls were so excited about Moses rescuing them that they forgot to invite him back for dinner to show their appreciation.
They forgot their manners because they were so excited that someone as courageous as Moses had entered their lives.
The three questions of their father emphasizes his indignation towards his daughters.
Exodus 2:21 Moses was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses. 22 Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.” (NASB95)
This verse records that Moses settled with Jethro in Midian and married Jethro’s daughter Zipporah who gives Moses his first child who he names “Gershom” whose name in Hebrew means “a sojourner there,” which expresses Moses’ circumstances from his perspective.
He was an exile from Egypt and rejected by Israel and was thus a man without a country.
Exodus 2:23 Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. 24 So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them. (NASB95)
By returning the reader back to the situation of Israel in bondage in Egypt, these verses conclude the section of introduction to the story of the Exodus of Israel (1:1-2:25).
This postscript prepares us for God to enter the picture and take action against Egypt on behalf of Israel.
This postscript begins by stating that the king of Egypt died who was Thutmose III.
History tells us that Amenhotep II assumed the throne in Egypt, which would make possible for Moses to return to Egypt.
This postscript also reveals that Israel’s situation continues to remain the same even though there has been a change on the throne.
When the Bible says, “God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” it does “not” mean that He had forgotten this covenant He established with these men but rather it signifies that God is about to act upon the unconditional promises that He made to these men in this covenant.