Exodus 2

Chapter 2 of Exodus recounts the life of Moses from his birth to his exile in Midian. In the preceding chapter, Exodus 1, Pharaoh commanded that every Hebrew son be cast into the river (Exodus 1:22). Chapter 2 opens against the backdrop of this decree. The river is the Nile, and the Korean Revised Version, New Edition, renders it explicitly as "the Nile River."

Outline

• Verses 1–4 A son is born to a man and a woman of the house of Levi. His parents hide the child for three months, then place him in an ark of bulrushes daubed with slime and pitch and lay it among the flags by the river's brink. The child's sister watches from a distance.
• Verses 5–10 Pharaoh's daughter, coming down to wash at the river, discovers the ark and has compassion on the child. The sister offers to find a Hebrew nurse, and the child's own mother nurses him for wages. When the child grows, he becomes the son of Pharaoh's daughter, who names him Moses, explaining that she "drew him out of the water."
• Verses 11–15 When Moses is grown, he slays an Egyptian who was smiting a Hebrew and hides him in the sand. The next day a Hebrew who is striving with another asks him, "Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?" and Moses realizes that the matter is known. When Pharaoh seeks to slay him, Moses flees to Midian.
• Verses 16–22 At a well, Moses helps the seven daughters of the priest of Midian, who had been driven away by shepherds. Their father, Reuel, receives Moses hospitably and gives him his daughter Zipporah as his wife. Moses has a son and names him Gershom.
• Verses 23–25 Many years later the king of Egypt dies. The children of Israel cry out because of their bondage, and God hears their groaning and remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Key Verses

• Exodus 2:10 "Because I drew him out of the water" — This verse explains the meaning of the name Moses. It is read as foreshadowing the story of one drawn out of the water who would later draw his people out.
• Exodus 2:24 "God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob" — This verse links the Exodus to the covenant made with the patriarchs, presenting it as the fulfillment of that covenant.

Characters and Places

• Moses — The leader of the Exodus. He is born in this chapter and receives his name from Pharaoh's daughter.
• The Levite couple — They are not named in this chapter. Exodus 6:20 identifies Moses' parents as Amram and Jochebed.
• The sister — She is unnamed in this chapter. Because Numbers 26:59 lists Aaron, Moses, and Miriam as the children of Amram and Jochebed, she is commonly identified as Miriam.
• Pharaoh's daughter — She rescues and adopts Moses. Scripture does not give her name.
• Reuel — The priest of Midian and the father of Zipporah. From Exodus 3 onward, Moses' father-in-law is called Jethro.
• Gershom — The son of Moses and Zipporah. His name reflects the statement "I have been a stranger in a strange land."
• Egypt — The place where Israel suffers bondage.
• Midian — The land to which Moses flees, thought to lie in the northwestern Arabian Peninsula.

Points for Reflection

• The Hebrew word tevah, used for the "ark of bulrushes" in which Moses was placed, is the same word used for the ark in the account of Noah's Flood. Some interpreters therefore read the two accounts together as scenes of salvation in which life is preserved from the waters.
• The text explains the name Moses through a wordplay on a Hebrew word meaning "to draw out." Some scholars hold that the name derives instead from an Egyptian word meaning "son."
• The text does not directly evaluate Moses' killing of the Egyptian. Some interpret it as righteous indignation on behalf of his people, while others view it as a rash act that did not wait for God's timing. In the New Testament, in Acts 7, Stephen addresses this episode, explaining that Moses was forty years old at the time and supposed that his brethren would understand how God by his hand would deliver them (Acts 7:23–25). Hebrews 11 presents both the parents' hiding of the child and Moses' refusal to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter as acts of faith (Hebrews 11:23–27).
• Views differ on the relationship between Reuel and Jethro. Many regard them as two names for the same person, but others, citing passages such as Numbers 10:29, consider them different individuals.
• The text does not identify which king is the Pharaoh of this chapter. Views vary depending on how one dates the Exodus.
• The name of Pharaoh's daughter is given as Thermuthis in the writings of Josephus and as Bithiah in Jewish rabbinic tradition. These names come from later traditions and do not appear in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

The story of the infant Moses in the ark of bulrushes is a staple text in Sunday school and Vacation Bible School. The faith of his mother, Jochebed, who entrusted her child to God, is frequently cited in sermons on the family and on the spiritual nurture of children. A gospel song depicting this scene, "Jochebed's Song," is also widely sung.