Exodus 2:12

12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

Exodus 2:12 in Other Translations

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.

12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

12 After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.

12 He looked this way and then that; when he realized there was no one in sight, he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.

12 Looking all around and seeing no one, he struck the Egyptian dead and hid him in the sand.

Exodus 2:12 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 2:12

And he looked this way, and that way
All around, to observe if there were any within sight who could see what he did; which did not arise from any consciousness of any evil he was about to commit, but for his own preservation, lest if seen he should be accused to Pharaoh, and suffer for it:

and when he saw that there was no man;
near at hand, that could see what he did, and be a witness against him:

he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand;
in a sandy desert place hard by, where having slain him with his sword, he dug a hole, and put him into it; (See Gill on Acts 7:24). Of the slaughter of the Egyptian, and the following controversy about it, Demetrius ^F7, an Heathen writer, treats of in perfect agreement with the sacred Scriptures.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 19. p. 439.

Exodus 2:12 In-Context

10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.

12 Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”

14 The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”