Exodus 2:13

13 He went out ¹the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, "Why are you striking your companion?"

Exodus 2:13 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 2:13

And when he went out the second day
The day following:

behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together;
which the Jewish writers ^F8 take to be Dathan and Abiram:

and he said to him that did the wrong;
who was the aggressor, and acted the wicked part in abusing his brother:

wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?
friend and companion; signifying, that it was very unbecoming, unkind, and unnatural, and that brethren and friends ought to live together in love, and not strive with, and smite one another, and especially at such a time as this, when they were so oppressed by, and suffered so much from their enemies; (See Gill on Acts 7:26).

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 Targum Jon. & Jarchi in loc. Shemoth Rabba, sect. 1. fol. 91. 4. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 5. 2. Pirke Eliezer, c. 48.

Exodus 2:13 In-Context

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.

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.

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."

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.

Cross References

• 1. Acts 7:26-28

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "quarreling"
• [b]. Or "the guilty one"