Exodus 2:12

12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian 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 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, "Because I drew him out of the water."

11 Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, "Why are you striking your companion?"

14 Then he said, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" So Moses feared and said, "Surely this thing is known!"