Shemot 2:1-10

1 And there went an ish of the Bais Levi, and took to wife a bat Levi.

2 And the isha conceived, and bore a ben; and when she saw him that he was tov, she hid him three months.

3 And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him a tevah (ark) of papyrus, and daubed it with tar and with pitch, and put the yeled therein; and she set it in the reeds by the bank of the Nile.

4 And his achot stood afar off, to see what would be done to him.

5 And the Bat Pharaoh came down to bathe herself at the Nile; and her na’arot walked along by the Nile’s bank; and when she saw the tevah (ark) among the reeds, she sent her amah (maid servant) to fetch it.

6 And when she had opened it, she saw the yeled; and, hinei, the na’ar was crying. And she had compassion on him, and said, This one is of the yaldei HaIvrim (Hebrew children).

7 Then said his achot to Bat Pharaoh, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of HaIvriyyot, that she may nurse the yeled for thee?

8 And Bat Pharaoh said to her, Go. And haalmah [see Gn 24:43; Isa 7:14] went and called the em hayeled.

9 And Bat Pharaoh said unto her, Take this yeled away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the isha took the yeled, and nursed it.

10 And the yeled grew, and she brought him unto Bat Pharaoh, and he became her ben. And she called shmo Moshe: and she said, Because meshitihu (I drew him) out of the mayim.

Shemot 2:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 2

This chapter relates the birth of Moses, and his preservation in an ark of bulrushes, Ex 2:1-3. His being found by Pharaoh's daughter, took up, and put out to nurse by her, and adopted for her son, Ex 2:4-10, some exploits of his when grown up, taking the part of an Hebrew against an Egyptian whom he slew, and endeavouring to reconcile two Hebrews at variance, when one of them reproached him with slaying the Egyptian, Ex 2:11-14, which thing being known to Pharaoh, he sought to slay Moses, and this obliged him to flee to Midian, Ex 2:15 where he met with the daughters of Reuel, and defended them against the shepherds, and watered their flocks for them, Ex 2:16,17, which Reuel being informed of, sent for him, and he lived with him, and married his daughter Zipporah, by whom he had a son, Ex 2:18-22 and the chapter is concluded with the death of the king of Egypt, and the sore bondage of the Israelites, and their cries and groans, which God had a respect unto, Ex 2:23-25.

was Amram, the son of Kohath, and grandson of Levi, as appears from Ex 6:18,20

\\and took to wife a daughter of Levi\\; one of the same house, family, or tribe; which was proper, that the tribes might be kept distinct: this was Jochebed, said to be his father's sister, \\see Gill on "Ex 6:20"\\: her name in Josephus {s} is Joachebel, which seems to be no other than a corruption of Jochebed, but in the Targum in 1Ch 4:18 she is called Jehuditha.

{s} Antiqu. l. 2. c. 9. sect. 4. 09514-950103-1343-Ex2.2