Exodus 2:4

4 and his sister stationeth herself afar off, to know what is done to him.

Exodus 2:4 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 2:4

And his sister stood afar off
This was Miriam, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it; who is supposed to be about ten or twelve years of age, others say seven: she was placed ^F5, as the word may be rendered, by her parents, or, "she placed herself" ^F6, by their instruction, at some distance from the place where the ark was, that she might not be observed and be thought to belong to it, and yet so near as to observe what became of it, which was the intent of her standing there, as follows:

to wit what would be done to him;
to know, take notice, and observe, what should happen to it, if anyone took it up, and what they did with it, and where they carried it, for, "to wit" is an old English word, which signifies "to know", and is the sense of the Hebrew word to which it answers, see ( 2 Corinthians 8:1 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 (butt) "collocata fuerat", Vatablus.
F6 "Stiterat sese", Junius & Tremellius, "stitit sese", Piscator, Drusius.

Exodus 2:4 In-Context

2 and the woman conceiveth, and beareth a son, and she seeth him that he [is] fair, and she hideth him three months,

3 and she hath not been able any more to hide him, and she taketh for him an ark of rushes, and daubeth it with bitumen and with pitch, and putteth the lad in it, and putteth [it] in the weeds by the edge of the River;

4 and his sister stationeth herself afar off, to know what is done to him.

5 And a daughter of Pharaoh cometh down to bathe at the River, and her damsels are walking by the side of the River, and she seeth the ark in the midst of the weeds, and sendeth her handmaid, and she taketh it,

6 and openeth, and seeth him -- the lad, and lo, a child weeping! and she hath pity on him, and saith, `This is [one] of the Hebrews' children.'