Exodus 2:5

II. THE DAUGHTER OF PHARAOH.

5. The daughter of Pharaoh.

This princess was apparently the sister of Amenophis, the son of Amosis. He was. prosperous and able king, and during his reign the forced labor of the Israelites seems to have been reduced to system; but we may feel sure, from his character, that he passed no such cruel decrees as that which condemned the children of the nobles to. watery grave.-- R. Payne Smith.

To wash herself.

The fact that. king's daughter should bathe in the open river is certainly opposed to the customs of the modern Mohammedan East, where this is only done by women of the lower orders, and that in remote places; but it is in harmony with the customs of ancient Egypt, and in perfect agreement with the notions of the early Egyptians respecting the sanctity of the Nile, to which divine honors ever were paid; and with the belief, which was common to both ancient and modern Egyptians, in the power of its waters to impart fruitfulness and prolong life.-- Keil. The habits of the princess, as well as her character, must have been well known to the mother of Moses, and probably decided her choice of the place.-- Canon Cook.

At the river.

The facts recorded in these verses, according to M. Quatremere, suggest. satisfactory answer as to the residence of the daughter of Pharaoh and of the family of Moses. It must have been in the immediate neighborhood of the Nile; and, therefore, not at On or Heliopolis. It must have been near. branch of the Nile not infested by crocodiles, or the child would not have been exposed, nor would the princess have bathed there; therefore not near Memphis, where Amosis rebuilt the great temple of Ptah, from which the city took its name. At present crocodiles are not often found below the cataracts; but under the ancient empire they were common as far north as Memphis. These and other indications, agreeing with the traditions recorded by Eutychius, point to Zoan, Tanis, now San, the ancient Avaris, or the Tanitic branch of the river near the sea, where crocodiles are never found, which was probably the western boundary of the district occupied by the Israelites.-- Canon Cook.

She saw the ark.

The ark was made of the papyrus, which was commonly used by the Egyptians for light and swift boats; the species is no longer found in the Nile below Nubia. It is. strong rush, like the bamboo, about the thickness of. finger, not round but three cornered.