II. THE BIRTH, EDUCATION, AND EARLY LIFE OF MOSES. (1) THERE WENT. — Comp. Genesis 35:22; Hosea 1:3. The expression is idiomatic, and has no special force. A MAN OF THE HOUSE OF LEVI. — Note the extreme simplicity of this announcement; and compare it with the elaborate legends wherewith Oriental r... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN SHE SAW HIM THAT HE WAS A GOODLY CHILD. — St. Stephen says, that Moses was” comely before God” — ἀστεῖος τῷ θεῷ (Acts 7:20). Trogus Pompeius spoke of him as recommended by the beauty of his personal appearance (_ap._ Justin, _Hist. Philipp._ xxvi. 2). His infantine “goodliness” intensified the... [ Continue Reading ]
AN ARK OF BULRUSHES. — Literally, _a chest of the papyrus plant._ The words used are both of Egyptian origin. _Teb, teba,_ or _tebat,_ is a “box” or chest in Egyptian, and is well Hebraised by _tebah,_ or, as it is here vocalised, _têybah._ The papyrus plant was in Egyptian _kam,_ as in modern Copti... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS SISTER. — Presumably Miriam, the only sister of Moses mentioned elsewhere (Exodus 15:20; Numbers 26:59). To have taken the part which is assigned her in this chapter, she must have been a girl of some fourteen or fifteen years of age, and possessed of much quickness and intelligence.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DAUGHTER OF PHARAOH CAME DOWN TO WASH HERSELF. — This would be quite in accordance with Egyptian ideas. “Women were allowed great liberty in Egypt, and moved about much as they pleased. Cleanliness was especially regarded; and the Nile water was considered healthy and fructifying (Strab. 15 p. 6... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN SHE HAD OPENED IT. — The princess opened the ark herself, perhaps suspecting what was inside, perhaps out of mere curiosity. THE BABE (RATHER, _THE BOY_) WEPT. Through hunger, or cold, or perhaps general discomfort. An ark of bulrushes could not have been a very pleasant cradle. SHE HAD COMPA... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN SAID HIS SISTER. — Miriam had bided her time. She had still kept in the background, but had approached within hearing distance; and when the princess observed that the babe must be “one of the Hebrews’ children,” was prompt with the rejoinder, “Shall I not fetch thee then a Hebrew mother to nur... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MAID WENT AND CALLED THE CHILD’S MOTHER. — Jochebed must have been waiting near, eagerly expecting — perhaps, while concealed from sight, watching the result, and ready to appear the moment that she was summoned. Miriam knew where to find her, and brought her quickly to the princess.... [ Continue Reading ]
NURSE IT FOR ME. — The princess adopts Miriam’s suggestion; the child is to be nursed _for her_ — is to be hers. She will place it out to nurse, and pay the customary wages.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CHILD GREW. — Josephus regards these words as implying a growth that was strange and abnormal (_Ant. Jud._ ii. 9, § 6). But nothing more seems to be intended than nature’s ordinary course. The child grew and reached the time when it was usual in Egypt that children should be weaned. We have no m... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THOSE DAYS. — Notes of time are used with considerable latitude by the sacred writers. (Comp. Genesis 38; 2 Kings 20:1.) According to the tradition followed by St. Stephen (Acts 7:23), Moses was “full forty years old “when he took the step here indicated. We might have expected him to have come f... [ Continue Reading ]
HE LOOKED THIS WAY AND THAT WAY. — To see that no one observed him. HE SLEW THE EGYPTIAN. — Jewish commentators gloss over the act, or even eulogise it as patriotic and heroical. But it was clearly the deed of a hasty and undisciplined spirit. The offence did not deserve death, and if it had, Moses... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SECOND DAY — i.e., the next day. HIM THAT DID THE WRONG. — Heb., _the wicked one._ Our version follows the LXX. WHEREFORE SMITEST THOU THY FELLOW? — Comp. Acts 7:26, where the words of Moses are reported somewhat differently, “Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?” In either c... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO MADE THEE A PRINCE AND A JUDGE OVER US? — As the reputed son of a princess, Moses would be in some sort a “prince.” But no one had given him jurisdiction over the Hebrews. He had not really interfered as one who claimed authority, but as any man of position and education naturally interferes to... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN PHARAOH HEARD... HE SOUGHT TO SLAY MOSES. — Naturally. The administration of justice was one of the chief duties of the royal office; and the crime committed by Moses was one to be punished by death. There was nothing to reduce it from murder to manslaughter. And the motives which extenuate it... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PRIEST OF MIDIAN. — Reuel may have been both “priest” and “prince,” like Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18); but there is no reason to doubt that he is here called “priest.” In Exodus 18:12, Jethro is represented as exercising priestly functions. The Midianites, descendants of Abraham by Keturah, worsh... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SHEPHERDS CAME. — Those of the neighbourhood. The rule of the desert is that those who come to a well take their turns in the use of the water in the order of their arrival. But these rude shepherds declined to wait for their turn. It appears later on, by the question of Reuel, “How is it that y... [ Continue Reading ]
AN EGYPTIAN. — So they concluded from his dress and appearance, perhaps even from his speech. It would be natural for them to make the mistake, and for Moses to remember it. Any other author would probably have said, “a man,” or “a stranger.” AND ALSO DREW WATER ENOUGH. — The shepherds had consumed... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT HE MAY EAT BREAD. — Arab hospitality was offended that the stranger had not been invited into the tent to partake of the evening meal. The feeling of the modern Bedouin would be the same.... [ Continue Reading ]
MOSES WAS CONTENT TO DWELL WITH THE MAN. — Reuel must have been so pleased with the manner and appearance of Moses that he invited him to take service with him — perhaps to share his tent. Moses consented, and in course of time took to wife Zipporah, one of Reuel’s daughters. Marriage with the Midia... [ Continue Reading ]
GERSHOM. — Almost certainly from _ger,_ “a stranger,” and _shâm,_ “there.” So Jerome, who translates it _advena ibi._ (Comp. Josephus and the LXX., who write the name Gersam.)... [ Continue Reading ]
IN PROCESS OF TIME. — Heb., _in those many days._ As Moses was now eighty years old (Exodus 7:7), and only forty when he quitted Egypt, the Pharaoh from whom he fled must have reigned above forty years. Between the commencement of the eighteenth and the close of the nineteenth dynasty, two kings onl... [ Continue Reading ]