Albert Barnes Commentary Exodus 2
Albert Barnes Commentary
Exodus 2
Albert Barnes Commentary
Exodus 2
"And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi." — Exodus 2:1 (ASV)
A man ... a daughter of Levi - Amram and Jochebed. See (Exodus 6:20).
"And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months." — Exodus 2:2 (ASV)
Bore a son - Not her firstborn; Aaron and Miriam were older than Moses. The object of the writer is simply to narrate the events which led to the Exodus, and he mentions nothing that had no direct bearing upon his purpose.
A beautiful child - See the marginal references. Probably Jochebed did not call in a midwife (Exodus 1:15), and she was of course cautious not to show herself to Egyptians. The hiding of the child is spoken of as an act of faith in Hebrews 11:23. It was done in the belief that God would watch over the child.
"And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river`s brink." — Exodus 2:3 (ASV)
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 a strong rush, like the bamboo, about the thickness of a finger, three-cornered, and attains a height of 10 to 15 feet. It is represented with great accuracy on the most ancient monuments of Egypt.
Slime and pitch - The "slime" is probably the mud from which bricks were usually made in Egypt, and which in this case was used to bind the stalks of the papyrus into a compact mass, and perhaps also to make the surface smooth for the infant. The pitch or bitumen, commonly used in Egypt, made the small vessel watertight.
In the flags - This is another species of the papyrus, called tuff, or sufi (an exact equivalent of the Hebrew סוּף sûph), which was smaller in size and height than the rush from which the ark was made.
"And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river-side; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it." — Exodus 2:5 (ASV)
The traditions which give a name to the daughter of Pharaoh are merely conjectural. Egyptian princesses held a very high and almost independent position under the ancient and middle empire, with a separate household and numerous officials. This was especially the case with the daughters of the first sovereigns of the 18th Dynasty.
Many facts concur in indicating that the residence of the daughter of Pharaoh and of the family of Moses was at Zoan, Tanis, now San, the ancient Avaris (Exodus 1:8 note), on the Tanitic branch of the river, near the sea, where crocodiles are never found, and which was probably the western boundary of the district occupied by the Israelites. The field of Zoan was always associated by the Hebrews with the marvels which preceded the Exodus. See Psalms 78:43.
To wash - It is not customary at present for women of rank to bathe in the river, but it was a common practice in ancient Egypt. 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.
"And she opened it, and saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews` children." — Exodus 2:6 (ASV)
She had compassion on him - The Egyptians regarded such tenderness as a condition of acceptance on the day of reckoning. In the presence of the Lord of truth each spirit had to answer, “I have not afflicted any man, I have not made any man weep, I have not withheld milk from the mouths of nursing infants” (‘Funeral Ritual’). There was special ground for mentioning the feeling, since it led the princess to save and adopt the child in spite of her father’s commands.
Jump to: