Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 2:14

"And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Thinkest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely the thing is known." — Exodus 2:14 (ASV)

Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? —As the reputed son of a princess, Moses would be in some way 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 stop a quarrel.

Intendest thou to kill me? —Here is the sting of the rejoinder; here was the assumption of authority—not in the interposition of today, but in the blow of yesterday. That fatal error laid Moses open to attack, and deprived him of the influence as a peacemaker which he might otherwise have exercised over his countrymen.

Surely this thing is known. —We are not told how the “thing” came to be known. “Murder will out,” says the English proverb. Perhaps, though Moses thought himself unnoticed, some Egyptian had seen the deed. Perhaps the man whom he had avenged had told the tale.