Exodus 2

The Birth of Moses

1 And a a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And b when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of c bulrushes for him, daubed it with d asphalt and e pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds f by the river's bank. 4 g And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. 5 Then the h daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. 6 And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children." 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?" 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the maiden went and called the child's mother. 9 Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became i her son. So she called his name 1 Moses, 2 saying, "Because I drew him out of the water."

Moses Flees to Midian

11 Now it came to pass in those days, j when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he k killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 And l when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men m were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, "Why are you striking your companion?" 14 Then he said, n "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" So Moses o feared and said, "Surely this thing is known!" 15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But p Moses fled from 3 the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of q Midian; and he sat down by r a well.

16 s Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. t And they came and drew water, and they filled the u troughs to water their father's flock. 17 Then the v shepherds came and w drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and x watered their flock. 18 When they came to y Reuel 4 their father, z he said, "How is it that you have come so soon today?" 19 And they said, "An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock." 20 So he said to his daughters, "And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may a eat bread." 21 Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave b Zipporah his daughter to Moses. 22 And she bore him a son. He called his name c Gershom, 5 6 for he said, "I have been d a 7 stranger in a foreign land."

God Hears Israel's Groaning

23 Now it happened e in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel f groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and g their cry came up to God because of the bondage. 24 So God h heard their groaning, and God i remembered His j covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God k looked upon the children of Israel, and God l acknowledged them.

  1. Cross References
    Exodus 6:16 - 20
    These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven.
    Numbers 26:59
    The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.
    1 Chronicles 23:14
    Now the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi.
  2. Cross References
    Acts 7:20
    At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father's house for three months.
    Hebrews 11:23
    By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's command.
  3. Cross References
    Isaiah 18:2
    Which sends ambassadors by sea, Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying, "Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin, To a people terrible from their beginning onward, A nation powerful and treading down, Whose land the rivers divide.
  4. Cross References
    Genesis 14:10
    Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains.
  5. Cross References
    Genesis 6:14
    Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.
    Isaiah 34:9
    Its streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 19:6
    The rivers will turn foul; The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither.
  7. Cross References
    Exodus 15:20
    Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
    Numbers 26:59
    The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.
  8. Cross References
    Exodus 7:15
    Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river's bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.
    Acts 7:21
    But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.
  9. Cross References
    Acts 7:21
    But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.
  10. Cross References
    Acts 7:23
    Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.
    Acts 7:24
    And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.
    Hebrews 11:24 - 26
    By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
  11. Cross References
    Acts 7:24
    And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.
    Acts 7:25
    For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.
  12. Cross References
    Acts 7:26 - 28
    "And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?'
  13. Cross References
    Proverbs 25:8
    Do not go hastily to court; For what will you do in the end, When your neighbor has put you to shame?
  14. Cross References
    Genesis 19:9
    And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door.
    Acts 7:27
    But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
    Acts 7:28
    'Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?'
  15. Cross References
    Judges 6:27
    So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the LORD had said to him. But because he feared his father's household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.
    Hebrews 11:27
    By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
  16. Cross References
    Acts 7:29
    Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.
    Hebrews 11:27
    By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
  17. Cross References
    Exodus 3:1
    Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
  18. Cross References
    Genesis 24:11
    And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water.
    Genesis 29:2
    And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well's mouth.
    Exodus 15:27
    Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.
  19. Cross References
    Exodus 3:1
    Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
    Exodus 4:18
    So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, "Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace.
    Exodus 18:12
    Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.
  20. Cross References
    Genesis 24:11
    And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water.
    Genesis 24:13
    Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
    Genesis 24:19
    And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.
    Genesis 29:6 - 10
    So he said to them, "Is he well?" And they said, " He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.
    1 Samuel 9:11
    As they went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, "Is the seer here?
  21. Cross References
    Genesis 30:38
    And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink.
  22. Cross References
    Genesis 47:3
    Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.
    1 Samuel 25:7
    Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, nor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel.
  23. Cross References
    Genesis 26:19 - 21
    Also Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there.
  24. Cross References
    Genesis 29:3
    Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well's mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well's mouth.
    Genesis 29:10
    And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.
  25. Cross References
    Numbers 10:29
    Now Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.
  26. Cross References
    Exodus 3:1
    Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
    Exodus 4:18
    So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, "Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive." And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace.
  27. Cross References
    Genesis 31:54
    Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain.
    Genesis 43:25
    Then they made the present ready for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.
  28. Cross References
    Exodus 4:25
    Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses ' feet, and said, "Surely you are a husband of blood to me!
    Exodus 18:2
    Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back.
  29. Cross References
    Exodus 4:20
    Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.
    Exodus 18:3
    With her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, "I have been a stranger in a foreign land")
    Exodus 18:4
    And the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh").
  30. Cross References
    Genesis 23:4
    "I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."
    Leviticus 25:23
    The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.
    Acts 7:29
    Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.
    Hebrews 11:13
    These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
    Hebrews 11:14
    For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.
  31. Cross References
    Acts 7:34
    "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt."'
  32. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 26:7
    Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression.
  33. Cross References
    Exodus 3:7
    And the LORD said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
    Exodus 3:9
    Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
    James 5:4
    Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
  34. Cross References
    Exodus 6:5
    And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.
    Acts 7:34
    "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt."'
  35. Cross References
    Genesis 15:13
    Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that you...
    Genesis 22:16 - 18
    And said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LOR...
    Genesis 26:2 - 5
    Then the LORD appeared to him and said: "Do not...
    Genesis 28:13 - 15
    And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "...
    Psalms 105:8
    He remembers His covenant forever, The word whi...
    Psalms 105:42
    For He remembered His holy promise, And Abraham...
  36. Cross References
    Genesis 12:1 - 3
    Now the LORD had said to Abram: Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.
    Genesis 15:14
    And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
    Genesis 17:1 - 14
    When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.
  37. Cross References
    Exodus 4:31
    So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.
    Luke 1:25
    "Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."
    Acts 7:34
    "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt."'
  38. Cross References
    Exodus 3:7
    And the LORD said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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