Exodus 2 Background Information with Maps and Images (Picture Study Bible

Exodus 2

1 - A man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi as his wife.

2 - The woman conceived, and bore a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.

3 - When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him, and coated it with tar and with pitch. She put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank.

4 - His sister stood far off, to see what would be done to him.

5 - Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe at the river. Her maidens walked along by the riverside. She saw the basket among the reeds, and sent her servant to get it.

6 - She opened it, and saw the child, and behold, the baby cried. She had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."

7 - Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Should I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?"

8 - Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go."The young woman went and called the child's mother.

9 - Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages."The woman took the child, and nursed it.

10 - The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, and said, "Because I drew him out of the water."

11 - In those days, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his brothers, and looked at their burdens. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his brothers.

12 - He looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no one, he killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

13 - He went out the second day, and behold, two men of the Hebrews were fighting with each other. He said to him who did the wrong, "Why do you strike your fellow?"

14 - He said, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you plan to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?"Moses was afraid, and said, "Surely this thing is known."

15 - Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and lived in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.

16 - Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.

17 - The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

18 - When they came to Reuel, their father, he said, "How is it that you have returned so early today?"

19 - They said, "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock."

20 - He said to his daughters, "Where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread."

21 - Moses was content to dwell with the man. He gave Moses Zipporah, his daughter.

22 - She bore a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, "I have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land."

23 - In the course of those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

24 - God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

25 - God saw the children of Israel, and God was concerned about them.

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Exodus 2 Images and Notes

Brief Summary: Moses is born to Levite parents, Moses is raised by the Pharaoh's daughter, Moses murders an Egyptian who is beating a Hebrew slave, Moses flees to Midian, Moses marries Zipporah, Israel cries to God from their bondage.

Outline
1 Moses is born
3 Moses is placed in an ark among the flags of the river
5 Moses is found, and brought up by Pharaoh's daughter
11 Moses Slays an Egyptian
13 Moses reproves a Hebrew
15 Moses flees into the Land of Midian
21 Moses marries Zipporah
22 Gershom is born
23 God hears the Israelites' cry

Drawing of the Land of Midian

The Daughter of Pharaoh?
ARCHAEOLOGY

Colossal seated statue of the queen of Egypt, Hatshepsut, quite possibly the most famous woman in Egyptian history. This statue reveals a very famous woman in ancient Egypt, and she is considered by many scholars to be the pharaohs daughter of the Bible. If the 1447 BC date is the correct date for the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, then Hatshepsut would be the Princess who discovered the infant Moses "by the rivers brink".

Ancient Customs
house of Levi
daughter of Levi
a goodly child
ark of bulrushes
slime and pitch
daughter of Pharaoh
the river
her maidens
priest of Midian
shepherds
Reuel
ARK USE OF BITUMEN
BATHING IN THE NILE
AN EXCEPTIONAL MARRIAGE CUSTOM

Quick Reference Map

Map of the Nile River and Egypt (Click to Enlarge)

Ancient Topics
Ark of Bulrushes
Pharaoh's daughter called his name Moses

Ancient People
Levi's daughter, Pharaoh's daughter, mother of Moses, sister, Moses, Pharaoh, seven daughters of priests, shepherds, Reuel, Zipporah, Gershom
priest of Midian

Geography
The Nile River
the land of Midian

Quick Reference Maps

The Exodus of the Hebrews

Mount Horeb

The Red Sea

The Old Testament

Exodus Resources

Moses and the Exodus
The Giving of the Law
The Tabernacle
The Wilderness Wanderings