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.”
Parallel Translations
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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.”
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And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
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And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, and said: 'Because I drew him out of the water.'
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Exodus 2:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 7:21-22 When he was thrown out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up and reared him as her own son. Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was mighty in his words and works.
- Hebrews 11:24 By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
- Genesis 16:11 Yahweh’s angel said to her, “Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh has heard your affliction.
- 1 Samuel 1:20 When the time had come, Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of Yahweh.”
- Matthew 1:21 She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”
- Galatians 4:5 that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children.
- 1 John 3:1 See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.
- Genesis 4:25 Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, saying, “for God has given me another child instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”
- Genesis 48:5 Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, will be mine.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Exo 2:10 And the child grew, and she brought…
Exo 2:10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
Ver. 10. She called his name Moses.] He was also by the Egyptians called MOneves, as Diodorus Siculus relateth; and Monies, as Aben Ezra. Musaeus calleth him υδρογενης, Water sprung, because "drawn," as David was afterwards, "out of many waters." {Psa 18:16} Clement of Alexandra saith, that at his circumcision, Moses was called Melchi; others say Joachim: but that is as uncertain as that he was the same with Mercurins Trismegistus.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain He became her son, by adoption, Heb 11:24. For,…
He became her son, by adoption, Heb 11:24. For, as Philo reports, she, though long married, had no child of her own; and therefore treated him as her own, and gave him royal education and instruction. See Act 7:21.
Moses; it matters not whether this be an Egyptian name, or a Hebrew name answering to it in signification, seeing the meaning of it is here explained.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the child grew,.... In stature and in strength,…
And the child grew,.... In stature and in strength, thriving under the care of its mother and nurse, through the blessing of God:
and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter; when grown up and weaned, and needed a nurse no longer: a Jewish chronologer (u) says, this was two years after his birth; and another says (w), that when he was three years old, Pharaoh sitting at table, and his queen was at his right hand, and his daughter, with Moses, at his left, and his mother before him, when Moses in the sight of them all took the crown from Pharaoh's head:
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and he became her son; by adoption, for though she was a married woman, as some say, yet had no children, though very desirous of them, which accounts the more for her readiness in taking notice and care of Moses; so Philo the Jew says (x), that she had been married a long time, but never with child, though she was very desirous of children, and especially a son, that might succeed her father in the kingdom, or otherwise it must go into another family: yea, he further says, that she feigned herself with child, that Moses might be thought to be her own son: and Artapanus (y), an Heathen writer, says that the daughter of Pharaoh was married to one Chenephres, who reigned over the country above Memphis, for at that time many reigned in Egypt; and she being barren, took a son of one of the Jews, whom she called Moyses, and being grown up to a man's estate, was, by the Greeks, called Musaeus:
and she called his name Moses, and she said, because I drew him out of the water; by which it appears, that this word is derived from the Hebrew word "Mashah", which signifies to draw out, and is only used of drawing out of water, Sa2 22:17 which Pharaoh's daughter gave him, he being an Hebrew child, and which language she may very well be thought to understand; since there were such a large number of Hebrews dwelt in Egypt, and she was particularly conversant with Jochebed her Hebrew nurse; and besides, there was a great affinity between the Hebrew and the Egyptian language, and therefore there is no need to derive the word from the latter, as Philo (z) and Josephus (a) do; who observe that "Mo" in the Egyptian language signifies "water", and "Yses", "saved"; besides, the Egyptian name of Moses, according to Aben Ezra, who had it from a book of agriculture in that language, is Momos: the Jewish writers (b) give to Moses many names, which he had from different persons, no less than ten: and Artapanns (c) says, that by the Egyptian priests he was called Hermes or Mercury, and probably was the Hermes of that people; he is called by Orpheus (d) "born in water", because drawn out of it.
(u) Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 5. 2. (w) Chronicon. ib. Shalshal. ib. (x) De Vita Mosis, c. 1. p. 604, 605. (y) Apud Euseb, Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 432. (z) Ut supra. (x)) (a) Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 2. c. 9.) sect. 6. (b) Vajikra Rabba, sect. 1. fol. 146. 3. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 5. 2. Chronicon Mosis, fol. 4. 1. (c) Apud Euseb. ut supra. (praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 432.) (d) De Deo, v. 23.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And he became her son - The tradition of…
And he became her son - The tradition of the Jews is, that Pharaoh's daughter had no child of her own, and that she was the only child of her father, so that when he was adopted for her son, he stood fair for the crown: however, it is certain he stood fair for the best preferments of the court in due time, and in the mean time had the advantage of the best education, with the help of which, he became master of all the lawful learning of the Egyptians Acts vii, 22. Those whom God designs for great services he finds out ways for to qualify them. Moses, by having his education in a court, is the fitter to be a prince, and king in Jeshurun; by having his education in a learned court, (for such the Egyptian then was) is the fitter to be an historian; and by having his education in the court of Egypt, is the fitter to be employed as an ambassador to that court in God's name. The Jews tell us, that his father at his circumcision called him Joachim, but Pharaoh's daughter called him Moses, Drawn out of the water, so it signifies in the Egyptian language, The calling of the Jewish lawgiver by an Egyptian name is a happy omen to the Gentile world, and gives hopes of that day when it should be said, Blessed be Egypt my people, Isaiah xix, 25. And his tuition at court was an earnest of the performance of that promise, Isaiah xlix, 23. Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 10. And he became her son.] From this…
Verse 10. And he became her son.] From this time of his being brought home by his nurse his education commenced, and he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, Ac 7:22, who in the knowledge of nature probably exceeded all the nations then on the face of the earth.
And she called his name] משה mosheh, because מן המים min hammayim, out of the waters משיתהו meshithihu, have I drawn him. משה mashah signifies to draw out; and mosheh is the person drawn out; the word is used in the same sense Ps 18:16, and 2Sa 22:17. What name he had from his parents we know not; but whatever it might be it was ever after lost in the name given to him by the princess of Egypt. Abul Farajius says that Thermuthis delivered him to the wise men Janees and Jimbrees to be instructed in wisdom.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Exo 2:10. And he became her son — The…
Exo 2:10. And he became her son — The tradition of the Jews is, that Pharaoh’s daughter had no child of her own, and that she was the only child of her father, so that when he was adopted for her son, he stood fair for the crown: however, it is certain he stood fair for the best preferments of the court in due time, and in the mean time had the advantage of the best education, with the help of which he became master of all the lawful learning of the Egyptians, Act 7:22. Those whom God designs for great services, he finds out ways to qualify for them. Moses, by having his education in a court, is the fitter to be a prince, and king in Jeshurun; by having his education in a learned court, (for such the Egyptian then was,) is the fitter to be an historian; and by having his education in the court of Egypt, is the fitter to be employed as an ambassador to that court in God’s name. She called his name Moses — The Jews tell us that his father, at his circumcision, called him Joachim, the rising or establishing of the Lord; but Pharaoh’s daughter called him Moses, drawn out, namely, of the water, either from the Hebrew word משׁה, masha, to draw out, 2Sa 21:17; or from two Egyptian words, Mo uses, of the same import. Henry, taking it for granted that the latter is the etymology of the word, observes, “The calling of the Jewish lawgiver by an Egyptian name was a happy omen to the Gentile world, and gave hopes of that day when it should be said, Blessed be Egypt my people, Isa 19:25. And his tuition at court was an earnest of that promise, (Isa 49:23,) Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers.” Whether there be propriety in this observation or not, it is reasonable to suppose that this name, Drawn out, would tend to keep alive in the mind of Moses a remembrance of the danger he had escaped, and would induce him, out of gratitude for his deliverance, more readily to become a worker together with God in drawing his brethren out of still greater danger and misery.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain He became her son - See the margin reference.…
He became her son - See the margin reference. His training and education was, humanly speaking, all but indispensable to the efficient accomplishment of his work as the predestined leader and instructor of his countrymen. Moses probably passed the early years of his life in Lower Egypt, where the princess resided. However, there may be substantial grounds for the tradition in Josephus that he was engaged in a campaign against the Ethiopians, thus showing himself, as Stephen says, “mighty in word and deed.”
Moses - The Egyptian origin of this word is generally admitted. The name itself is not uncommon in ancient documents. The exact meaning is “son,” but the verbal root of the word signifies “produce,” “draw forth.” The whole sentence in Egyptian would exactly correspond to our King James Version. She called his name Moses, i. e. “son,” or “brought forth,” because she brought him forth out of the water.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Moses, or Moyses, in the Egyptian tongue, signifies one…
Moses, or Moyses, in the Egyptian tongue, signifies one taken or saved out of the water. (Challoner) --- Mo, signifies water in the Egyptian tongue; Mosse, "he drew out," in Hebrew. Philo believes that the princess feigned him to be her own child. Moses denied that he was, and would not take advantage of this adoption, Hebrews xi. 24. He was grown up, and had been well instructed by his parents, ver. 9. He afterwards became well versed in all the sciences, (Acts vii. 22,) rejecting what was idle and superstitious. Josephus assures us he became a great conqueror. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter--Though it must have…
she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter--Though it must have been nearly as severe a trial for Jochebed to part with him the second time as the first, she was doubtless reconciled to it by her belief in his high destination as the future deliverer of Israel. His age when removed to the palace is not stated; but he was old enough to be well instructed in the principles of the true religion; and those early impressions, deepened by the power of divine grace, were never forgotten or effaced.
he became her son--by adoption, and his high rank afforded him advantages in education, which in the Providence of God were made subservient to far different purposes from what his royal patroness intended.
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she called his name Moses--His parents might, as usual, at the time of his circumcision, have given him a name, which is traditionally said to have been Joachim. But the name chosen by the princess, whether of Egyptian or Hebrew origin, is the only one by which he has ever been known to the church; and it is a permanent memorial of the painful incidents of his birth and infancy.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. The child grew… and he became her son…
10. The child grew… and he became her son — This is all that Moses tells us of his own youth. How easily could he here have written lines which would have satisfied the curiosity of ages! but he hastens over years to touch the next link in the providential chain. The sacred writers ever show this baffling, unworldly reticence. Thus the youth of Moses’s great Antitype, Jesus, is almost a blank in history. In both instances apocryphal legends, beneath attention except as psychological curiosities, (witness Josephus and Philo,) have swarmed into the vacuum. There are, however, in the British Museum papyri of the eighteenth dynasty, (B.C. 1525-1325, according to Wilkinson,) which give something of an idea of the education of a youth designed for civil and military service in the Mosaic age. From these and other sources we learn that the education was in literature, philosophy, and the mystic lore of the Egyptian religion, rather than in science, although great attention was given to arithmetic, pure and applied geometry, mensuration, surveying, accounts, architecture, and astronomy. But especially were the children trained from infancy in grammar and rhetoric, and the drill in style was thorough enough to have satisfied Quintilian. Literary examination was indispensable for appointment to the lowest public office, and instructors were appointed and schools superintended by the government. Such was the training of Moses at Heliopolis, the Oxford of Egypt.
And she called his name Moses — Rather, Mosheh, (from the Egyptian word mos, or mas, to draw,) using a word which was the root of several royal Egyptian names, as Teth-mos-is, A-mos-is, which was transcribed to Mosheh in Hebrew, and to Μω υσης by the LXX translators, (which means water-saved,) whence the Latin Moyses, and our Moses. Brugsch states that it is also the name of an Egyptian prince of the nineteenth dynasty, a viceroy of Nubia.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. grew] Heb. became great, implying (cf. Gen_21:8) that…
10. grew] Heb. became great, implying (cf. Gen_21:8) that he was 3–4 years old, and was weaned.
became a son to her] was adopted by her, and naturally, therefore, cared for and educated by her. In the Old and Middle kingdoms, as Dillm. remarks, royal princesses had their own establishments, in a separate part of the palace.
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Moses] Heb. Môsheh. Probably the Egypt, mosi, ‘born,’ which occurs not only as the second part of a theophorous name, as Thutmosi (Thothmes), ‘Thoth is born,’ Aḥmosi (Amâsis), ‘The moon is born,’ but also as a name by itself (Ebers, Gosen1, p. 526). LXX. vocalize Μωυσῆς, which was explained by the ancients as meaning ‘saved [νσης] from the water [μω]’ (Jos. Ant ii. 9. 6, and others), or ‘taken [σης] from the water’ (gloss in Cod. Sarrav. [Swete, Introd. to the OT. in Greek, p. 137], cited by Ges. Thes. s.v.); but though the Egyptian words are correctly given, the compound is not correct; for ‘saved from the water’ would in Egyptian be wezenmöou (Griffith).
Because I drew him, &c.] ‘Mosheh’ could mean only ‘drawing out’; ‘drawn out’ would in Heb. be mâshûy. The explanation, like those of many other names in the OT. (e.g. Cain, Gen_4:1, Noah, Gen_5:29), rests not upon a scientific etymology, but upon an assonance: the name is explained, not because it is derived from mâshâh, to ‘draw out,’ but because it resembles it in sound. The note in RV. is intended to indicate this: it does not, it will be observed, say that ‘Mosheh’ means ‘drawn out,’ but only gives the reader to understand that it resembles the Heb. word signifying to ‘draw out.’ So in similar cases, as Gen. ll.cc., and Exo_29:32 to Exo_30:24.
The verb mâshâh is rare, occurring otherwise in Heb. only Psa_18:16 = 2Sa_22:17.
The simple Biblical narrative of Moses’ youth was decorated in later times with many imaginative details. Thus according to Josephus (Ant. ii. 9. 3–9, 10), his father, Amram, when his wife was pregnant, had a vision foretelling how her child would in the future deliver his people; the Egyptian princess, being childless, adopted him that he might ultimately succeed to the throne; he was a precocious child, and attracted by his beauty the notice of the passers by; when Egypt was invaded by the Ethiopians, he was, in consequence of an oracle, appointed leader of the Egyptians, defeated the invaders, and pursued them to the gates of their capital, Meroe, &c.: according to Philo (Vit. Mos. i. 5), he was a studious and thoughtful boy, Egyptian masters taught him arithmetic, geometry, music, and the philosophy contained in the hieroglyphic treatises; teachers from Greece, engaged for high fees, instructed him in other school-learning (τὴν ἄλλην ἐγκύκλιον παιδείαν); he learnt from others Assyrian letters, and Chaldaean astronomy1[100]: according to the more summary statement in Act_7:22 he was instructed in ‘all the wisdom of the Egyptians.’ A good education was valued in ancient Egypt; and the actual education of an Egyptian of the better class comprised such things as moral duties and good manners, reading, writing, composition, and arithmetic (Erman, pp. 164–6, 328–33, 364–8; 383 ff., 548–50). If however Moses was really instructed in ‘all the wisdom’ of the Egyptians, he must have learnt many things which from a Hebrew point of view it would be extremely undesirable for him to know: for it consisted largely of mythology, astrology, magic, and superstitious practices in medicine (ibid. pp. 348–364).
[100] See further Stanley’s Jewish Church, i. 107, with the references.
‘The thought that in the life of such a great man the finger of God must have early manifested itself, and he must be shewn from the first to have overcome all hindrances which men opposed to him and his work, is perfectly correct, and has been, and still is, often verified: else the most diverse peoples would not have so variously given expression to it in their myths and legends, e.g. about Semiramis (Diod. ii. 4), Perseus (Apollod. ii. 4. 1), Cyrus (Hdt. i. 110 ff.), Romulus (Liv. i. 4), and especially in the singularly similar story of Sargon, king of Accad (b.c. 3800)2[101]. In particular cases, to be sure, it is always difficult, and even impossible, to determine how much in such narratives is historical. In Exo_1:15 to Exo_2:10 there are, as has been shewn, sufficient indications that the narratives were long current as tradition (Sage) before they were written down’ (Dillmann).
[101] In the words of an inscription of the 8th cent. b.c., said to have been copied from an earlier one: ‘My mother, who was poor, conceived me, and secretly gave birth to me; she placed me in a basket of reeds, she shut up the mouth of it with pitch, she abandoned me to the river, which did not overwhelm me. The river bore me away, and brought me to Akki, the drawer of water, who received me in the goodness of his heart,’ &c. (Maspero, Dawn of Civil., p. 597 f.; KB. iii. 1, 101; Sayce, EHH. p. 161). For details about the others see Jeremias, ATLAO. p. 255 ff. (ed. 2, p. 410 ff.).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) The child grew.—Josephus regards these words as implying…
(10) 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 means of determining what this time was. It may have been the completion of the first year; but more probably it was the completion of the second (2Ma_7:27).
She brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter.—Jochebed carried out the terms of her engagement faithfully, and gave up her son to the princess at the time agreed upon.
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He became her son.—Possibly by a formal act of adoption; but we have at present no evidence that adoption was an Egyptian custom. Perhaps the writer means simply that she brought him up as if he had been her son, gave him a son’s education, and a son’s privileges. (On the education of Moses, see Excursus II. at the end of this Book.)
She called his name Moses.—In Egyptian probably “Mesu,” which is found as a name in the monuments of the nineteenth dynasty, and which is common as the latter half of a name—e.g., Ra-mesu, Aah-mesu, Amen-mesu, &c. In ordinary use this word meant “born” and “son.” (Comp. the Latin natus.) It was, however, derived from an Egyptian verb, meaning “to produce,” “to draw forth;” and the princess justified her imposition of the name by a reference to this etymology. Owing to the existence of a cognate verb in Hebrew, it was possible to transfer her explanation into the Hebrew language exactly and literally. The play upon words cannot be rendered in English.
EXCURSUS B: ON THE EDUCATION OF MOSES (Exo_2:10)
Moses would be educated like the sons of princesses generally, not like those of priests, or of persons destined for the literary life. St. Stephen, when he says that Moses was “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,” does not (probably) mean more than this. The question then is, In what did the education of princes and young nobles at the time of the exodus consist?
It would consist, in the first place, of orthography and grammar. Moses would be taught to speak the Egyptian language, and to write it, correctly. He would probably not be taught the hieroglyphic character, the knowledge of which was reserved to the priests, but would be familiarised with the ordinary cursive writing—the hieratic, as it was called in later times—which was the common character for books, and even for official documents, in his day. Care would be taken to instruct him in the graces of style, so far as they were understood at the time; and he would be especially practised in epistolary correspondence, which was regarded as one of the most necessary of all gentlemanlike accomplishments. Whether his attention would be turned to poetry, might perhaps be doubtful;[113] but he would certainly be taught a clear and perspicuous prose style, such as was required for official reports and other communications between members of the governing class.
[113] The poetry of Moses his “songs” (Exo_15:1-19; Deu_32:1-43), his “blessing” (Deut. Xxxii), and his “prayer” (Ps. xc), indicate an actual study of Egyptian poetry, whether, it was a part of his education or not.
The next branch of his education would be arithmetic and geometry. The Egyptians had made considerable progress in the former, and their calculations ran up to billions. In the latter they are said to have been exact and minute, but not to have pushed their investigations very far. It was sufficient for a youth of the upper classes to be able to keep correct accounts; and a speculative knowledge of the intricacies of numbers, or of geometrical problems, scarcely formed a part of the established curriculum.
He would be further instructed in morality, and in the Egyptian views on the subjects of the Divine Nature, of the relations subsisting between God and man, of a future life, and of a judgment to come. Egyptian morality was, for the most part, correct so far as it went, and was expressed in terse gnomic phrases, resembling those of the Proverbs of Solomon. The points especially inculcated were obedience to parents and to authorities generally, courtesy to inferiors, and kindness to the poor and the afflicted. The mysteries of religion were the exclusive property of the priests; but life beyond the grave, judgment, reward and punishment, probably metempsychosis, were generally inculcated; and the mystic volume, known as the “Ritual of the Dead,” must have been pressed on the attention of all the educated.
It is not to be supposed that one brought up as the son of a princess would attain to the scientific knowledge possessed by Egyptian professionals of different kinds. Moses would not be an astronomer, nor an engineer, nor a physician, nor a theologian, nor even an historian; but would have that general acquaintance with such subjects which belongs to those who have enjoyed a good general education in a highly civilised community. He would also, no doubt, have a knowledge of the main principles of Egyptian jurisprudence. But here, again, his knowledge would be general, not close or intimate; and it would be a mistake to expect, in the Mosaical legislation, reproductions, to any extent, or adaptations, of the Egyptian judicial system.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The child grew. Compare Gen_21:8, where the full phrase…
The child grew. Compare Gen_21:8, where the full phrase is used child grew, and was weaned. " Jocbebed had saved her son"s life by a transfer of her mother"s right in him to Pharaoh"s daughter. She had received him back, merely as a hired nurse, to suckle him. When the time came, probably at the end of the second year, for him to be weaned, she was bound, whatever the sufferings of her heart may have been, to give him up to restore him to her from whom she had received him, as a child put out to nurse. And we see that she made no attempt to escape her obligations. No sooner was the boy weaned, than she brought him unto Pharaoh"s daughter as it would seem, of her own accord. And he became her son. There is no evidence that formal "adoption" was a custom of the Egyptians; and probably no more is here meant than that the princess took the child into her family, and brought him up as if he had been her son, giving him all the privileges of a son, together with such an education as a princess"s son usually received. We obtain the best general idea of what such an education was from the words of St. Stephen. (Act_7:21) Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." This "wisdom," though not perhaps very deep, was multiform and manifold. It included orthography, grammar, history, theology, medicine, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and engineering. Education began, as in most countries, with orthography and grammar. The hieroglyphical system was probably not taught, and the knowledge of it remained a special privilege of the priest-class: but the cursive character, known as the hieratic, was generally studied, and all tolerably educated persons could read it and write it. Style was cultivated, and though no great progress was made in the graces of finished composition, the power of expressing thought and relating facts in a simple and perspicuous prose was acquired by the greater number. Much attention was paid to letterwriting; and models of business and other letters were set before the pupil as patterns which he was to follow. By the more advanced, poetry was read, and poetic composition occasionally practised. Arithmetic and geometry, up to a certain point, were studied by all; and a plain morality was inculcated. But history, theology, astronomy, medicine, and engineering, were viewed as special studies, to be pursued by those intended for certain professions, rather than as included within the curriculum of an ordinary education; and it may well be doubted whether Moses" attention was much directed to any of them. He may indeed have been initiated into the mysteries, and in that case would have come to understand the esoteric meaning of the Egyptian myths, and of all that most revolts moderns in the Egyptian religion. But, on the whole, it is most probable that he was rather trained for active than for speculative life, and received the education which fitted men for the service of the State, not that which made them dreamers and theorists. His great praise is, that "he was mighty in words and deeds "(Acts, 1.s.c. ); and he was certainly anything rather than a recluse student. We should do wrong to regard him as either a scientific man or a philosopher. His genius was practical; and his education was of a practical kind such as fitted him to become the leader of his people in a great emergency, to deal on equal terms with a powerful monarch, and to guide to a happy conclusion the hazardous enterprise of a great national migration. And she called his name Moses. The Egyptian form of the name was probably Mesu, which signifies "born, brought forth, child," and is derived from a root meaning "to produce," "draw forth." Egyptian has many roots common to it with Hebrew, whereof this is one. The princess"s play upon words thus admitted of being literally rendered in the Hebrew called his name Mosheh (drawn forth); because, she said, I drew him forth (meshithi-hu) from the water." Mesu is found in the monuments as an Egyptian name under the nineteenth dynasty
The education of Moses.
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Education is to fit us for the battle of life. The first and most important point is that a child be "virtuously brought up to lead a godly life" In Egypt morality was highly regarded; and some have gone so far as to say that "the laws of the Egyptian religion in respect of morality at any rate short in nothing of the teachings of Christianity" (see Brugsch, "History of Egypt," vol. 1. p. 20). This is, no doubt, an over-statement; but it is the fact, that correct and elevated ideas on the subject of morality were entertained by the Egyptian sages, and inculcated on the young by Egyptian teachers. To "give bread to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, set the wanderer in his path, resist the oppressor, and put a stop to violence," were regarded as the first elements of duty, the very alphabet of morality, which the most ignorant was expected to know and practise. To the more advanced such counsels as the following were given: thou art become great after thou hast been humble, and if thou hastamassed fiches after poverty, and art come to be the first man of thy city; if thou art known for thy wealth, and hast become a great lord: let not thy heart grow proud because of thy riches; for it is God who has given them to thee." "Despise not another who is as thou wast; be towards him as towards thine equal." "Happiness makes one content with any abode; but a small disgrace darkens the life of a great man" "Good words shine more than the emerald which the hand of the slave finds among a heap of pebbles." "The wise man is satisfied with what he knows; content dwells in his heart, and his lips speak words that are good." "The son who accepts the words of his father will grow old in consequence; for obedience is of God, disobedience is hateful to God." "Let thy heart wash away the impurity of thy mouth: fulfil the word of thy master." Moses in the household of a virtuous Egyptian princess, the wife probably of a respected official, would be guarded from corrupting sights and sounds, would hear none but "good words," would learn courtesy, good manners, politeness, affability, gentlemanly ease; while at the same time he would have inculcated upon him the duties of activity, diligence, truthfulness, benevolence, consideration for others, temperance, purity, courage. The peculiar circumstances of his position, as a foreigner, a foundling, a mere adopted child, would lay him open to many a reproach and innuendo on the part of those who were jealous of his good-fortune. In this way his path would be beset with difficulties, which would furnish the necessary discipline that might otherwise have been lacking to one brought up by a tender and indulgent mistress who assumed towards him the attitude of a mother. He would learn the virtues of reticence and self-control. As he grew to manhood, active duties would no doubt be assigned to him he would have to exercise a certain amount of authority in the household, to undertake the management of this or that department, and thus acquire experience in the direction and government of men. Altogether, it is easy to see that the position wherein by God"s providence he was placed would furnish an excellent training for the part which he was to be called upon to play, would naturally tend to make him at once outwardly gentle and inwardly firm and self-reliant; at once bold to rebuke kings and patient to govern a stiff-necked and refractory people.
To the moral training thus furnished was added a mental training, on which we have already enlarged, Book-learning is of little use towards the management of men. But when it is superadded to a good practical education, which has already given active habits and facility in dealing with all the various circumstances of life, it adds a grace and dignity to its possessor which are far from contemptible. Moses, without his Egyptian "learning," might have led his people out of Egypt and conducted them safely to Palestine; but he would have lost his most glorious titles and offices; he would scarcely have been the great legislator that he was; he could certainly not have been the great historian, or the great poet. Moses, to obtain the knowledge and the powers that he shows in his writings, must have been during his youth a most diligent student. In this respect he is a pattern to all the young, and most especially to those high-placed youths who are too apt to think that their wealth and rank put them above the necessity of hard work and diligent application. The truth is, that such a position lays its holder under a special obligation to diligence. "Noblesse oblige." Those who are highly placed, and will have many eyes on them, should endeavour to make their acquirements such as will bear close scrutiny and observation. "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid". (Mat_5:14)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain She called his name Moses
Exo_2:10
She called his name Moses
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Moses trained in Egypt-a lesson in providence
The great lesson of this incident, as of so much before, is the presence of Gods wonderful providence, working out its designs by all the play of human motives.
In accordance with a law, often seen in His dealings, it was needful that the deliverer should come from the heart of the system from which he was to set his brethren free. The same principle which sent Saul of Tarsus to be trained at the feet of Gamaliel, and made Luther a monk in the Augustinian convent at Erfurt, planted Moses in Pharaohs palace and taught him the wisdom of Egypt, against which he was to contend. It was a strange irony of Providence which put him so close to the throne which he was to shake. For his future work he needed to be lifted above his people, and to be familiar with the Egyptian court as well as with Egyptian learning. If he was to hate and to war against idolatry, and to rescue an unwilling people from it, he must know the rottenness of the system, and must have lived close enough to it to know what went on behind the scenes, and how foully it smelled when near. He would gain influence over his countrymen by his connection with Pharaoh, whilst his very separation from them would at once prevent his spirit from being broken by oppression, and would give him a keener sympathy with his people than if he had himself been crushed, by oppression. His culture, heathen as it was, supplied the material on which the Divine Spirit worked. God fashioned the vessel, and ,then filled it. Education is not the antagonist of inspiration. For the most part, the men whom God has used for His highest service have been trained in all the wisdom of their age. When it has been piled up into an altar, then the fire of the Lord falls. Our story teaches us that Gods chosen instruments are immortal till their work is done. No matter how forlorn may seem their outlook, how small the probabilities in their favour, how opposite the gaol may seem the road He leads them, He watches them. Around that frail ark, half lost among the reeds, is cast the impregnable shield of His purpose. All things serve that will. The current in the full river, the lie of the flags that stop it from being borne down, the hour of the princesss bath, the direction of her idle glance, the cry of the child at the right moment, the impulse welling up in her heart, the swift resolve, the innocent diplomacy of the sister, the shelter of the happy mothers breast, the safety of the palace--all these and a hundred more trivial and unrelated things are spun into the strong cable wherewith God draws slowly but surely His secret purpose into act. So ever His children are secure as long as He has work for them; and His mighty plan strides on to its accomplishment over all the barriers that men can raise. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Birth and training of Moses
I. The wonderful clearness of bible portraits. Some of the pictures of the men whom the world has united in calling masters are well-nigh indistinguishable. They are like an old manuscript which you must study out word by word.
II. The superior dignity and glory of the human life. Where now is the city Cain builded? What about the civil movements of that far-off day? its political revolutions? Who cares any thing about them? Learn from this, that it is human life fashioned by the Divine Artificer, and in His own image, which is the noblest thing altogether in this world.
III. The birth and training of moses.
1. The time of the birth. Pharaohs Joseph had gone. His bones only were now in Egypt--a poor part of any man. Every son that is born of the Hebrews ye shall cast into the river. And so Moses was doomed before he was born. From his mothers womb to the waters of the Nile, ran the decree. And Moses did go to the Nile, but in Gods way--not in Pharaohs--as we shall see.
2. The goodliness, the beauty of the child. An infant child. Is there anything more beautiful? Look at its little hands. Can any sculptor match them? Behold the light of its eyes. Does any flower of earth open up with such a glory? Look upon the rose, the lily, the violet, as they first open their eyes upon this world. Ah I there is no such light in any of them. A man is far gone--a woman farther--when the child which comes to them--the immortal clasp of their two hearts--is not beautiful in their sight. Earth has no honour so great as the parentage of an immortal; heaven no higher dignity. But in Moses case beauty was to reach unto an end nobler than itself. It was to fill the mothers heart with a subtler strategy, with a bolder daring. It was to fascinate the eyes of a princess. It was to work the deliverance of a mighty nation. So beauty, when not abused, ever beyond itself reaches unto a nobler end. And this beauty of the sunset, of the landscape and the flower, fruits in the human life. It emphasizes purity, it lifts up towards God. Ah, mothers t be not so anxious to keep your child from the looking-glass as to teach her that she holds a noble gift from God in that face, in that form, of hers.
3. The exposed and endangered condition of the babe. For a while the mother hid him; hid him from the eyes of Pharaoh and his minions. But the powers that be have many eyes. And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein, and she laid it in the flags by the rivers brink. Did ever mother launch such a craft before? Ay, often. Every day they do it. Every day, every hour, some mother is committing her child to the currents of this world, than which the waters of the Nile were not more cruel. Think of harlotry, the painted devil. Think of intemperance, the destroying fiend. Think of dishonour, the consuming fire. Are not these worse than all the crocodiles that ever opened jaw in river of earth? And yet must they do it! Upon the angry surface of this worlds danger must mothers launch their hopes; their only consolation being--God is strong, and a Father to defend. I can imagine the mother of Moses weaving her little ark of bulrushes. Love makes her hands to be full of skill as ever shipbuilders were. So mothers now. The ark which they make is the covenant with their God; its lining, tile world-resisting element of a mothers prayers; and then with eyes that cannot see for tears, and with heart-strings breaking, they push forth their little craft--their hearts hope--their world. And now may God defend the boy, for the mother may not--cannot longer.
IV. The training of Moses. Note the elements of this.
1. He had his mother. Sure I am, if Pharaohs daughter could have glanced into that home just then, she would have thought that she had happened upon a most excellent nurse. Very affectionate, surely, she would have said, and I hope she has judgment. Yes, princess; never fear. Your nurse has excellent judgment, too. Her strange love will make her very wise. This was the first element of Moses training. A human life, like any other life, needs training. And for this work there is no one like the mother. Interest makes her wise. Love makes her unwearying. Were the Israelites accustomed to point to that hated throne? If so, all this story would filter through a mothers heart into the mind of the growing child. She would tell it him as he lay upon her lap. She would sing it to him as she rocked him to sleep. Talk it to him as he played about the house. The sympathetic instinct between mother and child would be a syphon, through which, with every hour of the day, would flow the story of Israels bitter wrong. And did the promise of the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and Jacob linger in the darkened minds of their enslaved descendants, keeping hope alive there, and the expectation of deliverance? If so, with this hope the mother would feed the mind and fill the heart of her growing boy. With the word freedom, she would daily stir his ambition.
2. His home in the palace of Pharaoh. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaohs daughter, and he became her son. He was to break the chains of slavery, not to be bound by them. Therefore he must be lifted up to the greatness of his work. Two most necessary elements of preparation he gained by going into the home of the Pharaoh. The first was knowledge. Moses, we read, was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. And this he got as the adopted son of Pharaohs daughter. Good impulses, a noble spirit, is not enough. Knowledge is power, and necessary power, save when God works by miracles. Therefore Moses was homed in the palace. He goes to study the throne which he is yet to shake. Out of Pharaohs armoury he will gird himself for the coming contest with Pharaoh. His residence at court would serve to impress him with the immense power with which the Hebrews contended, and the heel of which was upon their necks. And yet he must know this, or he will not be prepared for his work.
3. The desert. He that believeth shall not make haste. So he that worketh for God shall not make haste. These forty years had taught him something. His first failure had taught him something. So had his desert life, in which he had been alone with God. Moses at eighty years of age, in his own estimation, was not nearly so much of a man as at forty. So of all growing men always. There are many now in the world, not yet out of their teens, who are a deal wiser and mightier, and fitter to cope with error and wrong, than they will be twenty years hence; that is, provided they keep on growing these twenty years. But God has a school ready for such (that is, if they are worth the schooling), and one which they will not be long in entering. It is the school of mistakes--of failure; the school in which many a man spells out this lesson, What a big fool I was! This was the training which God now gives to Moses. He allows him, in the impulse of youth, to strike a blow, and then gives him forty years in the desert t.o meditate upon its folly.
In conclusion, note some of the great lessons which our subject teaches.
1. We learn how low, oftentimes, God permits the true cause to sink. The world has often seen the lust stronghold of human rights defended by the might of one solitary arm. So it was here. Yes, Israels hope floated in the little ark of bulrushes among the flags upon the rivers brink. And yet Israels cause was safe enough. With faith in God, we need never fear. Suppose there is left but one human life for defence. God and such a one are always a majority.
2. We learn the measureless importance of one single human life. God often throws into the balance of the moral world a single life, to keep it even. Think of this, ye teachers, and count no life committed to your care common or unclean.
3. The grand work of man-building. This is what God, the Great Architect., is for ever engaged in. It is that which some--yes, all of us, are called to do. Time itself, with all its centuries, is only one of many hands engaged in this sublime work. Everything else in this world, all sorrow, all joy, all wars, all peace, all slavery, all liberty, all learning, all art, is only so much scaffolding. The slavery of the Hebrews; the cruel despotism of Pharaoh; the mothers love and the mothers fear; the princess, the Nile; ay, even the bulrushes which grew by its brink--all these were used of God in building up His servant, the man Moses. Up, up, upward unto God, rises the immortal man. His are the glory and power of an endless life.
4. We learn how easy it is for God to fashion a human life to suit His purpose. To the Nile with it, shouts Pharaoh from his throne. To the Nile, responds the power of Egypt. Yes, says God, to the Nile; but from it too; from it, unto a home, unto the palace, unto the headship of a mighty nation, unto Sinai, unto Pisgah. In the very palace of the Pharaohs, God nurses a life for the overthrow of the Pharaohs. With such delightful facility does God model and mould human life. (S. S. Mitchell, D. D.)
Moses
I. The child of poverty. You and I will draw near and look upon this strange nest and nestling. He was a foundling, that is, a child left by its parents and found by some passer-by. His name means water-saved. I knew a foundling who was called Horace Nelson, because he was found, one winter morning, on Glasgow Green near Nelsons monument. He was named from the monument, which was not harder than his mothers heart; and so Moses was named from the water out of which he was drawn. Each seemed to be nobodys child; and so the one was named as the child of the water, and the other as the child of the monument. That slaves child in the ark seems the poorest of the poor. Left as a prey to flood and famine, to crocodiles and vultures, was ever poor child in sadder plight? Yet his fame now fills the world as the man of men next to the Messias, the Conqueror of Pharaoh, the Leader of Israel, and the Giver of the Law to all mankind. At Moses cradle learn never to scorn a poor child because he is poor. Often the child of poverty has, like Moses, stood before kings, and proved himself kinglier than they. Let not the poor be discouraged; let not the rich be proud. But it is very sinful as well as very senseless to despise the poor. God never does so. Before leaving it, take another look at Moses cradle. Ah, the babys beauty makes us glad! Tis the human face divine. He is a goodly child; exceeding fair; he has an heavenly beauty. I have come to know hundreds of our poorest children, and have often been struck with their beauty, which shone through all their hardships. What fine powers of body and mind and heart many of them have! What cleverness! what wit! what kindly feeling I In their beautiful eyes you may notice the beamings of a promising soul. Indeed, I have sometimes wondered whether Gods bounty had not endowed them so richly with these better gifts in order to make up for the want of what money can buy. Imitate Pharaohs daughter whom you bless and admire. Turn not proudly or coldly away from the forsaken child.
II. The child of providence. Gods providence is Gods forethought, or foresight; His kind care over us in all things. I wish you would think about the wonders of providence. Take an instance from your school books. This nineteenth century has been shaped by the battle of Waterloo. And God did it all with a few drops of rain. The rain on the night before the battle made the clayey soil slippery, so that the French could not get their guns forward till the sun had dried the ground. But for the rain, Napoleon would probably have won. Gods providence brings about the greatest things by means of the smallest. The dangers around the child Moses were very great. The Nile might drown him; the sun by day or the moon by night might smite him; the crocodiles were around, and the vultures above him; there seemed no hope for the darling boy. The dangers around the most favoured children are perhaps as great, though not so easily seen. Believe firmly, then, that God is on earth as well as in heaven, and that His hand is in small things no less than in great. And think how much you owe to His fatherly providence. Your mother may have done all a mother could, your Miriam may have watched over you, but it was Gods providence that placed you in the ark of safety which has carried you on to this good hour. And you should thank Him also for unseen and unknown deliverances. The whole web of your life is woven with mercies.
III. The child of grace. Grace saved him from his greatest dangers. Through the palace a dark river ran, drowning mens souls in perdition. Vices more deadly than the crocodiles were rife around him. He found plagues in Pharaohs court more frightful than any he afterwards sent into it. I imagine that no youth ever had greater temptations than Moses (Heb_11:24). His character was formed by that choice: his blessed life was a harvest from that one seed. The choice you make between Christ and the world, makes you. Notice that Moses choice was most reasonable, though to the Egyptians it seemed sheer madness. Moses was also a joyous choice. Think not that he was the most wretched youth in Egypt when he forsook Egypts gods. Ah, no. His choice would pain him in many ways; but then he had the deep satisfaction of having done what was right. He had better joys than the Egyptians dreamt of. And he must have made in his boyhood this choice which he publicly confessed as soon as he came of age. Like him, choose Christ in youth, and declare your choice. You gather fresh flowers for your friends; and will you offer Christ only an old withered flower, that has lost all its beauty and perfume? (J. Wells.)
Child growth
Physically-mentally-morally.
1. Important to families--leaving home.
2. Interesting to strangers--princess.
3. Important to nations--Egypt. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Child nomenclature
1. Perpetuating the memory of a cruel edict.
2. Perpetuating the memory of a loving mother.
3. Perpetuating the memory of a kindly providence.
4. Perpetuating the memory of a compassionate stranger.
Home life exchanged for palace life.
(1) It would be at first unwelcome--stranger.
(2) It would gradually become a temptation--its gaiety.
(3) It would forcefully become a discipline. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Adoption by royalty
Suppose that you were to see the child of a beggar in the streets, or the child of a criminal in prison, and it so happened that the emperor of Russia or the queen of England were to see this little unfortunate creature and exclaim, I will adopt it as my own, and were to have it taken to a palace, clad in rich dresses, fed at the royal table, brought up under the royal care, and even prepared for a throne. Oh, you would think, what a change of life! what happiness for this child! And if it were an angel, or an archangel, or a seraph that adopted it, in order to make it, if it were possible, an angel that should never die; that would be a thousand times more glorious still. Think, now, what it is to become a child of God; and this is, nevertheless, what all of us may become by faith in Jesus Christ. What wonderful glory! what marvellous happiness! Thus St. John exclaims, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. And it is by faith that we become the children of God. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Prof. Gaussen.)
Moses education in Egypt
The adopted son of the daughter of an Egyptian king must have been trained in all the wisdom of Egypt. This is also in harmony with the tradition reported by Manethe, which makes Moses a priest of Heliopolis, and therefore presupposes a priestly education. It was precisely this education in the wisdom of the Egyptians, which was the ultimate design of God in all the leadings of His providence, not only with reference to the boy, but, we might say, to the whole of Israel. For it was in order to appropriate the wisdom and culture of Egypt, and to take possession of them as a human basis for Divine instruction and direction, that Jacobs family left the land of their fathers pilgrimage, and their descendants hope and promise. But the guidance and fate of the whole of Israel were at this time concentrated in Moses. As Josephs elevation to the post of grand vizier of Egypt placed him in a position to provide for his fathers house in the time of famine, so was Moses fitted by the Egyptian training received at Pharaohs court to become the leader and law-giver of his people. (M. Baumgarten, D. D.)
Moses choice
There can be no doubt that the foster-son of the kings daughter, the highly-gifted and well-educated youth, had the most brilliant course open before him in the Egyptian state. Had he desired it, he would most likely have been able to rise like Joseph to the highest honours. But affairs were very different now, Moses could not enter on such a course as, this without sacrificing his nation, his convictions, his hopes, his faith, and his vocation. But that he neither would, nor durst, nor could. (J. H. Kurtz, D. D.)
An incident expressed in a name
Admiral Bythesea, V.C., C.B., who has just retired after having for many years been the Consulting Naval Officer to the Government of India, was picked up as an infant far out at sea, lashed to a bale of goods. A lady--presumably his mother--was with him, but she was dead, and there was no evidence of any kind by which the name of the waif could be traced. The officers of the man-of-war which picked up the poor little infant did all they could to find out his relations, and, finding all their attempts futile, they determined to adopt the child, to whom they gave the name of By the Sea. He was sent to a naval school, and when old enough joined the navy. By a happy coincidence the first ship in which he served was the one which had saved his life as an infant. He took to his profession, and during the Crimean war distinguished himself at the Island of Wardo, where he earned the Victoria Cross and the decoration of C.B. Later on his services in India gave him the Companionship of the order of the Indian Empire, and he now retiree from the service with the rank of admiral--a consummation little dreamed of by the kind-hearted officers who rescued and educated him.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Exo_2:10. Moses] Heb. Mosheh (משֶׁה): if of Heb. origin,…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Exo_2:10. Moses] Heb. Mosheh (משֶׁה): if of Heb. origin, undoubtedly an active—not a passive—participle = “drawing out,” not “drawn out.” There is no difficulty in this. The starting point of the naming is from the act of “drawing:” the passive “being drawn” wd. necessarily be implied. But the active touches God’s providence at two points instead of one,—the “drawing” of the individual son “out” of the Nile, and the “drawing” of the national son (Hos_11:1) “out” of Egypt: Johovah “drew out” M. by Ph.’s daughter, and Is. by M. While preferring the derivation just named, we need not decisively reject that adopted by some scholars, after Josephus, from the Coptic = “Water-saved.” It is certainly striking, that whereas “Mo” in Copt. sigs. “water,” Ph.’s d., according to this ver., laid stress on the water:—lit. “OUT OF THE WATERS did I draw him.” Thus rich in resources, we can assure Fürst that we see no reason why the etymol. given in Exo_2:10 shd “not be taken seriously”: certainly we need not give it up for his conjecture that M. is = “son of Osiris!”
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_2:10
THE BIRTH OF MOSES AND ITS LESSONS
More wisdom and blessing may be got from the contemplation of the birth of a truly great man into the world than from the tracing of the mightiest river to its source. In following up this, you may have to ascend among “the everlasting hills;” in tracking a great soul, you must rise to God. All souls come from God. Some souls are broader mirrors, are greater lights than others, they disclose more fully the way from one eternity to another. Consider the man Moses, specially as illustrating God’s method of raising up souls on earth for Divine use and service.
I. God gives and sends them as they are needed, they have their appointment according to the times. The reader of history cannot but see that the great parent Spirit creates and sends forth souls—of Teachers, lawgivers, deliverers, prophets, poets, kings—at the right time. There was need of Moses. See previous chapter. The greatest revelations come in the times of greatest need, that we may be well assured whose they are. The world owes much to little children, little children coming into it by God.
II. That they may be fully trained and prepared for their work, they “are made like unto their brethren.” Moses is born a child of the people that he may be a true brother and saviour of his people.
III. The very family and people that sought to destroy Israel are made instrumental in nourishing and rearing the deliverer of Israel and the avenger of his brethren’s wrongs. God makes evil powers, evil men, evil counsels, and deeds serve Him, contrary to their own nature and intent, and when they have come to their highest pitch, work their own just retribution and overthrow. So Huss, Wickliffe, Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, Knox were trained in the monasteries and colleges of the Romish Church, to be the leaders in another Exodus out of Egyptian darkness and bondage. Injustice and cruelty are made to avenge themselves in the end.
IV. In the raising up of the man Moses we have a most instructive exemplification of the doctrine and working of the Divine providence. God’s providence does its mightiest works through human hearts.
V. In Pharaoh’s daughter, and the part she takes, we have the proof that human nature, the human heart, is one; and that all classes of mankind, all nations, are destined to become one in God’s great saving plan. [Pulpit Analyst.]
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSE
Exo_2:10. Child-growth—physically—mentally—morally.
1. Important to families—leaving home.
2. Interesting to strangers—Princess.
3. Important to nations—Egypt.
Child-nomenclature.
1. Perpetuating the memory of a cruel edict.
2. Perpetuating the memory of a loving mother.
3. Perpetuating the memory of a kindly Providence.
4. Perpetuating the memory of a compassionate stranger. Home life exchanged for palace life.—
1. It would be at first unwelcome—stranger.
2. It would gradually become a temptation—its gaiety.
3. It would forcefully become a discipline. Providence is pleased sometimes to raise the poor out of the dust, to set them among princes (Psa_113:7-8.)
Under Providence, parents of the Church may be forced to give up their children to strangers.
Acts of pity from earthly powers to the Church’s children, may give them liberty of naming them.
We have now the Church under state patronage—the patronage of a tenderhearted princess.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:10 God not only saved Moses’ life for his…
2:10 God not only saved Moses’ life for his future calling, he also arranged for him to receive administrative, military, and leadership training from the oppressors of his people. A pharaoh was expected to sire as many children as was physically possible to prove his power. Male offspring were placed in civil and military positions. It is very likely that the adopted son of a princess would have had such experiences (see Acts 7:22). • Moses: The princess gave the child an Egyptian name that is found in the full names of many prominent Egyptians, including the 18th Dynasty pharaohs named Ahmose (1550–1525 BC) and Thutmose (1504–1390 BC). By naming the child Moses (meaning “to give birth”), the princess was perhaps saying that the Nile, revered as a source of life, had given birth to the baby. The Israelites drew a connection between the name Moses and the similar sounding Hebrew term mashah, which means “to lift out.”
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.