1) And a man from the house of Levi went and took as a wife a daughter of Levi. There are two very significant things that we get out of this verse.

These two people that conceived Moses were so common that their names are not even given at this point. We know very little about them Except they were from the house of Levi which leads us to the next significant point. 

With both parents being from the house of Levi. This is prophetic in the fact that the Levites will be the tribe that all future priest's will come from. In effect, Moses himself, the presenter of the Torah, is the first of the Levitical priesthood. This prophetic consistency  lends it credibility of the Bible truly being the Inspired word of YHVH.

2) So the woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.

Beauty is a God Given gift that naturally plays in a person's favor. When a person is attractive, they are typically shown favor immediately. Right or wrong, this is a fact of human nature. This favor can be used for the glory of YHVH, or the glory of one's self interest.

To be completely  accurate, the Hebrew word used to describe Moshe was Tov, which is to say good.  The same word used in Genesis to describe creation. “God saw it and said it was tov”.

The Torah says nothing about Moses being anything more than a mortal man with no supernatural characteristics. There are legends in Judaism that holds Moses in a divine regard.

One such legend  is that Moses was actually accidentally smothered to death when he was crying while being hidden, and then miraculously coming back to life when the danger passed.

3) But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid I it in the reeds by the rivers bank.

Some versions say basket. Truth is, the Hebrew word to describe this floating crib is the same word used to describe Noah's Ark (Tevah). This “vessel” was made out of the same material, papyrus, that the Egyptian river boats were made of, and is even coated with pitch similar to Noah's ark. 

This is twice that YHVH has preserved the Hebrew people through keeping them afloat in a floating ark. It is quite poetic that Israel has always been “kept afloat” by YHVH throughout history. We can see parallels, or patterns throughout scripture and this is one example. Noah, in an ark for the salvation of the human race, and Moshe, placed in and ark for the salvation of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians.

“Set it among the bulrushes”. Unlike representations in movies, where the ark is just randomly placed in the river, Moses' mother placed the basket where she knew, there was a very good probability that Pharaoh's daughter would see it. Furthermore, his sister kept a watchful eye on Moche to make sure no harm came to him and that Pharaoh's daughter saw him.

4) And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.

There is no revelation implied that Moshe's mother had any indication that there was anything divinely special about him, just that he was tov. It is depicted in movies and even legend in Judaism that insinuates that Moshe's mother had some sort of insight of him becoming the deliverer of the Hebrew people. There is NOTHING in scripture that would indicate such an insight. This was simple a desperate attempt to save her son's life.

5) Then the 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 on of the Hebrews' children.”

Pharaoh's daughter decided to disobey Pharaoh's order to throw the baby in the river, and decided to save him. Pharaoh's daughter is in effect, put in the exact same position as the Hebrew midwives. There may be a lesson here of basic human female nature. If a man would have found him, the chances of Moses' survival would have most likely been greatly diminished. Her instinct to nurture kicked in and Moses was saved. It should also be noted, at this point in the Exodus story, all the heroes are women.

Contrary again to Judaic traditions and legend. This is all we really no about the daughters role. She saved Moche and raised him as an Egyptian after he was weaned. There is no biblical record of her, biblical, that she celebrated Passover and left Egypt with Moche.

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.

Moses' mother keeps one of the greatest commandments which is to preserve life even at her own peril. If she had gotten caught she could very likely been punished and most likely killed.

At this time, a wet nurse became like a nanny to the child and her duties did not typically end but would function as a nanny or servant to the child indefinitely.

Ironically the money to pay Moshe's mother, is coming from the treasury of the Pharaoh, who ordered his death.  This is a beautiful example of how, in many instances, people are rewarded in unexpected ways for doing the righteous thing in the face of great adversity.

This is also a lesson in the attitude of adoption in Hebrew culture. Pharaoh's daughter, from here on is regarded as his mother. In Jewish tradition she is always regarded as his mother. While his biological mother is referred to as his nurse.

10) And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

Contrary to belief, the name Moses (Moshe...moe-shay) is not actually a Hebrew name. It is actually and Egyptian name that means “Draw out of water”. It eventually became a common Hebrew name for obvious reasons.

In the interest in accuracy, Moses will be referred to as his proper name Moshe for the duration of this commentary.

 The Pharaoh at this time was most likely Thutmose III father of Amenhotep II. The root word/name of Thutmose is Moses. Did Pharaoh's daughter name him Moshe to help him fit in, or even disguise his true identity?

Moshe went to live in the household of Pharaoh after he was weaned. Children at this time period were weaned between the age of 5 and 7. This means he knew his biological family and only had a very elementary familiarity with the Hebrew language. This will come into play later on when Moche proclaims, “I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.. He would have had vast knowledge of the Egyptian language, but was not completely fluent in Hebrew. Other than these few documented facts, very little is known about Moshe's childhood. But we can speculate, being part of the house of Pharaoh, he was well fed, will educated in Egyptian culture including military training and made familiar with Royal court protocol. However, it would never be forgotten that he was a Hebrew pet of Pharaoh's daughter. The Egyptians knew he was a lowly Hebrew and prejudice has been around since Cain and Abel. Just as important,

Moshe could never forget he was Hebrew and neither could his enslaved Hebrew brethren. Moshe would never be fully excepted in either group. We will see that all of this turmoil will result in Moshe having a lot of anger issues.

11) Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at the 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 killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

This is the first indication of a serious character flaw in Moshe. Moshe has anger issues that we will be tracking as we continue this expedition in Exodus.

It can also be said that this was not a totally spontaneous crime of passion, but instead premeditated murder. “He looked this way and that way and when he saw no one he killed the Egyptian.” This was premeditated murder. Murder in the first degree.

13) And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”

We see in this passage that Moshe also has a propensity toward righteousness in the fact that he saw a wrong being committed and spoke up. This is a God given characteristic that YHVH will use in the future to stand up to Pharaoh for the injustice of slavery of the Hebrew people.

14) Then he said, “Who made you prince and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said this thing is known!”

With a little bit of critical thinking, it is not hard to see where some of Moshe's anger issues stemmed from. It was most likely common knowledge that he was of Hebrew origin. This would be problematic on both sides of the coin. Egyptians most likely treated him as an outsider and little more than Pharaoh's daughters pet. The Hebrews quite likely viewed him as a privileged little brat that had become a traitor to his people by continuing the charade of being a son of an Egyptian princes.

It is also interesting to notice that the question “Who made you prince or judge over us?” which at the time is a justifiable question. No doubt this question replayed in Moshe's head when YHVH called him at the burning bush.

15) When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well. Why Midian?

Egypt had no authority in Midian. It would be similar to a criminal in the United States fleeing to Mexico. Moshe is now alone. He has no resources, no home, no family. He is a broken man with nothing which is a perfect place to be in YHVH's eyes.   A piece of broken pottery that can be pulverized and shaped into a vessel useful to YHVH.

We should remember this when we feel like we are at our lowest.

James 1:2-4                                                                                                                                                        My brethren,  count it pure joy my brothers when you face trials of many kincs.  For the testing of your faith brings perseverance,  and perseverance must finish its word so that you may be mature and complete lacking in nothing.

 16) Now the priest of Median had seven daughters, And they came and drew water, and they filled the troughs to water their father's flock.

Here we see another reasonable reason why Moshe will bring up to YHVH his concern of being slow of speech. The Midianite language was a Canaanite, a form of Hebrew and yet not mutually intelligible. This shows that Moche was familiar with the challenges that came with language barriers.

We don't know why his daughters were watering the flock. Women were not shepherds in that day and the text shows that “the shepherds came”.

17) Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

One of the characteristics of Moshe is shown in this verse, as well in verse 12 when he killed the Egyptian. Moses stood against injustice even before YHVH called him. His personal conviction to injustice was without prejudice. Ethnicity or gender played no role in his decision to stand up against injustice.

 

18) When they came to Reuel their father he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?”

 

“Reuel” (Friend of God or God will pasture”) is considered his personal name, while “Jethro” (Excellence or Abundance) is likely a title or clan name associated with his priestly role as Midianite priests.

 

19) And they said “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us an watered the flock”.

Their assumption that Moche was Egyptian is evidence to how Moshe had assimilated into Egyptian culture.

20) So he said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”

Sharing a meal, is not only hospitality, but can be an element a making a covenant as is proven out by the next verse of receiving Zipporah as a wife.

21) Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave him Zipporah (Bird) his daughter to Moses.

22) And she bore him a  son. He called his name Gershom, (stranger, sojourner) for he said, “I have been a stranger in a strange land”.

Moshe was always a stranger. He was a stranger in the house of the Egyptian, he was a stranger to his own people because of his residence with the Egyptians, and he was a stranger in Median. His own wife will remind him that he was even a stranger to her in verse 4:25 when she threw the foreskin of his son at him.

23) Now it happened in the process of time, that the Pharaoh of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to YHVH because of the bondage.

24) So YHVH heard their groaning and YHVH remembered HIS covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and Jacob.

“Remembered” is a bad translation. Never forgot, would be a better translation. The significance is that YHVH keeps HIS promises.

25) And YHVH looked upon the children of Israel, and YHVH acknowledged them.