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Exodus2:11–22

The Rejection and Flight of Moses

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Exodus 2:11–22 — The Rejection and Flight of Moses. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

11

One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·hî bay·yā·mîm hā·hêm mō·šeh way·yiḡ·dal way·yê·ṣê ’el- ’e·ḥāw way·yar bə·siḇ·lō·ṯām way·yar ’îš miṣ·rî mak·keh ’îš- ‘iḇ·rî mê·’e·ḥāw

Word by word17 · parsed
וַיְהִ֣י׀way·hîH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-hî (H1961), "and it came to pass" — the standard Hebrew narrative seam; here it stitches the manhood of Moses to the silence of his unrecorded youth.
בַּיָּמִ֣יםbay·yā·mîmOne dayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine plural
bay-yāmîm hā-hēm, "in those days" — the days of the oppression. Several voices (Ellicott, Pulpit, K&D) note Scripture leaves the interval vague; tradition followed by Stephen (Acts 7:23) makes Moses "full forty years old."
הָהֵ֗םhā·hêm. . .H1992
√ hêm — they (only used when emphatic)ArticlePronounthird person masculine plural
מֹשֶׁה֙mō·šehafter MosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
וַיִּגְדַּ֤לway·yiḡ·dalhad grown upH1431
√ gâdal — to be (causatively make) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-yiḡdal (H1431), "became great" — the verb of greatness, not bare aging. K&D: "yiḡdal as in Genesis 21:20, i.e., had grown to be a man"; JFB add growth "in power" and "renown."
וַיֵּצֵ֣אway·yê·ṣêhe went outH3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֶל־’el-toH413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
אֶחָ֔יו’e·ḥāwhis own peopleH251
√ ʼâch — a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance (like father))Nounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular
ʼeḥāw (H251), "his brothers" — the kinship word, repeated at v. 11's end. The Pulpit Commentary: at this point Moses "had as yet no Divine mission, no command from God to act as he did, but only a natural sympathy with his people."
וַיַּ֖רְאway·yarand observedH7200
√ râʼâh — to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
בְּסִבְלֹתָ֑םbə·siḇ·lō·ṯāmtheir hard laborH5450
√ çᵉbâlâh — porteragePreposition-bNounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine plural
siḇlōṯām (H5450), "their burdens" — a rare load-word (6 vv), the technical term of the Egyptian bondage (1:11; 5:4-5; 6:6-7). To 'look on the burdens' is itself the first step away from the palace.
וַיַּרְא֙way·yarHe sawH7200
√ râʼâh — to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אִ֣ישׁ’îš. . .H376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular
מִצְרִ֔יmiṣ·rîan EgyptianH4713
√ Mitsrîy — a Mitsrite, or inhabitant of MitsrajimNounpropermasculine singular
מַכֶּ֥הmak·kehbeatingH5221
√ nâkâh — to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively)VerbHifilParticiplemasculine singular
makkeh (H5221), Hiphil participle of nākāh, "smiting" — the same root that names what Moses then does to the Egyptian (v. 12, way-yak) and what the wrongdoer is accused of doing to his fellow (v. 13, takkeh). One verb of striking runs through the whole scene.
אִישׁ־’îš-. . .H376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular
עִבְרִ֖י‘iḇ·rîa HebrewH5680
√ ʻIbrîy — an Eberite (iNounpropermasculine singular
ʻiḇrî (H5680), "a Hebrew" — set in pointed opposition to miṣrî, "an Egyptian" (v. 12). The verse frames Moses' first act as a choice between two identities he himself straddles.
מֵאֶחָֽיו׃mê·’e·ḥāwone of his own peopleH251
√ ʼâch — a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance (like father))Preposition-mNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular
12

After looking this way and that and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·yi·p̄en kōh wā·ḵōh way·yar kî ’ên ’îš way·yaḵ ’eṯ- ham·miṣ·rî way·yiṭ·mə·nê·hū ba·ḥō·wl

Word by word12 · parsed
וַיִּ֤פֶןway·yi·p̄enAfter lookingH6437
√ pânâh — to turnConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-yip̄en (H6437), "and he turned" — a verb of bodily turning to look about. The detail is read two ways by the voices: prudence (Poole) or premeditation (K&D).
כֹּה֙kōhthis wayH3541
√ kôh — properly, like this, iAdverb
וָכֹ֔הwā·ḵōh[and] thatH3541
√ kôh — properly, like this, iConjunctive wawAdverb
וַיַּ֖רְאway·yarand seeingH7200
√ râʼâh — to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
כִּ֣י. . .H3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
אֵ֣ין’ênnoH369
√ ʼayin — a non-entityAdverb
ʼên ʼîš, "there was no man" — the clause on which the moral reading hinges. Moses ensures no witness, which K&D take as deliberation and Gill as mere self-preservation.
אִ֑ישׁ’îšoneH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular
וַיַּךְ֙way·yaḵhe struck downH5221
√ nâkâh — to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-yak (H5221), "and he struck" — same root nākāh as the Egyptian's blow in v. 11. The narrative makes Moses' act a mirror of the violence he avenged; whether that is justice or crime is the unit's open question.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
הַמִּצְרִ֔יham·miṣ·rîthe EgyptianH4713
√ Mitsrîy — a Mitsrite, or inhabitant of MitsrajimArticleNounpropermasculine singular
וַֽיִּטְמְנֵ֖הוּway·yiṭ·mə·nê·hūand hid his bodyH2934
√ ṭâman — to hide (by covering over)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singularthird person masculine singular
way-yiṭmᵉnēhū (H2934), "and he hid him" — to bury by covering. The secrecy of the act sets up its exposure in v. 14 ("surely this thing is known").
בַּחֽוֹל׃ba·ḥō·wlin the sandH2344
√ chôwl — sand (as round or whirling particles)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular
ba-ḥōwl (H2344), "in the sand" — a concrete Egyptian-Delta detail. Ellicott treats it as internal evidence of an eyewitness, Mosaic hand.
13

The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

haš·šê·nî bay·yō·wm way·yê·ṣê wə·hin·nêh šə·nê- ’ă·nā·šîm ‘iḇ·rîm niṣ·ṣîm way·yō·mer lā·rā·šā‘ lām·māh ṯak·keh rê·‘e·ḵā

Word by word13 · parsed
הַשֵּׁנִ֔יhaš·šê·nîThe nextH8145
√ shênîy — properly, double, iArticleNumberordinal masculine singular
haš-šēnî (H8145), "the second" (day) — Ellicott and the Pulpit: "i.e., the next day," linking the reconciling attempt directly to the slaying.
בַּיּ֣וֹםbay·yō·wmdayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Preposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular
וַיֵּצֵא֙way·yê·ṣê[Moses] went outH3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
וְהִנֵּ֛הwə·hin·nêhand sawH2009
√ hinnêh — lo!Conjunctive wawInterjection
שְׁנֵֽי־šə·nê-twoH8147
√ shᵉnayim — twoNumbermasculine dual construct
אֲנָשִׁ֥ים’ă·nā·šîm. . .H582
√ ʼĕnôwsh — a man in general (singly or collectively)Nounmasculine plural
עִבְרִ֖ים‘iḇ·rîmHebrewsH5680
√ ʻIbrîy — an Eberite (iNounpropermasculine plural
נִצִּ֑יםniṣ·ṣîmfightingH5327
√ nâtsâh — properly, to go forth, iVerbNifalParticiplemasculine plural
niṣṣîm (H5327), "striving" — the strife/quarrel verb; the same root names the contention at Meribah and legal struggles, suiting Moses' attempt to arbitrate.
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙way·yō·merHe askedH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-yōmer (H559), "and he said" — introduces Moses' reproof. Acts 7:26 reports it as "Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?" (so Ellicott, Pulpit).
לָֽרָשָׁ֔עlā·rā·šā‘the one in the wrongH7563
√ râshâʻ — morally wrongPreposition-l, ArticleAdjectivemasculine singular
lā-rāšāʻ (H7563), "to the wicked one" — a moral designation, not a neutral "one in the wrong." The Hebrew already names guilt before any verdict.
לָ֥מָּהlām·māhWhyH4100
√ mâh — properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?)Interrogative
תַכֶּ֖הṯak·kehare you attackingH5221
√ nâkâh — to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively)VerbHifilImperfectsecond person masculine singular
takkeh (H5221), "do you smite" — root nākāh, the third strike-word in three verses (vv. 11, 12, 13). The chapter is held together by a single verb of violence.
רֵעֶֽךָ׃rê·‘e·ḵāyour companionH7453
√ rêaʻ — an associate (more or less close)Nounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular
rēʻeḵā (H7453), "your companion / neighbor" — Barnes: "the reproof was that of a legislator who established moral obligations on a recognized principle" — the lawgiver speaks before the Law is given.
14

But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become known.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·yō·mer mî śā·mə·ḵā lə·’îš śar wə·šō·p̄êṭ ‘ā·lê·nū ’at·tāh ’ō·mêr hal·hā·rə·ḡê·nî ka·’ă·šer hā·raḡ·tā ’eṯ- ham·miṣ·rî mō·šeh way·yî·rā way·yō·mar had·dā·ḇār ’ā·ḵên nō·w·ḏa‘

Word by word20 · parsed
וַ֠יֹּאמֶרway·yō·merBut the man repliedH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
מִ֣יWhoH4310
√ mîy — who? (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things)Interrogative
שָֽׂמְךָ֞śā·mə·ḵāmadeH7760
√ sûwm — to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically)VerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singularsecond person masculine singular
śāmᵉḵā (H7760), "set you / appointed you" — the verb of installing to office. God will indeed 'set' Moses (3:10); the taunt unknowingly anticipates the true call.
לְאִ֨ישׁlə·’îšyouH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personPreposition-lNounmasculine singular
שַׂ֤רśarrulerH8269
√ sar — a head person (of any rank or class)Nounmasculine singular
śar (H8269), "prince" — Ellicott notes Moses was in some sense already a 'prince' at court; the word is barbed because it is partly true.
וְשֹׁפֵט֙wə·šō·p̄êṭand judgeH8199
√ shâphaṭ — to judge, iConjunctive wawVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular
šōp̄ēṭ (H8199), "judge" — the office Moses had just exercised in v. 13. K&D: the man's protest "Who made thee a ruler and judge over us?" was, on its own terms, "so far... right."
עָלֵ֔ינוּ‘ā·lê·nūover usH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionfirst person common plural
אַתָּ֣ה’at·tāhAre youH859
√ ʼattâh — thou and thee, or (plural) ye and youPronounsecond person masculine singular
אֹמֵ֔ר’ō·mêrplanningH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)VerbQalParticiplemasculine singular
הַלְהָרְגֵ֙נִי֙hal·hā·rə·ḡê·nîto kill meH2026
√ hârag — to smite with deadly intentPrepositionVerbQalInfinitive constructfirst person common singular
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רka·’ă·šerasH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPreposition-kPronounrelative
הָרַ֖גְתָּhā·raḡ·tāyou killedH2026
√ hârag — to smite with deadly intentVerbQalPerfectsecond person masculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
הַמִּצְרִ֑יham·miṣ·rîthe EgyptianH4713
√ Mitsrîy — a Mitsrite, or inhabitant of MitsrajimArticleNounpropermasculine singular
מֹשֶׁה֙mō·šehThen MosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
וַיִּירָ֤אway·yî·rāwas afraidH3372
√ yârêʼ — to fearConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-yîrāʼ (H3372), "and he feared" — the crux against Hebrews 11:27. Poole resolves it by time: "the weakness of his faith, which afterwards growing stronger, he feared not."
וַיֹּאמַ֔רway·yō·marand thoughtH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
הַדָּבָֽר׃had·dā·ḇārThis thing I have doneH1697
√ dâbâr — a wordArticleNounmasculine singular
had-dāḇār (H1697), "the thing / the word" — the same noun reappears in v. 15 ("when Pharaoh heard this thing"). The 'matter' Moses fears is known travels straight to Pharaoh's ear.
אָכֵ֖ן’ā·ḵênhas surelyH403
√ ʼâkên — firmlyAdverb
נוֹדַ֥עnō·w·ḏa‘become knownH3045
√ yâdaʻ — to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing)VerbNifalPerfectthird person masculine singular
nōwḏaʻ (H3045), "is known" — Niphal of yādaʻ; the hidden deed surfaces. The verb of knowing turns from privacy to peril.
15

When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

par·‘ōh ’eṯ- had·dā·ḇār way·yiš·ma‘ haz·zeh way·ḇaq·qêš la·hă·rōḡ ’eṯ- mō·šeh mō·šeh way·yiḇ·raḥ mip·pə·nê p̄ar·‘ōh way·yê·šeḇ bə·’e·reṣ- miḏ·yān way·yê·šeḇ ‘al- hab·bə·’êr

Word by word19 · parsed
פַּרְעֹה֙par·‘ōhWhen PharaohH6547
√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsNounpropermasculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
הַדָּבָ֣רhad·dā·ḇārH1697
√ dâbâr — a wordArticleNounmasculine singular
וַיִּשְׁמַ֤עway·yiš·ma‘heardH8085
√ shâmaʻ — to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
הַזֶּ֔הhaz·zehabout this matterH2088
√ zeh — the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thatArticlePronounmasculine singular
וַיְבַקֵּ֖שׁway·ḇaq·qêšhe soughtH1245
√ bâqash — to search out (by any method, specifically in worship or prayer)Conjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-ḇaqqēš (H1245), "and he sought" — Piel, of active, determined searching. Poole: Pharaoh sought him "not out of zeal to punish a murderer, but to secure himself from so dangerous a person."
לַהֲרֹ֣גla·hă·rōḡto killH2026
√ hârag — to smite with deadly intentPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
מֹשֶׁ֑הmō·šehMosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
מֹשֶׁה֙mō·šehBut MosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
וַיִּבְרַ֤חway·yiḇ·raḥfledH1272
√ bârach — to bolt, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-yiḇraḥ (H1272), "and he fled" — bare flight. The voices labor to reconcile this with Heb. 11:27; K&D distinguish the timid flight from the faith-act of forsaking Egypt.
מִפְּנֵ֣יmip·pə·nêfromH6440
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-mNouncommon plural construct
פַרְעֹ֔הp̄ar·‘ōhPharaohH6547
√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsNounpropermasculine singular
וַיֵּ֥שֶׁבway·yê·šeḇand settledH3427
√ yâshab — properly, to sit down (specifically as judgeConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-yēšeḇ (H3427), "and he settled" — first of two; the root means both 'dwell' and 'sit.' Benson: "It was a great change with him, since he was but the other day at ease in Pharaoh’s court."
בְּאֶֽרֶץ־bə·’e·reṣ-in the landH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Preposition-bNounfeminine singular construct
מִדְיָ֖ןmiḏ·yānof MidianH4080
√ Midyân — Midjan, a son of AbrahamNounpropermasculine singular
miḏyān (H4080), "Midian" — descendants of Abraham by Keturah (Gen. 25:2). Benson: God guided him there "because the Midianites were of the seed of Abraham, and retained the worship of the true God."
וַיֵּ֥שֶׁבway·yê·šeḇwhere he sat downH3427
√ yâshab — properly, to sit down (specifically as judgeConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
עַֽל־‘al-besideH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition
הַבְּאֵֽר׃hab·bə·’êra wellH875
√ bᵉʼêr — a pitArticleNounfeminine singular
hab-bᵉʼēr (H875), "the well" — the article signals a known, principal well, and opens the betrothal-type scene (cf. Gen. 24; 29). JFB cross-reference the well of Gen. 29.
16

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·lə·ḵō·hên miḏ·yān še·ḇa‘ bā·nō·wṯ wat·tā·ḇō·nāh wat·tiḏ·le·nāh wat·tə·mal·le·nāh ’eṯ- hā·rə·hā·ṭîm lə·haš·qō·wṯ ’ă·ḇî·hen ṣōn

Word by word12 · parsed
וּלְכֹהֵ֥ןū·lə·ḵō·hênNow the priestH3548
√ kôhên — literally one officiating, a priestConjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounmasculine singular construct
ḵōhēn (H3548), "priest" — Ellicott: Reuel "may have been both 'priest' and 'prince,' like Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18)." The Midianites, Abraham's seed by Keturah, are presented as worshippers of the true God.
מִדְיָ֖ןmiḏ·yānof MidianH4080
√ Midyân — Midjan, a son of AbrahamNounpropermasculine singular
שֶׁ֣בַעše·ḇa‘had sevenH7651
√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Numberfeminine singular
בָּנ֑וֹתbā·nō·wṯdaughtersH1323
√ bath — a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)Nounfeminine plural
bānōwṯ (H1323), "daughters" — seven of them; the betrothal-at-a-well scene (cf. Rebekah, Gen. 24; Rachel, Gen. 29). Cambridge: drawing water was "the exclusive duty of the unmarried girls."
וַתָּבֹ֣אנָהwat·tā·ḇō·nāhand they cameH935
√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine plural
וַתִּדְלֶ֗נָהwat·tiḏ·le·nāhto draw waterH1802
√ dâlâh — properly, to dangle, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine plural
wat-tiḏlenāh (H1802), "and they drew" — rare verb dālāh (4 vv). The literal motion is lowering a vessel and drawing it up; the same act Moses performs for them in v. 19.
וַתְּמַלֶּ֙אנָה֙wat·tə·mal·le·nāhand fillH4390
√ mâlêʼ — to fill or (intransitively) be full of, in a wide application (literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine plural
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
הָ֣רְהָטִ֔יםhā·rə·hā·ṭîmthe troughsH7298
√ rahaṭ — a channel or watering-boxArticleNounmasculine plural
rᵉhāṭîm (H7298), "the troughs" — rare (4 vv); identical to Jacob's watering troughs in Gen. 30:38, 41, binding this scene verbally to the patriarchal flock narratives.
לְהַשְׁק֖וֹתlə·haš·qō·wṯto waterH8248
√ shâqâh — to quaff, iPreposition-lVerbHifilInfinitive construct
אֲבִיהֶֽן׃’ă·ḇî·hentheir father’sH1
√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationNounmasculine singular constructthird person feminine plural
צֹ֥אןṣōnflockH6629
√ tsôʼn — a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats)Nouncommon singular construct
ṣōn (H6629), "flock" — sheep and goats. K&D: the priest's flock "consisted of nothing but ṣōn... Even now there are no oxen reared upon the peninsula of Sinai."
17

And when some shepherds came along and drove them away, Moses rose up to help them and watered their flock.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hā·rō·‘îm way·yā·ḇō·’ū way·ḡā·rə·šūm mō·šeh way·yā·qām way·yō·wō·ši·‘ān way·yašq ’eṯ- ṣō·nām

Word by word9 · parsed
הָרֹעִ֖יםhā·rō·‘îmAnd when some shepherdsH7462
√ râʻâh — to tend a flockArticleVerbQalParticiplemasculine plural
rōʻîm (H7462), "shepherds" — Qal participle of rāʻāh, 'to tend.' Ellicott: their rude conduct was habitual ("How is it that ye are come so soon?" v. 18).
וַיָּבֹ֥אוּway·yā·ḇō·’ūcame alongH935
√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
וַיְגָרְשׁ֑וּםway·ḡā·rə·šūmand drove them awayH1644
√ gârash — to drive out from a possessionConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine pluralthird person masculine plural
way-ḡārᵉšūm (H1644), "and they drove them away" — Piel of gāraš, to expel forcibly. K&D note the masculine suffix on a feminine object as an archaic form (cf. Gen. 31:9).
מֹשֶׁה֙mō·šehMosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
וַיָּ֤קָםway·yā·qāmrose upH6965
√ qûwm — to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-yāqom (H6965), "and he arose" — the verb of standing up to act. The Pulpit: "sprang to his feet"; the same readiness shown twice before (vv. 12, 13) now turned to rescue rather than violence.
וַיּ֣וֹשִׁעָ֔ןway·yō·wō·ši·‘ānto help themH3467
√ yâshaʻ — properly, to be open, wide or free, iConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singularthird person feminine plural
way-yōwōšiʻān (H3467), "and he saved them" — Hiphil of yāšaʻ, the root of salvation and the name Joshua/Jesus. The deliverer-in-training performs in miniature what he will do for a nation. The BSB "help" is the chief loss of this verse.
וַיַּ֖שְׁקְway·yašqand wateredH8248
√ shâqâh — to quaff, iConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-yašq (H8248), "and he watered" — Hiphil of šāqāh; he completes for them the task the shepherds had stolen. The same verb links this scene to Jacob at the well (Gen. 29:10).
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
צֹאנָֽם׃ṣō·nāmtheir flockH6629
√ tsôʼn — a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats)Nounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine plural
18

When the daughters returned to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wat·tā·ḇō·nāh ’el- ’ă·ḇî·hen rə·‘ū·’êl way·yō·mer mad·dū·a‘ bō mi·har·ten hay·yō·wm

Word by word9 · parsed
וַתָּבֹ֕אנָהwat·tā·ḇō·nāhWhen [the daughters] returnedH935
√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine plural
אֶל־’el-toH413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
אֲבִיהֶ֑ן’ă·ḇî·hentheir fatherH1
√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationNounmasculine singular constructthird person feminine plural
רְעוּאֵ֖לrə·‘ū·’êlReuelH7467
√ Rᵉʻûwʼêl — Reuel, the name of Moses' father-in-law, also of an Edomite and an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
rᵉʻûʼēl (H7467), "Reuel" — 'friend of God.' Barnes: "not uncommon among Hebrews and Edomites (Gen. 36:4, 10)." The man bears two or three names across the Pentateuch (Reuel / Jethro / Hobab) — a genuine crux the voices debate (see apparatus).
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרway·yō·merhe asked themH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
מַדּ֛וּעַmad·dū·a‘WhyH4069
√ maddûwaʻ — what (is) known?Interrogative
maddûaʻ (H4069), "why / on what ground" — a reason-seeking interrogative. The question opens the door for the daughters' testimony about the Egyptian who rescued them.
בֹּ֖אhave you returnedH935
√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)VerbQalInfinitive construct
מִהַרְתֶּ֥ןmi·har·tenso earlyH4116
√ mâhar — properly, to be liquid or flow easily, iVerbPielPerfectsecond person feminine plural
mihartēn (H4116), "you have hastened" — Piel of māhar, to be quick. Gill: it was "not only sooner than they were wont to come," marking how completely Moses had relieved them.
הַיּֽוֹם׃hay·yō·wmtodayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine singular
19

“An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they replied. “He even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

miṣ·rî hiṣ·ṣî·lā·nū mî·yaḏ hā·rō·‘îm wat·tō·mar·nā ’îš wə·ḡam- dā·lōh ḏā·lāh lā·nū way·yašq ’eṯ- haṣ·ṣōn

Word by word13 · parsed
מִצְרִ֔יmiṣ·rîAn EgyptianH4713
√ Mitsrîy — a Mitsrite, or inhabitant of MitsrajimNounpropermasculine singular
miṣrî (H4713), "an Egyptian" — the mistaken identity. Moses bears the marks (dress, speech) of the Egypt he has just fled; the word that named his victim (v. 11) now names him.
הִצִּילָ֖נוּhiṣ·ṣî·lā·nūrescued usH5337
√ nâtsal — to snatch away, whether in a good or a bad senseVerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singularfirst person common plural
hiṣṣîlānū (H5337), "delivered us" — Hiphil of nāṣal, to snatch from danger; the formal deliverance-verb of the Exodus (6:6). The rescue at the well is a small rehearsal of the great rescue from Pharaoh's hand.
מִיַּ֣דmî·yaḏfromH3027
√ yâd — a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etcPreposition-mNounfeminine singular construct
הָרֹעִ֑יםhā·rō·‘îmthe shepherdsH7462
√ râʻâh — to tend a flockArticleVerbQalParticiplemasculine plural
וַתֹּאמַ֕רְןָwat·tō·mar·nāthey repliedH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine plural
אִ֣ישׁ’îš. . .H376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular
וְגַם־wə·ḡam-He evenH1571
√ gam — properly, assemblageConjunction
דָּלֹ֤הdā·lōhdrew waterH1802
√ dâlâh — properly, to dangle, iVerbQalInfinitive absolute
dālōh dālāh (H1802), "drawing he drew" — the Hebrew infinitive-absolute construction intensifies the verb. Rare word (dālāh, 4 vv); the emphatic form stresses how thoroughly Moses did their work.
דָלָה֙ḏā·lāh. . .H1802
√ dâlâh — properly, to dangle, iVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
לָ֔נוּlā·nūfor us
Prepositionfirst person common plural
וַיַּ֖שְׁקְway·yašqand wateredH8248
√ shâqâh — to quaff, iConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
הַצֹּֽאן׃haṣ·ṣōnthe flockH6629
√ tsôʼn — a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats)ArticleNouncommon singular
20

“So where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’ay·yōw way·yō·mer ’el- bə·nō·ṯāw lām·māh zeh hā·’îš ‘ă·zaḇ·ten ’eṯ- qir·’en lōw wə·yō·ḵal lā·ḥem

Word by word13 · parsed
וְאַיּ֑וֹwə·’ay·yōwSo where is heH335
√ ʼay — where? hence how?Conjunctive wawInterrogativethird person masculine singular
wᵉʼayyōw (H335), "and where is he?" — the hospitable question that drives the plot toward Moses' settlement. Cambridge: "The hospitable Arab is vexed that his daughters have not invited their defender to a meal."
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרway·yō·mer[their father] askedH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֶל־’el-. . .H413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
בְּנֹתָ֖יוbə·nō·ṯāw. . .H1323
√ bath — a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)Nounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine singular
לָ֤מָּהlām·māhWhyH4100
√ mâh — properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?)Preposition-lInterrogative
זֶּה֙zeh. . .H2088
√ zeh — the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thatPronounmasculine singular
הָאִ֔ישׁhā·’îšdid you leave the manH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personArticleNounmasculine singular
עֲזַבְתֶּ֣ן‘ă·zaḇ·tenbehindH5800
√ ʻâzab — to loosen, iVerbQalPerfectsecond person feminine plural
ʻăzaḇten (H5800), "you have forsaken" — a verb of abandonment, sharper than 'leave.' The reproach measures the debt of gratitude owed to the stranger.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
קִרְאֶ֥ןqir·’enInviteH7121
√ qârâʼ — to call out to (iVerbQalImperativefeminine plural
qirʼen (H7121), "call (him)" — feminine plural imperative; K&D note the archaic form qᵉrāʼn for qᵉrāʼnāh (cf. Gen. 4:23). The summons leads directly to Moses' dwelling with Reuel (v. 21).
ל֖וֹlōwhim
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
וְיֹ֥אכַלwə·yō·ḵalto have something to eatH398
√ ʼâkal — to eat (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive imperfectthird person masculine singular
wᵉyōḵal lāḥem (H398/H3899), "that he may eat bread" — 'bread' by synecdoche for a meal; the act of table-fellowship that seals Moses into the household.
לָֽחֶם׃lā·ḥem. . .H3899
√ lechem — food (for man or beast), especially bread, or grain (for making it)Nounmasculine singular
21

Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

mō·šeh way·yō·w·’el lā·še·ḇeṯ ’eṯ- hā·’îš way·yit·tên ’eṯ- ḇit·tōw ṣip·pō·rāh lə·mō·šeh

Word by word10 · parsed
מֹשֶׁ֖הmō·šehMosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
וַיּ֥וֹאֶלway·yō·w·’elagreedH2974
√ yâʼal — properly, to yield, especially assentConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-yōwʼel (H2974), "and he was willing / content" — Hiphil of yāʼal, to consent, to undertake willingly. K&D: "voluit" — the act was Moses' own choosing, not mere acquiescence.
לָשֶׁ֣בֶתlā·še·ḇeṯto stayH3427
√ yâshab — properly, to sit down (specifically as judgePreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
lāšeḇeṯ (H3427), "to dwell" — root yāšaḇ, echoing v. 15. Forty years of Midian begin in this one verb; the man who 'sat by a well' now 'dwells' in a home.
אֶת־’eṯ-withH854
√ ʼêth — properly, nearness (used only as a preposition or an adverb), nearPreposition
הָאִ֑ישׁhā·’îšthe manH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personArticleNounmasculine singular
וַיִּתֵּ֛ןway·yit·tênand he gaveH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
בִתּ֖וֹḇit·tōwhis daughterH1323
√ bath — a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)Nounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular
צִפֹּרָ֥הṣip·pō·rāhZipporahH6855
√ Tsippôrâh — Tsipporah, Moses' wifeNounproperfeminine singular
ṣippōrāh (H6855), "Zipporah" — rare name (3 vv). Benson and Poole both infer from 4:25 that the marriage came "after some years of acquaintance," not at once.
לְמֹשֶֽׁה׃lə·mō·šehto Moses in marriageH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
22

And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wat·tê·leḏ bên way·yiq·rā ’eṯ- šə·mōw gê·rə·šōm kî ’ā·mar hā·yî·ṯî gêr nā·ḵə·rî·yāh bə·’e·reṣ

Word by word12 · parsed
וַתֵּ֣לֶדwat·tê·leḏAnd she gave birth toH3205
√ yâlad — to bear youngConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine singular
בֵּ֔ןbêna sonH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine singular
וַיִּקְרָ֥אway·yiq·rāand [Moses] named himH7121
√ qârâʼ — to call out to (iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way-yiqrāʼ (H7121), "and he called" — the naming formula; cf. v. 20's qirʼen, same root qārāʼ. Naming a child for one's exile makes the grief a confession.
אֶת־’eṯ-. . .H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
שְׁמ֖וֹšə·mōw. . .H8034
√ shêm — an appellation, as amark or memorial of individualityNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
גֵּרְשֹׁ֑םgê·rə·šōmGershomH1647
√ Gêrᵉshôm — Gereshom, the name of four IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
gērᵉšōm (H1647), "Gershom" — explained by assonance to gēr shām, 'a stranger there.' Through a descendant of this Gershom the priests of Dan later claimed Mosaic descent (Judg. 18:30; so Cambridge).
כִּ֣יH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
אָמַ֔ר’ā·marsayingH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)VerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
הָיִ֔יתִיhā·yî·ṯîI have becomeH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectfirst person common singular
גֵּ֣רgêra foreignerH1616
√ gêr — properly, a guestNounmasculine singular
gēr (H1616), "a sojourner" — the covenant alien-word. It binds Moses' exile to the patriarchs' sojourning (Gen. 15:13; 23:4) and to Israel's self-definition; the memory of being a gēr grounds the Law's care for the alien.
נָכְרִיָּֽה׃פnā·ḵə·rî·yāhin a foreignH5237
√ nokrîy — strange, in a variety of degrees and applications (foreign, non-relative, adulterous, different, wonderful)Adjectivefeminine singular
nāḵᵉrîyāh (H5237), "foreign" — feminine adjective, 'strange, alien.' Cambridge notes the AV's "strange" once meant simply "foreign" (Lat. extraneus); the land is foreign, not weird.
בְּאֶ֖רֶץbə·’e·reṣlandH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Preposition-bNounfeminine singular

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The choice hidden in a verb of greatness — 2:11

The unit opens with a deliberate gap. Forty years of Moses' life pass in a single clause — way-yiḡdal mōšeh, "and Moses became great" — and the voices fill the silence with one event: a man choosing his people. Keil & Delitzsch locate the whole motive in a single repeated word: not ambition but "fiery love to his brethren... as is shown in the expression, 'One of his brethren.'" Ellicott reads the going-out through Hebrews 11: "'By faith, Moses... refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God.'" Yet the Pulpit Commentary is careful to under-claim what the text itself grants: at this point Moses "had as yet no Divine mission, no command from God to act as he did, but only a natural sympathy with his people." The Hebrew presses the kinship word ʼaḥ ("brother") twice in one verse, and binds the scene with a single verb of striking — nākāh — that names the Egyptian's blow (v. 11), Moses' blow (v. 12), and the wrongdoer's blow (v. 13). The chapter is an argument carried in repeated words.

ii. The deed: zeal without office — 2:12-14

Moses "turned this way and that" (way-yip̄en) and struck. The voices are strikingly unanimous, and strikingly honest, in refusing to whitewash the act. Ellicott: "it was clearly the deed of a hasty and undisciplined spirit. The offence did not deserve death." Barnes measures its cost: it "far from expediting... delayed for many years the deliverance of the Israelites." Poole grants it could be justified "only by his Divine and special vocation," while K&D, following Augustine, call it bluntly "the crime of murder, which cannot be excused as resulting from a sudden ebullition of wrath." The reproof of v. 13 turns the tables: Moses addresses the guilty party as hā-rāšāʻ, "the wicked one" (Ellicott notes "our version follows the LXX"), and the offender's retort — "Who made you śar and šōp̄ēṭ (prince and judge) over us?" — lands because Moses had indeed seized the judge's role before God appointed him to it. JFB draw the lesson the failure teaches: "It was by the staff and not the sword — by the meekness, and not the wrath of Moses — that God was to accomplish that great work of deliverance." The fear of v. 14 (way-yîrāʼ) the older voices read against Hebrews 11:27: Geneva — "Though by his fear he showed his weakness, yet faith covered it."

iii. The flight and the providence in it — 2:15

Pharaoh "heard the thing" (had-dāḇār, the very word Moses feared was "known") and sought his life; Moses "fled from the face of Pharaoh." The Hebrew repeats one verb — yāšaḇ, to sit/dwell — twice: he "settled" in Midian and "sat down" by the well. Benson reads the exile as timing, not defeat: "Things were not yet ripe for Israel's deliverance. The measure of Egypt's iniquity was not yet full... Moses is to be further fitted for the service." Poole sees Pharaoh's motive clearly: he sought Moses "not out of zeal to punish a murderer, but to secure himself from so dangerous a person." And Ellicott catches the quiet article that opens the next scene: "Sat down by a well. — Rather, the well" — the principal well of the district, the appointed stage for a betrothal.

iv. The well: the deliverer rehearsed in miniature — 2:16-20

The well-scene is told in patriarchal vocabulary. Keil & Delitzsch see Moses "doing as Jacob had formerly done (Genesis 29:10)" — and the Verifier confirms the verbal kinship: the rare word for the watering troughs (rᵉhāṭîm, only 4 verses) is the same term used of Jacob's troughs in Genesis 30:38, 41. When the shepherds "drove away" (way-ḡārᵉšūm) the priest's daughters, Moses "rose up and saved them" — and here the English most fails the Hebrew: way-yōwōšiʻān is the salvation-verb yāšaʻ, the root of the name Joshua/Jesus. The future deliverer literally "saves" seven women at a well. The daughters then report him as an "Egyptian" who "delivered us" (hiṣṣîlānū, the Exodus deliverance-verb of 6:6) and "drawing drew" water — the emphatic Hebrew Benson renders "In drawing he drew... readily and diligently." Reuel's name, the voices agree (Cambridge, Barnes, Pulpit), means "friend of God" and marks him a worshipper of the true God among Abraham's Keturah-seed; his offended hospitality — "Why have you forsaken the man? Call him, that he may eat bread" — Ellicott ties to enduring desert custom.

v. Gershom: the name that confesses the exile — 2:21-22

Moses "was willing" (way-yōwʼel; K&D: "voluit") to dwell with Reuel, married Zipporah, and named his firstborn by a pun rather than a parsing. Ellicott: "Gershom — almost certainly from ger, 'a stranger,' and shâm, 'there'... So Jerome, who translates it advena ibi." Cambridge is scrupulous: the form "might conceivably be derived from גרש , and mean expulsion ," but "thinking, as in v. 10, of an assonance, rather than of an etymology, explains it as though it were equivalent to gêr shâm." The covenant word gēr ("sojourner") ties Moses' grief to Abraham's (Gen. 23:4) and to Israel's defining memory (Gen. 15:13). For the voices the exile is formation: Benson — "Those that know what it is to be alone with God are acquainted with better delights than ever Moses tasted in the court of Pharaoh"; K&D — the feeling "had not passed into despair, but had been purified and raised into firm confidence in the God of his fathers."

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Read on its own terms, Exodus 2:11-22 is the story of a deliverer who must first learn that he cannot deliver. The unit argues by verbal rhyme. One verb of striking, nākāh, runs through the opening scene — the Egyptian smites, Moses smites, the wrongdoer smites — so that Moses' attempt at rescue is grammatically indistinguishable from the violence he avenged, and the offender's taunt ("Who made you prince and judge?") simply names the office Moses had seized ahead of God. Then the verb changes. At the well, Moses no longer smites; he saves (yāšaʻ, v. 17) and the daughters say he delivered (nāṣal, v. 19) — the two great verbs that will carry the Exodus itself (6:6). The same man, the same readiness to defend the oppressed (the Pulpit ties vv. 12, 13, 17 together), but the wrath has become rescue and the self-appointed judge has become a fugitive shepherd. The unit names its own thesis in its last word: Moses calls his son Gershom, "a stranger there," confessing that the prince of Egypt is now a gēr — and it is exactly that displacement, the voices agree, that prepares him. This reading is the tool's own and fallible. It leans on the parses as given and on the verbal links the Verifier confirmed (rᵉhāṭîm, dālāh, the yāšaʻ/nāṣal pairing), and it does not adjudicate the question the voices leave open — whether the slaying was sheer crime (K&D, Ellicott, Barnes) or a divinely-warranted act marred only by its timing (Poole, Henry's "special warrant from Heaven"). That dispute the unit hands forward, unresolved, to be tested.

The hand that smote the Egyptian had to be emptied at a well before it could be filled with a staff.

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The burdens of Egypt — siḇlāh from the oppression to the redemption verbal / quotation — confirmed

The rare load-word Moses 'looks on' in 2:11 — siḇlōṯām, "their burdens" (H5450) — is a keyword, not a generic term: it occurs in only six verses, and every one belongs to the oppression-and-Exodus narrative. It names the bondage imposed in 1:11 ("taskmasters... with their burdens"), the labor Pharaoh refuses to lighten (5:4-5), and — decisively — the very thing God promises to lift: "I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians" (6:6-7). The same word that opens Moses' compassion closes in God's redemption. The Verifier records the shared rare lexeme; because siḇlāh is genuinely uncommon and the contexts are a single connected narrative, this is a confirmed verbal link, not a mere thematic echo.

Exodus 2:11 · Exodus 1:11 · Exodus 5:4 · Exodus 5:5 · Exodus 6:6 · Exodus 6:7

basis: shared rare lexeme H5450 çᵉbâlâh 'burden' (in only 6 vv — all in the Exodus oppression/redemption narrative: 1:11; 2:11; 5:4,5; 6:6,7); low-frequency keyword link, not a quotation of one verse by another

Jacob's troughs at the well — rahaṭ, a four-verse word verbal / quotation — confirmed

The watering troughs the daughters fill in 2:16 — rᵉhāṭîm (H7298) — is one of the rarest nouns in the Pentateuch, occurring in only four verses. Two of them are the betrothal-flock scenes of Jacob and Laban (Gen. 30:38, 41, where the AV renders it "gutters"); the fourth is the wholly different love-poetry of Song of Solomon 7:5. The shared rare word is precisely what makes Keil & Delitzsch's observation — that Moses here does "as Jacob had formerly done (Genesis 29:10)" — verbally demonstrable and not merely thematic. Cambridge independently notes the same Genesis cross-reference. A rare-lexeme link between two well-betrothal type-scenes; the Song occurrence is recorded for completeness as the same word in an unrelated context.

Exodus 2:16 · Genesis 30:38 · Genesis 30:41 · Song of Solomon 7:5

basis: shared rare lexeme H7298 rahaṭ 'trough' (in only 4 vv — Ex 2:16; Gen 30:38,41; Song 7:5); rare-word verbal link binding the well-betrothal type-scenes of Moses and Jacob; Song 7:5 is the same word in an unrelated context

Drawing up — dālāh from a well, from counsel, from the pit verbal / quotation — confirmed

The verb for the daughters' (2:16) and Moses' (2:19) drawing of water — dālāh, "to draw up" (H1802) — is rare (four verses) and turns figurative in its other two homes. Proverbs 20:5 makes it the labor of insight: "counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out." Psalm 30:1 makes it deliverance: "I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up" (lifted me from the pit). The literal motion at the Midian well — lowering a vessel into the deep and lifting it full — is the same picture wisdom and salvation borrow. The Verifier ranks Proverbs 20:5 and Psalm 30:1 as the unit's top external verbal candidates on this shared rare lexeme. A genuine rare-word link; the connection lives in the verb, not in any quotation, and the literal and figurative senses are distinct.

Exodus 2:16 · Exodus 2:19 · Proverbs 20:5 · Psalm 30:1

basis: shared rare lexeme H1802 dâlâh 'draw up' (in only 4 vv — Ex 2:16, 2:19; Prov 20:5; Ps 30:1); the Verifier's top-ranked external candidates; rare-word verbal link across literal (water) and figurative (counsel, deliverance) uses, not a citation

Zipporah — a name in only three verses verbal / quotation — confirmed

Moses' wife, named in 2:21, bears a proper name (ṣippōrāh, H6855) that appears in only three verses of the whole Old Testament: this betrothal, the terrifying night-encounter where she circumcises their son and saves Moses' life (4:25), and her return to Moses with Jethro after the Exodus (18:2). The rare shared name stitches her three appearances into one arc — given to Moses here, decisive at the lodging-place there, restored at Sinai. The Verifier confirms the link on this rare proper-noun lexeme. A verbal link by shared name; the dramatic weight of 4:25 is supplied by that narrative, not by this verse.

Exodus 2:21 · Exodus 4:25 · Exodus 18:2

basis: shared rare proper-name lexeme H6855 Tsippôrâh (in only 3 vv — Ex 2:21; 4:25; 18:2); rare-name verbal link binding her three appearances, not a quotation

A sojourner in a foreign land — gēr from Abraham to Israel's Law structural / thematic — confirmed

Moses names Gershom (2:22) by the covenant word gēr, "sojourner / resident alien" (H1616) — a common but theologically loaded term (83 verses). Abraham confesses himself a gēr wᵉtôšāḇ at Sarah's grave (Gen. 23:4); God foretells that Abraham's seed will be gērîm in a land not theirs (Gen. 15:13); and the Law repeatedly grounds its command to love the alien in Israel's own memory — "the land is mine; for you are sojourners (gērîm) with me" (Lev. 25:23). Moses' private grief at being a stranger becomes the seedbed of Israel's social ethic. Because gēr is common rather than rare, this is a confirmed thematic/structural link — a recurring covenant motif of sojourning, deliberately not over-claimed as a quotation.

Exodus 2:22 · Genesis 15:13 · Genesis 23:4 · Leviticus 25:23

basis: shared lexeme H1616 gêr 'sojourner' — common (83 vv); recurring covenant motif of sojourning (Abraham, the foretold bondage, the Law's care for the alien), not a rare-word quotation

Driven out — gāraš, the verb of expulsion turned to rescue structural / thematic — confirmed

The shepherds 'drive away' the priest's daughters in 2:17 with gāraš (H1644), the strong verb of expulsion — the same word that drives Adam from the garden (Gen. 3:24) and Cain from the ground (Gen. 4:14, where he is 'driven out' from God's face). The irony deepens across the Exodus: it is by the identical verb that God promises Pharaoh 'will drive them out of his land' (6:1), so that the small act of expulsion at the well foreshadows the great expulsion that frees the nation. And it is the very root Cambridge weighs and sets aside for Gershom's name (2:22, 'expulsion'). Here, uniquely, the verb of driving-out is answered: where the daughters are driven away, Moses 'rose up and saved them.' Because gāraš is a common word (45 verses), this is a recorded thematic/structural motif of expulsion, not a rare-word quotation — the Verifier confirms only the shared lexeme, and the link lives in the recurring picture, not in any citation.

Exodus 2:17 · Genesis 3:24 · Genesis 4:14 · Exodus 6:1

basis: shared lexeme H1644 gâraš 'drive out' — common (45 vv); a recurring expulsion motif (Eden, Cain, and Pharaoh's eventual driving-out of Israel in 6:1), inverted at the well where the driven-out daughters are saved; same root Cambridge weighs for 'Gershom' (2:22); not a rare-word quotation

Moses 'became great' — gādal, the growing-up of the chosen structural / thematic — confirmed

The verb that compresses Moses' forty years in 2:11 — way-yiḡdal, "and he became great / grew up" (H1431) — is the same word and stem Keil & Delitzsch expressly cross-reference to Genesis 21:20, where Ishmael "grew" in the wilderness, and which recurs of the child Samuel and others. It is a common word (115 verses), so the link is a recurring narrative formula — "and the child grew" — that marks the passage of a chosen figure from infancy to the threshold of his calling, rather than a rare-word quotation. K&D make the cross-reference explicit.

Exodus 2:11 · Genesis 21:20 · Exodus 2:10

basis: shared lexeme H1431 gâdal 'grow/become great' — common (115 vv); a recurring 'and the child grew' formula (K&D cite Gen 21:20) marking a chosen figure's passage to his calling, not a rare-word quotation

Stephen's retelling — the New Testament's reading of Moses' rejection (flagged) flagged — verify source

The whole unit is retold in Stephen's speech (Acts 7:23-29), and the voices route nearly every verse through it: Ellicott, Cambridge, K&D, and the Pulpit Commentary all cite Acts 7 for the forty years (7:23), the misunderstood rescue ("he supposed his brethren would have understood... but they understood not," 7:25), the reworded reproof (7:26), and the flight "at this saying" (7:29). Hebrews 11:24-27 supplies the faith-reading that the older voices press on every verse. But these are cross-Testament links (Greek↔Hebrew): they cannot rest on shared Strong's numbers — the Verifier returns no shared lexeme — and they are interpretive retellings, not the Hebrew text quoting itself. Stephen's framing (Moses as the rejected-then-vindicated deliverer) and Hebrews' faith-construal are real and load-bearing for Christian reading, but as provenance they are the NT's reading of Exodus, which the spec requires us to flag. Flagged accordingly.

Exodus 2:11 · Exodus 2:14 · Exodus 2:15 · Acts 7:23 · Acts 7:25 · Hebrews 11:24

basis: cross-Testament Greek↔Hebrew link — no shared Strong's lexeme possible (Verifier returns none); Acts 7:23-29 and Heb 11:24-27 are the NT's interpretive retelling of this unit, cited by every voice but a reading of the text, not an internal verbal quotation; flagged per spec

Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The deliverer rejected by his own — 'they understood not' widely-held

The voices read Moses' rejection here as a figure of Christ's: the appointed deliverer comes to his own brethren, who do not receive him, and is driven into exile before he returns to save. Keil & Delitzsch draw the line from Stephen: Moses' rescue "could and should have aroused the thought in their minds, that God would send them salvation through him. 'But they understood not' (Acts 7:25)." The pattern — a saviour first refused ("Who made you a ruler and judge over us?"), then exalted to rule and deliver — is the explicitly typological reading of the early church (Stephen sets Moses' rejection beside Israel's rejection of "the Righteous One," Acts 7:51-52). The Hebrew underlines the irony with its salvation-verb: at the well the rejected man literally "saves" (yāšaʻ, v. 17). This is a widely-held figural reading, an overlay on a narrative that, on its own terms, recounts Moses' failure and flight; the New Testament makes the typology, the Hebrew supplies the deliverer-vocabulary.

Exodus 2:14 · Exodus 2:17 · Acts 7:25 · Acts 7:35

Refusing the throne, choosing affliction — the pattern of self-emptying widely-held

The voices read Moses' renunciation of Pharaoh's court as a type of Christ's self-emptying. Ellicott and K&D both anchor v. 11 in Hebrews 11:24-26, where Moses "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God... esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt." Jamieson, Fausset & Brown measure the descent against history itself: "The descent of some great sovereigns, like Diocletian and Charles V, from a throne into private life, is nothing to the sacrifice which Moses made through the power of faith." Hebrews reads Moses' choice Christologically — "the reproach of Christ" — making the deliverer who leaves a palace to share his brethren's burdens a figure of the One who "emptied himself" (Phil. 2:6-8). The Hebrew of 2:11 grants the raw material (Moses 'goes out' to his 'brothers' and 'looks on their burdens'); the messianic weight is Hebrews' own construal and the church's reading, not a datum of the Exodus text. Widely held, and marked as figural.

Exodus 2:11 · Hebrews 11:24 · Hebrews 11:26

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Honesty notes for this unit. (1) The moral verdict on the slaying (v. 12): the voices genuinely divide — Ellicott, Barnes, and Keil & Delitzsch (with Augustine) call it crime or at least an unjustifiable, harmful act; Poole and Matthew Henry allow a "special warrant from Heaven" / "Divine and special vocation." Our synthesis records the division and does not adjudicate it. (2) Priest or prince? (v. 16): the single Hebrew word kōhēn is read "priest" (Poole, Pulpit, Ellicott, citing 18:12) or "prince" (JFB, the Targums); we note both. (3) The name-puzzle (v. 18): Reuel here, Jethro in 3:1/18, Hobab in Num. 10:29 — Poole's "grandfather" harmonization, Cambridge's "gloss" hypothesis, and K&D's "title vs. proper name" solution are all recorded, none endorsed. (4) JFB on Midian's descent (v. 15): JFB derive Midian from "the son of Cush," against the majority view (Gen. 25:2: Abraham by Keturah); flagged as a minority reading. (5) Gershom's etymology (v. 22): the text offers an assonance (gēr shām), not a strict derivation; Cambridge notes the form could conceivably come from gāraš, "expulsion" — the same root that 'drove away' the daughters in v. 17 (see the gāraš thread). We follow the text's own word-play and say so. (6) Verbal tiers: four threads (siḇlāh, rahaṭ, dālāh, Tsippôrāh) carry "verbal / quotation — confirmed" on the strength of a genuinely rare shared lexeme — the basis lines state the frequency explicitly and note these are rare-word links, not actual quotations of one verse by another. (7) Cross-Testament limit: the Stephen/Hebrews thread and both Christ readings cannot use Strong's numbers (Greek↔Hebrew); they are flagged or marked figural. The Acts 7 and Hebrews 11 retellings are real and are cited by the voices throughout, but they are the New Testament's reading of this unit, not an internal verbal quotation. (8) The salvation-verb (v. 17): the BSB's "to help them" renders yāšaʻ, the deliverance-root behind Joshua/Jesus; we flag this as the unit's most significant translation softening. (9) All voices are verbatim contiguous excerpts of the supplied public-domain commentary; the ⚙ synthesis layer (literal renderings, divergence notes, grand commentary, sola reading, and badges) is the tool's own, fallible, and marked.

= human, public-domain source, quoted and named. = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)