Exodus 2:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He answered, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid, and thought, "Surely the thing is known."

NIV: The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known."

NASB: But he said, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?' Then Moses was afraid and said, 'Surely the matter has become known!'

CSB: "Who made you a commander and judge over us?" the man replied. "Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses became afraid and thought, "What I did is certainly known."

NLT: The man replied, 'Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?' Then Moses was afraid, thinking, 'Everyone knows what I did.'

KJV: And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.

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

Moses attempted to break up a fight between two of his fellow Hebrews. One of the Jewish fighters answers by calling out two points of hypocrisy. First, Moses was a Jew and yet lived among the Egyptians. Socially, at least, he was the last person with any authority to make judgments among the Hebrews. Moses was also a prince in one sense: Pharaoh's daughter had adopted him into the royal family (Exodus 2:10). He may have even been dressed in Egyptian clothing, further separating him from the culture of his own people. The question, then, can be re-phrased simply as "who are you to get involved in this?"

Second, the man implies that he knows about Moses' recent killing of an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew (Exodus 2:11–12). This second point of hypocrisy questions how Moses can criticize violence when he himself has acted violently.

Learning that his crime was no longer a secret frightens Moses. He can be put to death himself (Exodus 2:15). Instead of worrying about the fight between the two Hebrews, Moses was now in fear for his own life. His courage turned to fear as he faced either the consequences of his actions, or escape.

Exodus 2:11–22 describes how Moses went from his position as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess to being an exiled shepherd living in Midian. As an adult, Moses defends a fellow Jew by killing an Egyptian aggressor. Moses' attempt to hide the act fails and he is forced to flee Egypt. In Midian, Moses heroically defends a group of shepherd girls and is welcomed into their family. This establishes the backdrop of Moses' life for one of God's most dramatic encounters with man: the burning bush.

Amid an order from Pharaoh to murder newborn Hebrew boys, Moses' mother places him in a basket along the side of the river, staging her daughter there to observe. The Egyptian king's daughter sees the baby and has pity. Thanks to the presence of Moses' sister, the princess pays Moses' own mother to wean him. After this, he is raised in the home of Egypt's royal family. As an adult, Moses unsuccessfully attempts to hide his murder of an abusive Egyptian and flees to Midian as an exile. As Moses builds a family abroad, Israel cries out to God for rescue from the brutality of Egyptian slavery.

Exodus chapter 2 introduces the character of Moses, after describing the plight of Israel under Egyptian slavery. This passage provides a few interesting ironies. Primarily, the Egyptian king attempts to oppress Israel through infanticide; this very command leads to his own daughter adopting a Hebrew boy—Moses. Because of the intervention of the boy's sister, his own mother is paid to nurse and wean him. Then the Egyptian woman provides the Hebrew boy with support and education, essentially raising the future liberator of the very people her father seeks to control. After chapter 2 establishes Moses' exile from Egypt, chapter 3 will begin narrating his call to lead the nation of Israel out of captivity under the Pharaoh.

The book of Exodus establishes God's covenant relationship with the full-fledged nation of Israel. The descendants of Abraham prosper after settling in Egypt, only to be enslaved by a fearful, hateful Egyptian Pharaoh. God appoints Moses to lead the people out of this bondage. Moses serves as God's spokesman, as the Lord brings plagues and judgments on Egypt, leading to the release of Israel.