Exodus 2:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.

NIV: But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.

NASB: But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and covered it with tar and pitch. Then she put the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.

CSB: But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with asphalt and pitch. She placed the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.

NLT: But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.

KJV: And when she could not 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 river's brink.

NKJV: 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 it in the reeds by the river’s bank.

When Moses was three months old (Exodus 2:2), he had grown to the point where hiding him completely from the Egyptians was impossible (Exodus 1:22). Rather than risk her entire family being caught and punished for hiding her newborn son, she will, in a poetic sense, obey Pharaoh's command to "cast into the Nile" her Hebrew boy. At the same time, this ruse will give hope for her son's survival. She makes a basket from bulrushes or papyrus reeds and coats it with pitch so it will float. This construction includes some similarities to Noah's ark, which included pitch that would allow it to float on the water.

The last part of the verse reveals the mother placing Moses in the basket and placing the basket "among the reeds by the river bank." Unlike many movie portrayals of this event, the basket was strategically placed in the reeds where Egyptian women would pass. The baby was not allowed to drift downstream, at least not according to Scripture. There is no indication Moses floated any length down the Nile River, nor that he was abandoned to an uncertain fate. His mother clearly hoped a woman would come by and care for him—the fact that Moses' sister is waiting and prepared with the right words is no coincidence (Exodus 2:7–8).

Exodus 2:1–10 describes the birth and early life of Moses. His mother defies the order to kill Hebrew boys and hides her son. Once he becomes too old to conceal, she places him in a basket on the Nile. Apparently, this was a deliberate attempt to have Moses adopted, as Moses' older sister is stationed nearby, watching. Pharaoh's daughter finds the baby and hires Moses' own mother to be his wet nurse. Once weaned, Moses is sent back to the Egyptian princess, gaining the benefits of a royal education and upbringing.

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.