Source Coverage: Exodus 2:1-5
Pharaoh issued a brutal decree-every Hebrew baby boy was to be thrown into the Nile River (Exodus 1:22). This command placed Moses’ life, along with countless other infant boys, under immediate threat. What had begun with secret orders to midwives had now become a public mandate of death.
Interestingly, very little is said about Moses’ birth in Exodus 2. His parents are not even named in the immediate account. Later, however, we learn their names in Exodus 6:20-Amram and Jochebed (who was Amram’s aunt). Two sons were born into that household: Aaron, who was three years older (Exodus 7:7), and then Moses.
Moses’ parents defied Pharaoh’s decree. Exodus 2:2 tells us they hid the child for three months. The Bible describes him as a “goodly child”-healthy, beautiful, strong. But Scripture gives us further insight.
Stephen, in Acts 7:20, says: “In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months.”
And Hebrews 11:23 adds: “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.”
They did not fear the king-they feared God.
The word translated “proper” in Hebrews 11:23 and “exceeding fair” in Acts 7:20 comes from the Greek word ἀστεῖος (asteios), pronounced as-tay-os. It means more than merely attractive. It carries the idea of something distinguished, marked, notable. Moses was not only physically beautiful-his parents discerned that God’s hand was upon him. By faith, they believed this child had a divine purpose.
But after three months, hiding him was no longer safe.
Exodus 2:3 says: “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.”
Jochebed placed Moses in a small basket woven from reeds and waterproofed with pitch-a resin-like tar. The word “ark” is striking. It is the same word used for Noah’s ark. Just as Noah’s ark was covered with pitch to preserve life through judgment waters, this tiny ark would preserve a deliverer through the waters of death.
The “flags by the river’s brink” refers to the tall grasses and reeds along the Nile. It was hidden-but not abandoned.
Exodus 2:4 tells us: “And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.”
Miriam positioned herself at a distance-close enough to observe, far enough not to draw attention. The phrase “to wit” means “to know” or “to find out.” Some commentators suggest this was not random, but part of Jochebed’s faith-filled planning. She did not throw her son into the river recklessly-she entrusted him to God thoughtfully.
Sometimes faith means acting boldly, as Jochebed did. Sometimes faith means waiting and watching, as Miriam did. In both, God’s providence was already at work-even when unseen.
There is a profound irony here. Pharaoh commanded that Hebrew boys be thrown into the Nile. In a sense, Jochebed did exactly that-she placed her son in the Nile. But what was meant to destroy him became the very means of his deliverance. The river of death became the pathway to destiny.
Death itself paints this picture. The devil has long used death to torment humanity. Yet death is the very instrument Christ used to defeat death. Just as David used Goliath’s own sword to cut off his head, God used the cross-the symbol of execution-to conquer sin and the grave.
What was meant for destruction became deliverance.
What was meant for death became the doorway to salvation.
And in that little ark on the Nile, we see the shadow of a greater Deliverer to come.
Pharaoh issued a brutal decree-every Hebrew baby boy was to be thrown into the Nile River (Exodus 1:22). This command placed Moses’ life, along with countless other infant boys, under immediate threat. What had begun with secret orders to midwives had now become a public mandate of death.
Interestingly, very little is said about Moses’ birth in Exodus 2. His parents are not even named in the immediate account. Later, however, we learn their names in Exodus 6:20-Amram and Jochebed (who was Amram’s aunt). Two sons were born into that household: Aaron, who was three years older (Exodus 7:7), and then Moses.
Moses’ parents defied Pharaoh’s decree. Exodus 2:2 tells us they hid the child for three months. The Bible describes him as a “goodly child”-healthy, beautiful, strong. But Scripture gives us further insight.
Stephen, in Acts 7:20, says: “In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months.”
And Hebrews 11:23 adds: “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.”
They did not fear the king-they feared God.
The word translated “proper” in Hebrews 11:23 and “exceeding fair” in Acts 7:20 comes from the Greek word ἀστεῖος (asteios), pronounced as-tay-os. It means more than merely attractive. It carries the idea of something distinguished, marked, notable. Moses was not only physically beautiful-his parents discerned that God’s hand was upon him. By faith, they believed this child had a divine purpose.
But after three months, hiding him was no longer safe.
Exodus 2:3 says: “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.”
Jochebed placed Moses in a small basket woven from reeds and waterproofed with pitch-a resin-like tar. The word “ark” is striking. It is the same word used for Noah’s ark. Just as Noah’s ark was covered with pitch to preserve life through judgment waters, this tiny ark would preserve a deliverer through the waters of death.
The “flags by the river’s brink” refers to the tall grasses and reeds along the Nile. It was hidden-but not abandoned.
Exodus 2:4 tells us: “And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.”
Miriam positioned herself at a distance-close enough to observe, far enough not to draw attention. The phrase “to wit” means “to know” or “to find out.” Some commentators suggest this was not random, but part of Jochebed’s faith-filled planning. She did not throw her son into the river recklessly-she entrusted him to God thoughtfully.
Sometimes faith means acting boldly, as Jochebed did. Sometimes faith means waiting and watching, as Miriam did. In both, God’s providence was already at work-even when unseen.
There is a profound irony here. Pharaoh commanded that Hebrew boys be thrown into the Nile. In a sense, Jochebed did exactly that-she placed her son in the Nile. But what was meant to destroy him became the very means of his deliverance. The river of death became the pathway to destiny.
Death itself paints this picture. The devil has long used death to torment humanity. Yet death is the very instrument Christ used to defeat death. Just as David used Goliath’s own sword to cut off his head, God used the cross-the symbol of execution-to conquer sin and the grave.
What was meant for destruction became deliverance.
What was meant for death became the doorway to salvation.
And in that little ark on the Nile, we see the shadow of a greater Deliverer to come.