Exodus 2:1–10, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Exodus 2:1–10
A Child Drawn from the Nile
The child's life depends on several people
A Levite man and woman have a son. She sees that he is a goodly child and hides him three months. When hiding is no longer possible, she makes a papyrus ark, seals it, and sets it in the reeds. His sister watches. Pharaoh's daughter finds him, recognizes him as a Hebrew child, and has compassion when he weeps.
The sister then proposes a Hebrew nurse; Pharaoh's daughter agrees; the child's own mother is paid to nurse him. Later he is brought to the palace and becomes her son. The name Moses is given because she drew him out of the water.
Drawn from the water the empire made deadly
The river that was supposed to swallow Hebrew sons becomes, in this one case, the place of rescue. That irony does not make imperial adoption, family separation, or the danger good. It shows how a threatened child survived through the distinct risks of his mother, his sister, and a daughter of the house that issued the decree.
How this should shape us
Protect children before protecting an institution's reputation. Credit every person who carried risk, and do not turn a survivor's story into praise for the system that endangered him.
Teach it back
Explain Exodus 2:1–10 in your own words. Include both movements, its place in Exodus, one historical or compositional uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one conclusion the complete context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Careful interpreters agree that the received text states the following: A Levite family, the child's sister, and Pharaoh's daughter preserve a threatened boy; he is named Moses after being drawn from the water that imperial policy made deadly. They disagree over source layers, date, historical recovery, archaeology, Hebrew details, ritual development, legal use, and canonical relationship in different proportions; this study treats the final form directly while marking those alternatives as probable or uncertain rather than settled fact.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exodus 2:1–10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 2:1–10
Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.
NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 2:1–10
Supports: Oppression, Moses traditions, name revelation, commission, source-critical alternatives, and narrative transition to rescue.
Yale Bible Study, 'The Burning Bush,' complete study guide pp. 1–5, sections on Exodus 1–6, oppression, Moses, divine-name disclosures, call, and source differences; applied to Exodus 2:1–10
Supports: Book movement, historicity and archaeology limits, literary plurality, final-form reading, and Exodus's place in Torah.
Yale Bible Study, Exodus Introduction study guide, pp. 1–6: 'Exodus and the Patriarchs,' 'The Historicity of the Exodus,' 'The Sources in Exodus,' and 'The Book of Exodus'
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Exodus 2:1–10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 2:1–10
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2026-08-12
Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 2:1–10
Open source ↗open university course study guide
The Burning Bush Study Guide
Joel S. Baden and John J. Collins
Yale Bible Study, 2019 course edition
Supports: Oppression, Moses traditions, name revelation, commission, source-critical alternatives, and narrative transition to rescue.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, 'The Burning Bush,' complete study guide pp. 1–5, sections on Exodus 1–6, oppression, Moses, divine-name disclosures, call, and source differences; applied to Exodus 2:1–10
Open source ↗open university course study guide
Exodus Introduction Study Guide
Joel S. Baden and John J. Collins
Yale Bible Study, 2019 course edition
Supports: Book movement, historicity and archaeology limits, literary plurality, final-form reading, and Exodus's place in Torah.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Exodus Introduction study guide, pp. 1–6: 'Exodus and the Patriarchs,' 'The Historicity of the Exodus,' 'The Sources in Exodus,' and 'The Book of Exodus'
Open source ↗