By Kenneth O. Gangel
Exodus 2
Egypt has been called the Gift of the Nile. It is the land of the Sphinx and the pyramids, a nation of thirty-one dynasties which covered almost three thousand years before the Roman domination of Egypt began in 30 B.C.
The psalmist referred to the Egyptians as “a people of strange language” (Ps. 114:1). That is a mild description for a country that offered such agony of heart to the Israelites through many years of their history.
The second chapter of Exodus contains the account of the birth and young manhood of one of the most important characters in the Old Testament — Moses. Born to slave parents in poverty and oppression (probably during the reign of Thutmose I), Moses grew up amid the splendor of Pharoah’s court.
Forty years pass between verses 10 and 11 of Exodus 2, and we may assume that Moses spent them in careful training to become a future ruler of Egypt. Stephen, in his address to the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:22), indicated that Moses was a great prince, highly educated in Egypt’s wisdom. Archaeologists believe Moses probably knew much about science and literature. Moses was never allowed to forget that he was a Hebrew, and Exodus 2:11 finds him exploring the plight of his blood brothers.
LEGITIMATE CONCERN
One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people (Exod. 2:11).
What Moses saw that day deeply stirred him. His heart was touched by the burdens his people were required to bear. Quite possibly, his mother and father were still alive at this time and he may have actually seen them in the bonds of Egyptian slavery.
Moses sprang into action at the sight of an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew. The King James Version uses the word “spied” when referring to this incident, which implies that Moses had to sneak around the land incognito (Exod. 2:11). Surely the prince of Egypt could go wherever he wanted and watch whatever he wanted. Perhaps the word “observed” is a better choice.