Exodus 2:15

Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Pharaoh	פַּרְעֹה֙ par.'Oh	H6547	Paroh · noun, masculine singular absolute
heard	וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע vai.yish.Ma'	H8085	to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
thing	הַדָּבָ֣ר ha.da.Var	H1697	a word · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sought	וַיְבַקֵּ֖שׁ vay.va.Kesh	H1245	to search out (by any method · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
slay	לַהֲרֹ֣ג la.ha.Rog	H2026	to smite with deadly intent · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
Moses	מֹשֶׁ֑ה mo.Sheh	H4872	Mosheh · proper noun, a man's name
Moses	מֹשֶׁה֙ mo.Sheh	H4872	Mosheh · proper noun, a man's name
fled	וַיִּבְרַ֤ח vai.yiv.Rach	H1272	to bolt · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
face	מִפְּנֵ֣י mi.pe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
Pharaoh	פַרְעֹ֔ה far.'Oh	H6547	Paroh · noun, masculine singular absolute
dwelt	וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב vai.Ye.shev	H3427	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
land	בְּאֶֽרֶץ be.'e.retz-	H776	the earth (at large · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
Midian	מִדְיָ֖ן mid.Yan	H4080	Midjan · proper noun, a place name
down	וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב vai.Ye.shev	H3427	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
well	הַבְּאֵֽר ha.be.'Er	H875	a pit · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Acts 7:29 Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
Hebrews 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
Genesis 24:11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw…
Genesis 29:2 And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the…
1 Kings 19:1-3 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
1 Kings 19:13-14 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, be…
Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Matthew 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel,…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 2:11-15

Moses had now passed the first forty years of his life in the court of Pharaoh, preparing himself for business; and now it was time for him to enter upon action, and, I. He boldly owns and espouses the cause of God's people: When Moses was grown he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens, Exo 2:11. The best exposition of these words we have from an inspired pen, Heb 11:24-26, where we are told that by this he expressed, 1. His holy contempt of the honours and pleasures of the Egyptian court; he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, for he went out. The temptation was indeed very strong. He had a fair opportunity (as we say) to make his fortune, and to have been…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 2:15

Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh--His flight took place in the second year of Thothmes I. dwelt in the land of Midian--situated on the eastern shore of the gulf of the Red Sea and occupied by the posterity of Midian the son of Cush. The territory extended northward to the top of the gulf and westward far across the desert of Sinai. And from their position near the sea, they early combined trading with pastoral pursuits (Gen 37:28). The headquarters of Jethro are supposed to have been where Dahab-Madian now stands; and from Moses coming direct to that place, he may have travelled with a caravan of merchants. But another place is fixed by tradition in Wady Shuweib, or Jethro's valley, on…

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Adam Clarke on Exodus 2:15

Pharaoh - sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh - How can this be reconciled with Heb 11:27 : By faith he (Moses) forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king? Very easily. The apostle speaks not of this forsaking of Egypt, but of his and the Israelites' final departure from it, and of the bold and courageous manner in which Moses treated Pharaoh and the Egyptians, disregarding his threatenings and the multitudes of them that pursued after the people whom, in the name and strength of God, he led in the face of their enemies out of Egypt. Dwelt in the land of Midian - A country generally supposed to have been in Arabia Petraea, on the eastern coast of the Red Sea,…

The Church Fathers

Moses went out from Egypt and was made a prophet and sent back to the people that he might free their souls from the land of affliction.
— Ambrose of Milan, Interrogation of Job and David 4.4.14

Thus did Moses flee from the face of Pharaoh, so that the royal palace would not defile him or royal power ensnare him. Indeed, he valued reproach for Christ as more precious than the riches of Egypt.
— Ambrose of Milan, FLIGHT FROM THE WORLD 4.4.18

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Face — Means simply presence, as when it is recorded that Adam and Eve hid themselves from the “face [R.V., ‘presence’] of the Lord God” (Gen. 3:8; comp. Ex. 33:14, 15, where the same Hebrew word is…
Kenite, The — and Ken’ites (smiths), The, inhabited the rocky and desert region between southern Palestine and the mountains of Sinai, east of the Gulf of Akabah. They were a branch of the larger nation of…
Midian — Strife, the fourth son of Abraham by Keturah, the father of the Midianites (Gen. 25:2; 1 Chr. 1:32).
Midianite — An Arabian tribe descended from Midian. They inhabited principally the desert north of the peninsula of Arabia. The peninsula of Sinai was the pasture-ground for their flocks. They were virtually the…
Moses — Drawn (or Egypt. mesu, “son;” hence Rameses, royal son). On the invitation of Pharaoh (Gen. 45:17-25), Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. This immigration took place probably about 350 years…
Phylacteries — (Gr. phulakteria; i.e., “defences” or “protections”), called by modern Jews tephillin (i.e., “prayers”) are mentioned only in Matt. 23:5. They consisted of strips of parchment on which were inscribed…
Egypt · History of Israel in: Moses flies to Midian — History of Israel in: Moses flies to Midian
Fugitives · Moses — Moses
Jethro · Moses spent forty years of exile with, and married his daughter — Moses spent forty years of exile with, and married his daughter
Midianites · A small part of: Dwelt near Horeb — A small part of: Dwelt near Horeb
Moses · refuge among the Midianites — refuge among the Midianites

Exodus 2:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 2:11-15

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 2:15

Adam Clarke on Exodus 2:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 2:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 2:11-15

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 2:15

Adam Clarke on Exodus 2:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Exodus 2:15

John Calvin on Exodus 2:11-15

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 2:11-15

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 2:15

Rashi on Exodus 2:15