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Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. <a href="/nlt/exodus/2.htm">New Living Translation</a> 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. <a href="/esv/exodus/2.htm">English Standard Version</a> 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. <a href="/bsb/exodus/2.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a> But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. <a href="/kjv/exodus/2.htm">King James Bible</a> 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. <a href="/nkjv/exodus/2.htm">New King James Version</a> 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. <a href="/nasb_/exodus/2.htm">New American Standard Bible</a> 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. <a href="/nasb/exodus/2.htm">NASB 1995</a> But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. <a href="/nasb77/exodus/2.htm">NASB 1977 </a> But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it, and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. <a href="/lsb/exodus/2.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a> But she could not hide him any longer. So she took for him an ark of papyrus reeds and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and put it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. <a href="/amp/exodus/2.htm">Amplified Bible</a> When she could no longer hide him, she got him a basket (chest) made of papyrus reeds and covered it with tar and pitch [making it waterproof]. Then she put the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. <a href="/csb/exodus/2.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a> 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. <a href="/hcsb/exodus/2.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a> 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. <a href="/asv/exodus/2.htm">American Standard Version</a> 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 she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river's brink. <a href="/cev/exodus/2.htm">Contemporary English Version</a> But when she could no longer keep him hidden, she made a basket out of reeds and covered it with tar. She put him in the basket and placed it in the tall grass along the edge of the Nile River. <a href="/erv/exodus/2.htm">English Revised Version</a> 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 she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river's brink. <a href="/gwt/exodus/2.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a> When she couldn't hide him any longer, she took a basket made of papyrus plants and coated it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in it and set it among the papyrus plants near the bank of the Nile River. <a href="/gnt/exodus/2.htm">Good News Translation</a> But when she could not hide him any longer, she took a basket made of reeds and covered it with tar to make it watertight. She put the baby in it and then placed it in the tall grass at the edge of the river. <a href="/isv/exodus/2.htm">International Standard Version</a> But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus container, coated it with asphalt and pitch, placed the child in it, and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. <a href="/msb/exodus/2.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a> But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. <a href="/net/exodus/2.htm">NET Bible</a> But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him and sealed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile. <a href="/nheb/exodus/2.htm">New Heart English Bible</a> When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus box for him and coated it with bitumen and with pitch. And she put the child in it and put it among the rushes by the bank of the river. <a href="/wbt/exodus/2.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a> And when she could no 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. <a href="/web/exodus/2.htm">World English Bible</a> When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him, and coated it with tar and with pitch. She put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. <div class="vheading2">Literal Translations</div><a href="/lsv/exodus/2.htm">Literal Standard Version</a> and she has not been able to hide him anymore, and she takes an ark of rushes for him, and covers it with bitumen and with pitch, and puts the boy in it, and puts [it] in the weeds by the edge of the River; <a href="/ylt/exodus/2.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a> and she hath not been able any more to hide him, and she taketh for him an ark of rushes, and daubeth it with bitumen and with pitch, and putteth the lad in it, and putteth it in the weeds by the edge of the River; <a href="/slt/exodus/2.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a> And she will not be able any more to hide him, and she will take for him an ark of bulrush, and will pitch it with bitumen and with pitch, and she will put in it the child, and will put in the sedge by the lip of the river.<div class="vheading2">Catholic Translations</div><a href="/drb/exodus/2.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a> And when she could hide him no longer, she took a basket made of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and pitch: and put the little babe therein, and laid him in the sedges by the river's brink, <a href="/cpdv/exodus/2.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a> And when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a small basket woven of bulrushes, and she smeared it with pitch as well as tar. And she placed the little infant inside, and she laid him in the sedges by the bank of the river. <a href="/nabre/exodus/2.htm">New American Bible</a> But when she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket, daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile. <a href="/nrsvce/exodus/2.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a> When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river.<div class="vheading2">Translations from Aramaic</div><a href="/lamsa/exodus/2.htm">Lamsa Bible</a> And when she could no longer hide him, she took for herself an ark made of acacia wood, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child into it; and laid it among the reeds by the river's bank. <a href="/hpbt/exodus/2.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a> And she was not able to hide him again and she took for him an ark of acacia wood and she smeared it with resin and with pitch and she set the boy in it and she set it in the shallows on the shore of the river.<div class="vheading2">OT Translations</div><a href="/jps/exodus/2.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a> 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 she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river's brink. <a href="/sep/exodus/2.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a> And when they could no longer hide him, his mother took for him an ark, and besmeared it with bitumen, and cast the child into it, and put it in the ooze by the river. <a href="/parallel/exodus/2-3.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv">Audio Bible</div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kVae3PiKqhs?start=174" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="vheadingv">Context</div><a href="/bsb/exodus/2.htm">The Birth of Moses</a> …2and she conceived and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for three months. 3<a href="/hebrew/3201.htm" title="3201: yā·ḵə·lāh (V-Qal-Perf-3fs) -- To be able, have power. Or yakowl; a primitive root; to be able, literally or morally.">But when she could</a> <a href="/hebrew/3808.htm" title="3808: wə·lō- (Conj-w:: Adv-NegPrt) -- Not. Or lowi; or loh; a primitive particle; not; by implication, no; often used with other particles.">no</a> <a href="/hebrew/5750.htm" title="5750: ‘ō·wḏ (Adv) -- Or rod; from uwd; properly, iteration or continuance; used only adverbially, again, repeatedly, still, more.">longer</a> <a href="/hebrew/6845.htm" title="6845: haṣ·ṣə·p̄î·nōw (V-Hifil-Inf:: 3ms) -- A primitive root; to hide; by implication, to hoard or reserve; figuratively to deny; specifically to protect, to lurk.">hide him,</a> <a href="/hebrew/3947.htm" title="3947: wat·tiq·qaḥ- (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs) -- To take. A primitive root; to take.">she got</a> <a href="/hebrew/lōw (Prep:: 3ms) -- ">him</a> <a href="/hebrew/1573.htm" title="1573: gō·me (N-ms) -- A rush, reed, papyrus. From gama'; properly, an absorbent, i.e. The bulrush; specifically the papyrus.">a papyrus</a> <a href="/hebrew/8392.htm" title="8392: tê·ḇaṯ (N-fsc) -- A box, chest. Perhaps of foreign derivation; a box.">basket</a> <a href="/hebrew/2560.htm" title="2560: wat·taḥ·mə·rāh (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs:: 3fs) -- A primitive root; properly, to boil up; hence, to ferment; to glow; as denominative to smear with pitch.">and coated it</a> <a href="/hebrew/2564.htm" title="2564: ḇa·ḥê·mār (Prep-b, Art:: N-ms) -- Bitumen, asphalt. From chamar; bitumen.">with tar</a> <a href="/hebrew/2203.htm" title="2203: ū·ḇaz·zā·p̄eṯ (Conj-w, Prep-b, Art:: N-fs) -- Asphalt. From an unused root; asphalt.">and pitch.</a> <a href="/hebrew/7760.htm" title="7760: wat·tā·śem (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs) -- To put, place, set. Or siym; a primitive root; to put.">Then she placed</a> <a href="/hebrew/3206.htm" title="3206: hay·ye·leḏ (Art:: N-ms) -- Child, son, boy, youth. From yalad; something born, i.e. A lad or offspring.">the child</a> <a href="/hebrew/bāh (Prep:: 3fs) -- ">in</a> <a href="/hebrew/853.htm" title="853: ’eṯ- (DirObjM) -- Apparent contracted from 'owth in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self.">the basket</a> <a href="/hebrew/7760.htm" title="7760: wat·tā·śem (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs) -- To put, place, set. Or siym; a primitive root; to put.">and set</a> <a href="/hebrew/5488.htm" title="5488: bas·sūp̄ (Prep-b, Art:: N-ms) -- Reeds, rushes. Probably of Egyptian origin; a reed, especially the papyrus.">it among the reeds</a> <a href="/hebrew/5921.htm" title="5921: ‘al- (Prep) -- Properly, the same as al used as a preposition; above, over, upon, or against in a great variety of applications.">along</a> <a href="/hebrew/8193.htm" title="8193: śə·p̄aṯ (N-fsc) -- Or sepheth; probably from caphah or shaphah through the idea of termination; the lip; by implication, language; by analogy, a margin.">the bank</a> <a href="/hebrew/2975.htm" title="2975: hay·’ōr (Art:: N-proper-fs) -- Stream (of the Nile), stream, canal. ">of the Nile.</a> 4And his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div> <a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><a href="/hebrews/11-23.htm">Hebrews 11:23</a> By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king’s edict. <a href="/acts/7-20.htm">Acts 7:20-21</a> At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God. For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house. / When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. <a href="/isaiah/19-5.htm">Isaiah 19:5-6</a> The waters of the Nile will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and empty. / The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither. <a href="/genesis/6-14.htm">Genesis 6:14</a> Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out. <a href="/genesis/7-1.htm">Genesis 7:1-5</a> Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. / You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate; / and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth. ... <a href="/matthew/2-13.htm">Matthew 2:13-15</a> When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.” / So he got up, took the Child and His mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt, / where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” <a href="/1_samuel/1-20.htm">1 Samuel 1:20-28</a> So in the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.” / Then Elkanah and all his house went up to make the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, / but Hannah did not go. “After the boy is weaned,” she said to her husband, “I will take him to appear before the LORD and to stay there permanently.” ... <a href="/psalms/32-6.htm">Psalm 32:6</a> Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near. <a href="/isaiah/43-2.htm">Isaiah 43:2</a> When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze. <a href="/2_corinthians/11-25.htm">2 Corinthians 11:25-27</a> Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. / In my frequent journeys, I have been in danger from rivers and from bandits, in danger from my countrymen and from the Gentiles, in danger in the city and in the country, in danger on the sea and among false brothers, / in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure. <a href="/genesis/41-1.htm">Genesis 41:1-3</a> After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile, / when seven cows, sleek and well-fed, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. / After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river. <a href="/job/8-11.htm">Job 8:11</a> Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water? <a href="/luke/2-6.htm">Luke 2:6-7</a> While they were there, the time came for her Child to be born. / And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. <a href="/1_peter/3-20.htm">1 Peter 3:20</a> who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water. <a href="/genesis/21-14.htm">Genesis 21:14-21</a> Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. / When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. / Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I cannot bear to watch the boy die!” And as she sat nearby, she lifted up her voice and wept. ...</div> <a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div>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.could not.<a href="/exodus/1-22.htm">Exodus 1:22</a> And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.<a href="/matthew/2-13.htm">Matthew 2:13,16</a> And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him… <a href="/acts/7-19.htm">Acts 7:19</a> The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.an ark.<a href="/isaiah/18-2.htm">Isaiah 18:2</a> That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!bulrushes.with slime.<a href="/genesis/6-14.htm">Genesis 6:14</a> Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.<a href="/genesis/11-3.htm">Genesis 11:3</a> And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.<a href="/genesis/14-10.htm">Genesis 14:10</a> And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.<div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/genesis/48-10.htm">Able</a> <a href="/genesis/9-18.htm">Ark</a> <a href="/exodus/1-17.htm">Baby</a> <a href="/genesis/41-17.htm">Bank</a> <a href="/genesis/40-17.htm">Basket</a> <a href="/genesis/14-10.htm">Bitumen</a> <a href="/genesis/41-17.htm">Brink</a> <a href="/isaiah/18-2.htm">Bulrushes</a> <a href="/exodus/2-2.htm">Child</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/27-4.htm">Coated</a> <a href="/genesis/38-15.htm">Covered</a> <a href="/ezekiel/22-28.htm">Daubed</a> <a href="/genesis/49-25.htm">Earth</a> <a href="/isaiah/19-6.htm">Flags</a> <a href="/genesis/47-18.htm">Hide</a> <a href="/genesis/49-4.htm">Longer</a> <a href="/exodus/1-22.htm">Nile</a> <a href="/isaiah/35-7.htm">Papyrus</a> <a href="/genesis/6-14.htm">Pitch</a> <a href="/genesis/48-17.htm">Placing</a> <a href="/genesis/9-3.htm">Plants</a> <a href="/ezekiel/13-15.htm">Plastered</a> <a href="/genesis/41-2.htm">Reeds</a> <a href="/genesis/2-12.htm">Resin</a> <a href="/ezekiel/47-6.htm">River's</a> <a href="/genesis/14-10.htm">Slime</a> <a href="/genesis/37-7.htm">Stems</a> <a href="/genesis/14-10.htm">Sticky</a> <a href="/genesis/14-10.htm">Tar</a> <a href="/genesis/49-32.htm">Therein</a> <a href="/genesis/49-4.htm">Water</a> <a href="/isaiah/44-4.htm">Water-Plants</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/exodus/5-11.htm">Able</a> <a href="/exodus/2-5.htm">Ark</a> <a href="/exodus/2-6.htm">Baby</a> <a href="/exodus/2-5.htm">Bank</a> <a href="/exodus/2-5.htm">Basket</a> <a href="/genesis/11-3.htm">Bitumen</a> <a href="/exodus/7-15.htm">Brink</a> <a href="/isaiah/18-2.htm">Bulrushes</a> <a href="/exodus/2-6.htm">Child</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/27-4.htm">Coated</a> <a href="/exodus/3-6.htm">Covered</a> <a href="/leviticus/14-42.htm">Daubed</a> <a href="/exodus/4-3.htm">Earth</a> <a href="/exodus/2-5.htm">Flags</a> <a href="/exodus/29-14.htm">Hide</a> <a href="/exodus/5-7.htm">Longer</a> <a href="/exodus/2-5.htm">Nile</a> <a href="/job/8-11.htm">Papyrus</a> <a href="/exodus/33-7.htm">Pitch</a> <a href="/exodus/9-10.htm">Placing</a> <a href="/exodus/12-8.htm">Plants</a> <a href="/leviticus/14-43.htm">Plastered</a> <a href="/exodus/2-5.htm">Reeds</a> <a href="/exodus/30-34.htm">Resin</a> <a href="/exodus/2-5.htm">River's</a> <a href="/job/6-6.htm">Slime</a> <a href="/exodus/5-7.htm">Stems</a> <a href="/psalms/40-2.htm">Sticky</a> <a href="/genesis/11-3.htm">Tar</a> <a href="/exodus/5-9.htm">Therein</a> <a href="/exodus/2-10.htm">Water</a> <a href="/job/40-21.htm">Water-Plants</a><div class="vheading2">Exodus 2</div>1. <a href="/exodus/2-1.htm">Moses is born, and placed in a basket in the reeds of Nile.</a> 5. <a href="/exodus/2-5.htm">He is found, and brought up by Pharaoh's daughter;</a> 7. <a href="/exodus/2-7.htm">who employs his mother to nurse him.</a> 11. <a href="/exodus/2-11.htm">He kills an Egyptian.</a> 13. <a href="/exodus/2-13.htm">He reproves a Hebrew.</a> 15. <a href="/exodus/2-15.htm">He flees into Midian, and marries Zipporah.</a> 22. <a href="/exodus/2-22.htm">Gershom is born.</a> 23. <a href="/exodus/2-23.htm">God respects the Israelites' cry.</a> </div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/exodus/2.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/exodus/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/exodus/2.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div>But when she could no longer hide him The birth of Moses occurred during a time of great oppression for the Israelites in Egypt. Pharaoh had decreed that all Hebrew male infants be killed (<a href="/exodus/1-22.htm">Exodus 1:22</a>). Moses' mother, Jochebed, hid him for three months, demonstrating her faith and courage. This act of defiance against Pharaoh's edict highlights the tension between obeying God and human authority, a theme echoed in <a href="/acts/5-29.htm">Acts 5:29</a>.she got him a papyrus basket The use of a papyrus basket is significant. Papyrus was a common material in Egypt, used for making boats, baskets, and writing material. The Hebrew word for "basket" here is "tevah," the same word used for Noah's ark (<a href="/genesis/6-14.htm">Genesis 6:14</a>). This parallel suggests a theme of salvation and deliverance, as both Noah and Moses were preserved through water.and coated it with tar and pitch The waterproofing of the basket with tar and pitch ensured its buoyancy and protection against the waters of the Nile. This mirrors the construction of Noah's ark, which was also coated with pitch (<a href="/genesis/6-14.htm">Genesis 6:14</a>). The use of these materials signifies God's provision and care in ensuring the safety of His chosen deliverer.Then she placed the child in the basket Jochebed's act of placing Moses in the basket was an act of faith, entrusting her child to God's providence. This moment foreshadows the future deliverance of Israel through Moses, as well as the ultimate deliverance through Jesus Christ, who was also placed in a humble setting at birth (<a href="/luke/2-7.htm">Luke 2:7</a>).and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile The Nile River was central to Egyptian life and culture, often associated with fertility and sustenance. By setting the basket among the reeds, Jochebed strategically placed Moses in a location where he might be discovered by someone who could protect him. This act of faith and hope is reminiscent of God's providential care, as seen in the story of Joseph, who was also placed in a foreign environment for a greater purpose (<a href="/genesis/50-20.htm">Genesis 50:20</a>).<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <a href="/topical/j/jochebed.htm">Jochebed</a> The mother of Moses, who took a courageous step to protect her son by placing him in a basket on the Nile River. 2. <a href="/topical/m/moses.htm">Moses</a> The infant who would grow up to become the leader of the Israelites and deliver them from Egyptian bondage. 3. <a href="/topical/t/the_nile_river.htm">The Nile River</a> A significant geographical location in Egypt, serving as the setting for Moses' early life and a symbol of both danger and deliverance. 4. <a href="/topical/p/papyrus_basket.htm">Papyrus Basket</a> The vessel used by Jochebed to save Moses, symbolizing faith and divine protection. 5. <a href="/topical/r/reeds.htm">Reeds</a> The natural environment along the Nile where Moses was placed, providing concealment and safety.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><a href="/topical/f/faith_in_action.htm">Faith in Action</a> Jochebed's actions demonstrate a profound trust in God, encouraging believers to act in faith even in dire circumstances. <a href="/topical/d/divine_protection.htm">Divine Protection</a> The account illustrates God's providence and protection over His chosen ones, reminding us of His care in our lives. <a href="/topical/c/courageous_parenting.htm">Courageous Parenting</a> Jochebed's bravery serves as an example for parents to protect and nurture their children in faith, trusting God with their future. <a href="/topical/s/symbolism_of_deliverance.htm">Symbolism of Deliverance</a> The basket in the Nile is a precursor to the deliverance of Israel, symbolizing hope and salvation amidst peril. <a href="/topical/g/god's_sovereignty.htm">God's Sovereignty</a> The placement of Moses in the Nile and his subsequent discovery by Pharaoh's daughter highlight God's sovereign plan and timing.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_exodus_2.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Exodus 2</a> <a href="/q/evidence_of_pitch_baskets_for_infants.htm">Exodus 2:3 – Is there any historical or archaeological evidence for Hebrew mothers using pitch-covered baskets to conceal infants on the Nile? </a> <a href="/q/what_lessons_from_moses'_life.htm">What lessons does Moses' life teach us?</a> <a href="/q/what_happens_in_exodus.htm">What events occur in the biblical book of Exodus?</a> <a href="/q/what_is_the_name_of_moses'_mother.htm">What is the name of Moses' mother?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/exodus/2.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(3) An ark of bulrushes.--Literally, a chest of the papyrus plant. The words used are both of Egyptian origin. Teb, teba, or tebat, is a "box" or chest in Egyptian, and is well Hebraised by tebah, or, as it is here vocalised, teybah. The papyrus plant was in Egyptian kam, as in modern Coptic, whence probably the Hebrew gome. It was a material frequently used by the Egyptians for boats and even larger vessels (<a href="/isaiah/18-2.htm" title="That sends ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes on the waters, saying, Go, you swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning till now; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!">Isaiah 18:2</a>; Theophrast. Hist. Plant, iv. 8, ?4; P1in. H. N. 13:11).Slime and pitoh.--By "slime" seems to be meant bitumen, or mineral pitch, as in Gen. ad. 3; by "pitch" (zaphath), the ordinary vegetable pitch of commerce. Mineral pitch, though not a product of Egypt, was imported into the country from Mesopotamia, and was largely used for embalming (Brugsch, History of Egypt, vol. i. p. 361).In the flags.--A rank aquatic vegetation abounds on the Lower Nile, and in all the back-waters and marshy tracts connected with it. Jochebed placed her child "in the flags," that the ark might not float away down the river, and so be lost to her sight. The word used for "flag"--suph--seems to be a Hebraised form of tufi, a common Egyptian word, having this sense.<div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/exodus/2.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div>Verse 3. - She took for him an ark of bulrushes. The words translated "ark" and "bulrushes" are both of Egyptian origin, the former corresponding to the ordinary word for "chest," which is feb, teba, or tebat, and the latter corresponding to the Egyptian kam, which is the same in Coptic, and designates the papyrus plant. This is a strong-growing rush, with a triangular stem, which attains the height of from 10 to 15 feet. The Egyptian paper was made from its pith. The rush itself was used for various purposes - among others for boat-building (Plin. 'H. N.' 6:22; 7:16; Theophrast, 4:9; Pint. 'De Isid. et Osir.' § 18, etc.), as appears from the monuments. It would be a very good material for the sort of purpose to which Jochebed applied it. She daubed it with slime and with pitch. The word translated "slime" is the same as that used in <a href="/genesis/11-3.htm">Genesis 11:3</a>, which is generally thought to mean "mineral pitch" or "bitumen." According to Strabo and Dioderus, that material was largely used by the Egyptians for the embalming of corpses, and was imported into Egypt from Palestine. Boats are sometimes covered with it externally at the present day (Ker Porter, Travels, vol. 2. p. 260; Layard,'Nineveh and its Remains,' pt. 2. ch. 5.); but Jochebed seems to have used vegetable pitch- the ordinary pitch of commerce - for the purpose. Here again the Hebrew word is taken from the Egyptian. She laid it in the flags. "Suph," the word translated "flags," is a modification of the Egyptian tuff, which has that meaning. Water-plants of all kinds abound in the backwaters of the Nile. and the marshy tracts communicating with it. The object of placing the ark in a thicket of reeds probably was, that it might not float away out of sight. The river's brink. Literally, the lip of the river - an Egyptian idiom. <a href="/commentaries/exodus/2-3.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a> <a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div>But when she could יָכְלָ֣ה (yā·ḵə·lāh) Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3201.htm">Strong's 3201: </a> To be able, have power no וְלֹא־ (wə·lō-) Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3808.htm">Strong's 3808: </a> Not, no longer עוֹד֮ (‘ō·wḏ) Adverb <a href="/hebrew/strongs_5750.htm">Strong's 5750: </a> Iteration, continuance, again, repeatedly, still, more hide him, הַצְּפִינוֹ֒ (haṣ·ṣə·p̄î·nōw) Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_6845.htm">Strong's 6845: </a> To hide, to hoard, reserve, to deny, to protect, to lurk she got וַתִּֽקַּֽח־ (wat·tiq·qaḥ-) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3947.htm">Strong's 3947: </a> To take him לוֹ֙ (lōw) Preposition | third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/.htm">Strong's Hebrew</a> a papyrus גֹּ֔מֶא (gō·me) Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_1573.htm">Strong's 1573: </a> An absorbent, the bulrush, the papyrus basket תֵּ֣בַת (tê·ḇaṯ) Noun - feminine singular construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_8392.htm">Strong's 8392: </a> A box, chest and coated it וַתַּחְמְרָ֥ה (wat·taḥ·mə·rāh) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular | third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_2560.htm">Strong's 2560: </a> To boil up, to ferment, to glow, to smear with pitch with tar בַחֵמָ֖ר (ḇa·ḥê·mār) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_2564.htm">Strong's 2564: </a> Bitumen, asphalt and pitch. וּבַזָּ֑פֶת (ū·ḇaz·zā·p̄eṯ) Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_2203.htm">Strong's 2203: </a> Asphalt Then she placed וַתָּ֤שֶׂם (wat·tā·śem) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_7760.htm">Strong's 7760: </a> Put -- to put, place, set the child הַיֶּ֔לֶד (hay·ye·leḏ) Article | Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3206.htm">Strong's 3206: </a> Something born, a lad, offspring in בָּהּ֙ (bāh) Preposition | third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/.htm">Strong's Hebrew</a> [the basket] אֶת־ (’eṯ-) Direct object marker <a href="/hebrew/strongs_853.htm">Strong's 853: </a> Untranslatable mark of the accusative case and set וַתָּ֥שֶׂם (wat·tā·śem) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_7760.htm">Strong's 7760: </a> Put -- to put, place, set it among the reeds בַּסּ֖וּף (bas·sūp̄) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_5488.htm">Strong's 5488: </a> A reed, the papyrus along עַל־ (‘al-) Preposition <a href="/hebrew/strongs_5921.htm">Strong's 5921: </a> Above, over, upon, against the bank שְׂפַ֥ת (śə·p̄aṯ) Noun - feminine singular construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_8193.htm">Strong's 8193: </a> The lip, language, a margin of the Nile. הַיְאֹֽר׃ (hay·’ōr) Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_2975.htm">Strong's 2975: </a> Nile -- a channel, a fosse, canal, shaft, the Nile, the Tigris <div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/exodus/2-3.htm">Exodus 2:3 NIV</a> <a href="/nlt/exodus/2-3.htm">Exodus 2:3 NLT</a> <a href="/esv/exodus/2-3.htm">Exodus 2:3 ESV</a> <a href="/nasb/exodus/2-3.htm">Exodus 2:3 NASB</a> <a href="/kjv/exodus/2-3.htm">Exodus 2:3 KJV</a> <a href="//bibleapps.com/exodus/2-3.htm">Exodus 2:3 BibleApps.com</a> <a href="//bibliaparalela.com/exodus/2-3.htm">Exodus 2:3 Biblia Paralela</a> <a href="//holybible.com.cn/exodus/2-3.htm">Exodus 2:3 Chinese Bible</a> <a href="//saintebible.com/exodus/2-3.htm">Exodus 2:3 French Bible</a> <a href="/catholic/exodus/2-3.htm">Exodus 2:3 Catholic Bible</a> <a href="/exodus/2-3.htm">OT Law: Exodus 2:3 When she could no longer hide him (Exo. Ex) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/exodus/2-2.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Exodus 2:2"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Exodus 2:2" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/exodus/2-4.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Exodus 2:4"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Exodus 2:4" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>