Exodus 2:1
in Exodus 2Now a man of the house of Levi married a daughter of Levi,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
KJV
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
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This verse in Exodus 2
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThere went a man - Amram, son of Kohath, son of Levi, Exo 6:16-20. A daughter of Levi, Jochebed, sister to Kohath, and consequently both the wife and aunt of her husband Amram, Exo 6:20; Num 26:59. Such marriages were at this time lawful, though they were afterwards forbidden, Lev 18:12. But it is possible that daughter of Levi means no more than a descendant of that family, and that probably Amram and Jochebed were only cousin germans.
This site's exposition
there went a man of the house of Levi
on Exodus 2:1-2
Neither parent is named in this chapter, and the genealogy at Exodus 6:20 supplies Amram and Jochebed after the fact. The mother sees that the child is goodly and hides him three months against a standing royal order, which Hebrews 11:23 credits to faith and says the parents were not afraid of the king's commandment. Stephen describes the same infant at Acts 7:20 as exceeding fair.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And there went a man of the house of Levi,.... This man was Amram, the son of Kohath, and grandson of Levi, as appears from Exo 6:18. and took to wife a daughter of Levi; one of the same house, family, or tribe; which was proper, that the tribes might be kept distinct: this was Jochebed, said to be his father's sister; see Gill on Exo 6:20, her name in Josephus (s) is Joachebel, which seems to be no other than a corruption of Jochebed, but in the Targum in 1Ch 4:18 she is called Jehuditha. (s) Antiqu. l.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there went a man of the house of Levi, &c. Amram was the husband and Jochebed the wife (compare Ex 6:2; The marriage took place, and two children, Miriam and Aaron, were born some years before the infanticidal edict.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A man ... a daughter of Levi - Amram and Jochebed. See Exo 6:20.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Our Rabbis have said. Sotah 12a. that he went after the advice of his daughter. 52 Amram and Jochebed, Moses’ parents, had been married previously. The children of that union were Miriam and Aaron.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מִבֵּ֣ית | mibeit | from [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| לֵוִ֑י | levi | Levi | H3878 → | 59 times |
| וַיִּקַּ֖ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| לֵוִֽי׃ | levi | Levi | H3878 → | 59 times |
וַיֵּ֥לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
אִ֖ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מִבֵּ֣יתfrom [the] house of
mibeitH1004 →2046 times
לֵוִ֑יLevi
leviH3878 →59 times
וַיִּקַּ֖חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
לֵוִֽי׃Levi
leviH3878 →59 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
3 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 26:59and Amram’s wife was named Jochebed. She was also a daughter of Levi, born to Levi in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam.
it leads to
- Exodus 6:20
And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.
- Exodus 2:1–2
Now a man of the house of Levi married a daughter of Levi,
- Leviticus 18:12
You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.
- Exodus 6:20
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.