Exodus 2:8
in Exodus 2“Go ahead,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. And the girl went and called the boy’s mother.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maiden went and called the child’s mother.
KJV
And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.
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This verse in Exodus 2
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women
on Exodus 2:7-9
The sister's question puts the child back into the arms of his own mother, and the mother is then paid wages out of the Egyptian court to nurse her own son. An order to drown the Hebrew boys ends with Pharaoh's household funding the upbringing of the man who will lead them out. Those first years with a Hebrew woman are what stand behind Hebrews 11:24, where a grown man refuses to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
This site's exposition
the girl went and called
The princess accepted the sister's offer, and the girl went and brought back the child's own mother. The Hebrew word for girl here describes a young woman, and the sister goes unnamed in this chapter. Adam Clarke thinks she was probably Miriam. John Gill, on the next verse, notes that the mother was then paid to nurse her own son.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, go,.... She fell in at once with the proposal, being, no doubt, overruled, by the providence of God, to agree to have such a person called: and the maid went and called the child's mother; and her own, whose name was Jochebed the wife of Amram, as observed in Exo 2:1.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֹּֽאמֶר־ | vatomer- | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָ֥הּ | lah | to <the> her | ||
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֖ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| לֵ֑כִי | lekhi | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וַתֵּ֙לֶךְ֙ | vatelekh | and she went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| הָֽעַלְמָ֔ה | haalmah | the young woman | H5959 → | |
| וַתִּקְרָ֖א | vatikra' | and she called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵ֥ם | ʾem | [the] mother of | H517 → | 220 times |
| הַיָּֽלֶד׃ | haiyaled | the child | H3206 → | 89 times |
וַתֹּֽאמֶר־and she said
vatomer-H559 →5305 times
לָ֥הּto <the> her
lah
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
פַּרְעֹ֖הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
לֵ֑כִיgo
lekhiH1980 →1546 times
וַתֵּ֙לֶךְ֙and she went
vatelekhH1980 →1546 times
הָֽעַלְמָ֔הthe young woman
haalmahH5959 →
וַתִּקְרָ֖אand she called
vatikra'H7121 →733 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֵ֥ם[the] mother of
ʾemH517 →220 times
הַיָּֽלֶד׃the child
haiyaledH3206 →89 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Psalms 27:10Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.
it leads to
- Isaiah 49:15
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!
- Isaiah 40:11
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
- John 16:32
“Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father…
- Matthew 10:36
A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
- Isaiah 49:15
Through
Ezekiel 16:8Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a…
it leads to
- Ruth 3:9
“Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.”
- Jeremiah 2:2–3
“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness,…
- Romans 5:8
But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Isaiah 43:4
Because you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you and nations in place of your life.
- Ruth 3:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.