Exodus Wk 2 - Notes
remember:
Third, it suggests that Miriam was older even than Aaron (who was already three years old at this time; cf. Exod 7:7), but not so old that she would be expected to be working as the young women did at home and field tasks. In other words, she was old enough for the responsibility of watching her little brother in his ark and to have the ability to do so without drawing attention to his presence, but not old enough that her lingering for long periods of time along the Nile would raise questions about an older girl doing no work. Thus she was perhaps between six and twelve years old.
Notes:
SIGNIFICANT:
The midwives names are mentioned.
Shiphrah and Puah were almost surely the senior midwives, functioning as the leaders, or administrators, over an indefinite number of others
Thus these two midwives’ names, along with the names of Jacob’s children and Moses’ family, are the only names actually mentioned in the early chapters of the book.
Why name them so overtly? The answer would appear to be that they were to be regarded as heroes in Israel’s early history—so noteworthy for their bravery in choosing to obey God rather than Pharaoh that they deserved to be remembered so that others might follow their example.
The answer would appear to be that they were to be regarded as heroes in Israel’s early history—so noteworthy for their bravery in choosing to obey God rather than Pharaoh that they deserved to be remembered so that others might follow their example
Did the pharaoh think this would be agreed to? Apparently he did, being used to obedience without question and presumably being experienced enough to know that in most circles there is no sort of evil that people will not do if there is adequate personal gain for doing it (cf. 1 Tim 6:10)
Inasmuch as the “fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,” the midwives’ fear of God was what helped them avoid acting out of self-interest; instead, they bravely in defied the unquestioned leader of the greatest nation of their day, risking everything to do what was right instead of what was easy.95
What was meant for life — now an instrument of death:
The final solution is the murder of all male infants (v. 22) by throwing them into the Nile. Thus, what for the Egyptians is a life-giving force is intended as an instrument of death for the Israelites.
The suspsense of the story:
Themes:
FEAR OF THE LORD
TWO CHARACTERS:
GOD’S SOVERIEGNTY
Look back now at Exodus 2:1–10. God did not oversee Moses’ birth despite Pharaoh’s edict to kill all newborn males. It was not as if the Lord “reacted” to the decree and thought, “What am I going to do now?” Rather, it is precisely by means of this decree that God brings deliverance to his people. God is in full control both of Moses’ birth and of the external circumstances that threaten to undo it. God does not remove Moses from the situation, nor does he strike down Pharaoh who dares to oppose him, both of which he certainly could have done. Instead, God places Moses in the same Nile that Pharaoh intends for the boy’s harm, brings the boy right to Pharaoh’s doorstep, and has him raised in Pharaoh’s house. Why? To defeat the enemy decisively at his own game, at the very heart of his strength. Now the savior of Israel can grow up safe and secure, free not only from Pharaoh’s wrath but from the debilitating effects of slavery. It is also from his “Egyptian” vantage point that Moses can see more clearly the cruelty with which the Egyptians are treating the Israelites (Ex. 2:11–12).
Christ worked salvation for his people not despite his death but precisely in his death.
Pharaohs’ daughter
There was surely no attempt to place Moses in his little ark at a location where he was likely to be discovered. The whole intent was just the opposite. Yet he was discovered—and by an Egyptian! In the story’s surprising twist, however, the discovery by an Egyptian, under other conditions likely to lead to the boy’s death, leads instead to a perfect protection of his life. This is God at work, providing deliverance in an unanticipated yet wonderful way.
The Story
CULTURAL TOUCH POINTS
Application:
The Killing of Babies:
Throwing a baby into the Nile was a lot easier and quicker, involving no cleanup and leaving no evidence, than almost any other means of killing. The child would simply fall into the water and disappear—out of sight and hopefully, from the Egyptian point of view, out of mind.
MOTIFS
The boy is set in an “ark” (tebah) and set afloat on the Nile (v. 3). Like ki ṭob, tebah provides a clear connection to Genesis. In all of the Old Testament, this Hebrew word is found only here and in the Flood story (Gen. 6:14–9:18). The theological connection between these two events is self-evident. (1) Both Noah and Moses are specifically selected to forego a tragic, watery fate; (2) both are placed on an “ark” treated with bitumen and are carried to safety on the very body of water that brings destruction to others; and (3) both are the vehicles through whom God “creates” a new people for his own purposes. Furthermore, Moses’ safe passage through the waters of the Nile not only looks backward to the Flood story, but forward to the passage through the sea in Exodus 14 for all of God’s people.
Ironically, this child, once doomed to death by Pharaoh’s decree, will become the very instrument of Pharaoh’s destruction and the means through which all Israel escapes not merely Pharaoh’s decree, but Egypt itself. The child once abandoned in the reeds (suph) along the shore of the Nile (v. 3) will later lead his people in triumph through the Reed Sea (yam suph, cf. 13:18). Moses’ redemption as an infant will be replayed later with respect to Israel at the very infancy of her existence as a nation. We see, then, already in the first two chapters of Exodus, an interweaving of creation and redemption themes that extend from Genesis through Exodus.
SPECIFIC VERSES:
Did Israelite midwives normally not have children? Apparently they did not. The evidence from the ancient world is sketchy, but these verses are worded in such a way as to suggest strongly that most midwives were women who had not been blessed with children of their own, thus enabling them to spend the required long hours out of the house both day and night that would otherwise have been difficult for women with children.