Exodus 2:23

Exodus 2:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
• New International Version (NIV)During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
• English Standard Version (ESV)During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

Context of Exodus 2:23

21Moses was willing to remain with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah [to be his wife]. 22She gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom (stranger); for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.” Now it happened after a long time [about forty years] that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel (Jacob) groaned and sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out. And their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God. 24So God heard their groaning and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel). 25God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice [of them] and was concerned about them [knowing all, understanding all, remembering all].

Exodus 2:23 word by word

וַיְהִי֩ בַיָּמִ֨ים הָֽרַבִּ֜ים הָהֵ֗ם וַיָּ֙מָת֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרַ֔יִם וַיֵּאָנְח֧וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל מִן־הָעֲבֹדָ֖ה וַיִּזְעָ֑קוּ וַתַּ֧עַל שַׁוְעָתָ֛ם אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים מִן־הָעֲבֹדָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it came to pass in processרַבrab · manyH7227
• And it came to pass in processהֵ֫מָּהhêm hêmmâh · they(masc.)H1992
• of timeיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• that the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• diedמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• and the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• sighedאָנַח'ânach · to sighH584
• by reason ofמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• the bondageעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · serviceH5656
• and they criedזָעַקzâ‛aq · to cry outH2199
• and their cryשַׁוְעָהshav‛âh · cryH7775
• came upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• unto Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Exodus 2:23

• Exodus 7:7Now Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
• Acts 7:30“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush.
• Exodus 4:19Then the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life [for killing the Egyptian] are dead.”
• Matthew 2:19But when Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,
• Acts 12:23And at once an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory [and instead permitted himself to be worshiped], and he was eaten by worms and died [five days later].
• Genesis 16:11The Angel of the Lord continued, “Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall name him Ishmael (God hears), Because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your persecution (suffering).
• Numbers 20:16But when we cried out to the Lord [for help], He heard us and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.
• Deuteronomy 26:6And the Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us.
• Psalms 12:5“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
• Exodus 3:7The Lord said, “I have in fact seen the affliction (suffering, desolation) of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters (oppressors); for I know their pain and suffering.
• Exodus 22:22You shall not harm or oppress any widow or fatherless child.
• Genesis 4:10The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s [innocent] blood is crying out to Me from the ground [for justice].
• Genesis 18:20And the Lord said, “The outcry [of the sin] of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.
• Deuteronomy 24:15You shall give him his wages on the day that he earns them before the sun sets—for he is poor and is counting on it—so that he does not cry out to the Lord against you, and it becomes a sin for you.
• Judges 10:11The Lord said to the Israelites, “Did I not rescue you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, and the Philistines?
• Nehemiah 9:9“You saw our fathers’ affliction in Egypt, And You heard their cry by the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds).

Commentaries on Exodus 2:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23In process of time - the king of Egypt died - According to St. Stephen, ( Acts 7:30, compared with Exodus 7:7;), the death of the Egyptian king happened about forty years after the escape of Moses to Midian. The words ההם הרבים בימים ויהי vayehi baiyamim harabbim hahem, which we translate And it came to pass in process of time, signify, And it was in many days from these that the king, etc. It has already been remarked that Archbishop Usher supposes this…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23In process of time - Nearly forty years Acts 7:30. This verse marks the beginning of another section. We now enter at once upon the history of the Exodus. Their cry came up unto God - This statement, taken in connection with the two following verses, proves that the Israelites retained their faith in the God of their Fathers. The divine name, “God,” אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym is chosen because it was that which the Israelites must have used in their cry for help…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-25Verses 23-25 The Israelites' bondage in Egypt continued, though the murdering of their infants did not continue. Sometimes the Lord suffers the rod of the wicked to lie very long and very heavy on the lot of the righteous. At last they began to think of God under their troubles. It is a sign that the Lord is coming towards us with deliverance, when he inclines and enables us to cry to him for it. God heard their groaning; he made it to appear that he took…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-25This passage shows the concern Moses felt for the oppressed. It describes his move to a new land (2:18–22). He married, had a child, and lived there for 40 years (Acts 7:30). From a human perspective, rescuing the Israelites through Moses seemed impossible. But what God's perspective is what matters. The end of this section tells us that God had not forgotten his people (Exodus 2:23–25). He was only waiting for the right time to act (2:25).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage--The language seems to imply that the Israelites had experienced a partial relaxation, probably through the influence of Moses' royal patroness; but in the reign of her father's successor the persecution was renewed with increased severity.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 2:23

• Bondage
• Israel
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• God
• Israel
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Children of Israel
• Bondage

Commentaries on Exodus 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings