Exodus 2:3

Exodus 2:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)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.

Context of Exodus 2:3

1Now a man of the house of Levi [the priestly tribe] went and took as his wife a daughter of Levi. 2The woman conceived and gave birth to a son; and when she saw that he was [especially] beautiful and healthy, she hid him for three months [to protect him from the Egyptians]. 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. 4And his sister [Miriam] stood some distance away to find out what would happen to him. 5Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, and [she, together with] her maidens walked along the river’s bank; she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid [to get it], and she brought it to her.

Exodus 2:3 word by word

וְלֹא־יָכְלָ֣ה עוֹד֮ הַצְּפִינוֹ֒ וַתִּֽקַּֽח־לוֹ֙ תֵּ֣בַת גֹּ֔מֶא וַתַּחְמְרָ֥ה בַחֵמָ֖ר וּבַזָּ֑פֶת וַתָּ֤שֶׂם בָּהּ֙ אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד וַתָּ֥שֶׂם בַּסּ֖וּף עַל־שְׂפַ֥ת הַיְאֹֽר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when she couldיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• not longerעוֹד‛ôd ‛ôd · stillH5750
• hideצָפַןtsâphan · to treasureH6845
• him, she tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• for him an arkתֵּבָהtêbâh · arkH8392
• of bulrushesגֹּ֫מֶאgôme' · reedH1573
• and daubedחָמַרchâmar · to daubH2560
• it with slimeחֵמָרchêmâr · bitumenH2564
• and with pitchזֶ֫פֶתzepheth · pitchH2203
• and putשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
• the childיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206
• in the flagsסוּףsûph · reedH5488
• by the river’sיְאֹרye'ôr · NileH2975
• brinkשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lip: shoreH8193

Cross-references for Exodus 2:3

• Exodus 1:22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born [to the Hebrews] must be thrown into the Nile, but every daughter you shall keep alive.”
• Matthew 2:13Now when they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod intends to search for the Child in order to destroy Him.”
• Acts 7:19He shrewdly exploited our race and mistreated our fathers, forcing them to expose their [male] babies so that they would die.
• Isaiah 18:2Which sends ambassadors by the sea, Even in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a nation [of people] tall and smooth (clean shaven), To a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation Whose land the rivers divide.
• Genesis 6:14Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make in it rooms (stalls, pens, coops, nests, cages, compartments) and coat it inside and out with pitch (bitumen).
• Genesis 11:3They said one to another, “Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly [in a kiln, to harden and strengthen them].” So they used brick for stone [as building material], and they used tar (bitumen, asphalt) for mortar.
• Genesis 14:10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar (bitumen) pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them. But the remainder [of the kings] who survived fled to the hill country.

Commentaries on Exodus 2:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3An ark of bulrushes - גמא תבת tebath gome, a small boat or basket made of the Egyptian reed called papyrus, so famous in all antiquity. This plant grows on the banks of the Nile, and in marshy grounds; the stalk rises to the height of six or seven cubits above the water, is triangular, and terminates in a crown of small filaments resembling hair, which the ancients used to compare to a thyrsus. This reed was of the greatest use to the inhabitants of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The ark was made of the papyrus which was commonly used by the Egyptians for light and swift boats. The species is no longer found in the Nile below Nubia. It is a strong rush, like the bamboo, about the thickness of a finger, three cornered, and attains the height of 10 to 15 feet. It is represented with great accuracy on the most ancient monuments of Egypt. Slime and pitch - The “slime” is probably the mud, of which bricks were usually made in Egypt…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Papyrus reeds grew plentifully along the many streams into which the Nile River divided in the delta region of northern Egypt. They were light and flexible, well-suited for basket weaving. It is possible that the mother of Moses placed the basket in the water exactly where it was most likely to be found by the Egyptian princess.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. she took for him an ark of bulrushes--papyrus, a thick, strong, and tough reed. slime--the mud of the Nile, which, when hardened, is very tenacious. pitch--mineral tar. Boats of this description are seen daily floating on the surface of the river, with no other caulking than Nile mud (compare Is 18:2), and they are perfectly watertight, unless the coating is forced off by stormy weather. flags--a general term for sea or river weed. The chest was not…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 2:3

• Ark
• Bitumen
• Bulrush
• Flag
• Jochebed
• Moses
• Papyrus
• Pitch
• Servant
• Slime

In the dictionaries

• Ark of Bulrushes
• Ark
• Bitumen
• Bulrush
• Flag
• Herself
• Pitch
• Slime
• Son
• Soon

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