Exodus 2:6

Exodus 2:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.
• New International Version (NIV)She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

Context of Exodus 2:6

4Then his sister stood at a distance in order to see what would happen to him. 5Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe at the Nile while her servant girls walked along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds, sent her slave girl, took it, opened it, and saw him, the child — and there he was, a little boy, crying. She felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.” 7Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and call a Hebrew woman who is nursing to nurse the boy for you?” 8“Go,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. So the girl went and called the boy’s mother.

Exodus 2:6 word by word

וַתִּפְתַּח֙ וַתִּרְאֵ֣הוּ אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד וְהִנֵּה־נַ֖עַר בֹּכֶ֑ה וַתַּחְמֹ֣ל עָלָ֔יו וַתֹּ֕אמֶר מִיַּלְדֵ֥י הָֽעִבְרִ֖ים זֶֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when she had openedפָּתַחpâthach · to openH6605
• she sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• the childיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206
• and, behold, the babeנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
• weptבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
• And she had compassionחָמַלchâmal · to spareH2550
• on him, and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• of the Hebrews’עִבְרִי‛ibrîy · HebrewH5680

Cross-references for Exodus 2:6

• 1 Kings 8:50May you forgive your people who sinned against you and all their rebellions against you, and may you grant them compassion before their captors, so that they may treat them compassionately.
• Nehemiah 1:11Please, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to that of your servants who delight to revere your name. Give your servant success today, and grant him compassion in the presence of this man. At the time, I was the king’s cupbearer.
• Psalms 106:46He caused them to be pitied before all their captors.
• Proverbs 21:1A king’s heart is like channeled water in the Lord’s hand: He directs it wherever he chooses.
• Acts 7:21When he was put outside, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted and raised him as her own son.
• 1 Peter 3:8Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble,

Commentaries on Exodus 2:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6She had compassion on him - The sight of a beautiful babe in distress could not fail to make the impression here mentioned; see Clarke on Exodus 2:2; (note). It has already been conjectured that the cruel edict of the Egyptian king did not continue long in force; see Exodus 1:22. And it will not appear unreasonable to suppose that the circumstance related here might have brought about its abolition. The daughter of Pharaoh, struck with the distressed…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6She had compassion on him - The Egyptians regarded such tenderness as a condition of acceptance on the day of reckoning. In the presence of the Lord of truth each spirit had to answer, “I have not afflicted any man, I have not made any man weep, I have not withheld milk from the mouths of sucklings” (Funeral Ritual‘). There was special ground for mentioning the feeling, since it led the princess to save and adopt the child in spite of her father‘s…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-10Verses 5-10 Come, see the place where that great man, Moses, lay, when he was a little child; it was in a bulrush basket by the river's side. Had he been left there long, he must have perished. But Providence brings Pharaoh's daughter to the place where this poor forlorn infant lay, and inclines her heart to pity it, which she dares do, when none else durst. God's care of us in our infancy ought to be often mentioned by us to his praise. Pharaoh cruelly…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6The Egyptians believed that the Nile River was a goddess. They thought she gave life and healing. In this way, the Nile was similar to how some people in modern India view the Ganges River. When Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe in the river, she was doing more than washing herself. She was likely taking part in her morning religious practice. When she found the baby floating on the river, she may have seen this as a sign from the Nile goddess. In her…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-96-9. when she had opened it, she saw the child--The narrative is picturesque. No tale of romance ever described a plot more skilfully laid or more full of interest in the development. The expedient of the ark, the slime and pitch, the choice of the time and place, the appeal to the sensibilities of the female breast, the stationing of the sister as a watch of the proceedings, her timely suggestion of a nurse, and the engagement of the mother herself--all…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 2:6

• Adoption
• Hebrew
• Jochebed
• Kindness
• Miriam
• Moses

In the dictionaries

• Herself
• Miriam
• Son
• Soon
• Babe
• Compassion
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis
• Hebrew; Hebrewess
• Leviticus

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