EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Exodus 2:3
3Then she could not continue to hide him. So she took a basket that was made from river grass. She painted the basket with tar, to keep the water out of it. Then she put her baby in the basket. She put the basket among the reeds at the edge of the river.
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
1At this time, there was an Israelite man who belonged to the family of Levi. He married a woman who was also a descendant of Levi. 2The woman became pregnant and she gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a beautiful boy. So she hid him for three months. Then she could not continue to hide him. So she took a basket that was made from river grass. She painted the basket with tar, to keep the water out of it. Then she put her baby in the basket. She put the basket among the reeds at the edge of the river. 4The baby's sister stood not very far away. She wanted to see what would happen to the baby. 5Soon, Pharaoh's daughter came to wash herself in the river. Her servant girls were walking near the edge of the river. Pharaoh's daughter saw the basket among the river grasses. So she sent one of her servant girls to fetch it for her.
Read all of Exodus 2Exodus 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 spoke to all the Egyptian people. He said, ‘When an Israelite boy is born, you must throw him in the river Nile. But you can let the baby girls live.’
- Matthew 2:13After the men had gone away, Joseph had a dream. In the dream, he saw one of the Lord God's angels. The angel said to him, ‘Herod will look for the child, so that his soldiers can kill him. You must get up and take the child and his mother with you. Go immediately to Egypt. I will tell you when you can return again. You must remain there until then.’
- Acts 7:19He was very cruel to our ancestors and he caused them to suffer. When new babies were born, he said that our people must put them out of their homes. He said that because he wanted the babies to die.
- Isaiah 18:2They send messages over the sea in boats that they make from reeds. Their boats sail quickly on the water. Go now! Take a message quickly. Go to a country where the people are tall and their skin has no hair. Everyone is afraid of that nation's people. They are a powerful and strong nation. Many rivers cross their land.
- Genesis 6:14So make a ship for yourself. Use wood from cypress trees to make it. The ship must have rooms in it. Cover the inside and the outside of the ship with tar.
- Genesis 11:3They said to each other, ‘We should make bricks and cook them until they are hard.’ These people used bricks instead of stones to build houses. They used tar to hold the bricks together, instead of cement.
- Genesis 14:10The Valley of Siddim had many holes in the ground. The holes were filled with tar. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah ran away. Some of their men fell into the deep tar. The other men ran away to the hills.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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