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 decided to stay with the man. So Reuel gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as his wife. 22She gave birth to a son. Moses named him Gershom [Foreigner], because he said, “I was a foreigner living in another country.” After a long time passed, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites still groaned because they were slaves. So they cried out, and their cries for help went up to God. 24God heard their groaning, and he remembered his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25God saw the Israelites ⌞being oppressed⌟ and was concerned about them.

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 7:7Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they talked to Pharaoh.
• Acts 7:30“Forty years later, a Messenger appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush in the desert of Mount Sinai.
• Exodus 4:19Now, the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, because all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”
• Matthew 2:19After Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.
• Acts 12:23Immediately, an angel from the Lord killed Herod for not giving glory to God. Herod was eaten by maggots, and he died.
• Genesis 16:11Then the Messenger of the Lord said to her, “You are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You will name him Ishmael [God Hears], because the Lord has heard your cry of distress.
• Numbers 20:16When we cried out to the Lord, he heard us, sent a messenger, and brought us out of Egypt. “Now we’re here in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.
• Deuteronomy 26:6So the Egyptians treated us cruelly, oppressed us, and made us do back-breaking work for them.
• Psalms 12:5“Because oppressed people are robbed and needy people groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will provide safety for those who long for it.”
• Exodus 3:7The Lord said, “I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard them crying out because of the slave drivers. I know how much they’re suffering.
• Exodus 22:22“Never take advantage of any widow or orphan.
• Genesis 4:10The Lord asked, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground.
• Genesis 18:20The Lord also said, “Sodom and Gomorrah have many complaints against them, and their sin is very serious.
• Deuteronomy 24:15Pay them each day before sunset because they are poor and need their pay. Otherwise, they will complain to the Lord about you, and you will be condemned for your sin.
• Judges 10:11The Lord said to the people of Israel, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines,
• Nehemiah 9:9You saw how our ancestors suffered in Egypt, and you heard them crying at the Red Sea.

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