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 Living Translation (NLT)Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God.

Context of Exodus 2:23

21Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. 22And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.” 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. 24So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged 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 7:7And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
• Acts 7:30“And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
• Exodus 4:19Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.”
• Matthew 2:19Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
• Acts 12:23Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.
• Genesis 16:11And the Angel of the Lord said to her: “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction.
• Numbers 20:16When we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border.
• Deuteronomy 26:6But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us.
• Psalms 12:5“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”
• Exodus 3:7And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
• Exodus 22:22“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.
• Genesis 4:10And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
• Genesis 18:20And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
• Deuteronomy 24:15Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.
• Judges 10:11So the Lord said to the children of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the people of Ammon and from the Philistines?
• Nehemiah 9:9“You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by 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
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Children of Israel
• Bondage
• Herself
• Son
• Soon
• Cry, Crying

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