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 was content to stay on with the man. Later he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 22She gave birth to a son and he named him Gershom, saying, “I have been an outsider in a foreign land.” Now it came about over the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. Bnei-Yisrael groaned because of their slavery. They cried out and their cry from slavery went up to God. 24God heard their sobbing and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25God saw Bnei-Yisrael, and He 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 eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
• Acts 7:30“When forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush.
• Exodus 4:19Then Adonai said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return to Egypt, for all the men that sought your life are dead.”
• Matthew 2:19But when Herod died, behold, an angel of Adonai appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
• Acts 12:23Immediately, an angel of the Lord struck him down—because he did not give God the glory. And he was eaten by worms and died.
• Genesis 16:11Then the angel of Adonai said to her, Behold, you are pregnant and about to bear a son, and you shall name him Ishmael— for Adonai has heard your affliction.
• Numbers 20:16But we cried out to Adonai, He heard our cry, sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. See now, we are at Kadesh, a town on the frontier of your territory.
• Deuteronomy 26:6The Egyptians treated us badly, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us.
• Psalms 12:5They say: “With our tongue we’ll prevail. We own our lips—who can master us?”
• Exodus 3:7Then Adonai said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their slave masters, for I know their pains.
• Exodus 22:22If you mistreat them in any way, and they cry out to Me, I will surely hear their cry.
• Genesis 4:10Then He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground.
• Genesis 18:20Then Adonai said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great indeed, and their sin is very grievous indeed.
• Deuteronomy 24:15On that day you are to give him his wages—the sun is not to set on it—for he is poor and sets his heart on it. Otherwise he will cry out against you to Adonai, and you will have sin on you.
• Judges 10:11So Adonai said to Bnei-Yisrael, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the children of Ammon, the Philistines,
• Nehemiah 9:9“You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry by the Sea of Reeds.

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