THE EXODUS
Session 2: The Birth and Early Life of Moses
Introduction
We saw last week that the Exodus did not really begin with the Exodus, so to speak, but has
roots all the way back into the Garden of Eden. After man’s sin, God promised deliverance. We
also saw that God selected a people for Himself, the children of Abraham through Jacob. They
would be HIS people. He would deliver them and would bring the ultimate deliverer…the
messiah…through them. This ensured that the Exodus would happen.
We ended last week with the seventy descendants of Jacob having gone to Egypt to dwell. God
had promised Jacob that He would be with him in Egypt and would again bring them back to
Canaan. The promise of deliverance did not occur right away but was delayed for over 400 years
as God prophesied to Abram (Gen. 15:13-14). Jacob died in Egypt but was buried in Canaan.
Joseph, after a career of leadership in Egypt, also died and was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Before Joseph died, he made his family promise that they would not leave him in Egypt but
would bring his body back to Canaan for burial.
A Word on Dating
One of the more fascinating aspects of studying the Exodus is trying to determine the actual
dates in which the events occurred. The Egyptians kept good records of their kings so naturally
students of the Bible want to determine the time in Egyptian history that the Exodus occurred
and who the actual Pharaoh of the Exodus was. This is difficult to determine for a variety of
reasons.
(1) The dates of the Egyptian kings are not known with certainty. Ancient people did not use
our dating system. They usually dated things like this: “In the fourth year of King
_____.” You have to know when King _______ lived to know the date. Sometimes, the
records will mention an eclipse or some other natural phenomena that allows us to pin a
date to it but it is still difficult.
(2) The Bible often rounds dates for simplicity or symbolic purposes. There are two
examples of this that I will mention. First the length of the time in Egypt. In some places,
it is spoken of as 400 years. In other places, it is 430 years. Four hundred years is a
rounded number because Exodus 12:41 tells us the Hebrews were in Egypt for 430 years,
to the very day.
Another example is the exile in Babylon. It is given as 70 years but it was probably about
68 years, showing that number to be rounded for simplicity and symbolism (70 is ten
times seven, which is a number of completeness.)
The only dating we have for the Exodus comes from 1 Kings 6:1:
In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land
of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which
is the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD. (1 Kings 6:1)
We know pretty accurately the reign of Solomon. The fourth year of his reign would
have been about 966 BC. Adding 480 years to that gives us a date of 1446 BC for the
Exodus. One thing is very clear, 480 years is a very rounded and symbolic date. It is 12
generations (40 years per generation). The Exodus might actually have been 480 years
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before the building of the temple or it could have been 472 years, or 488 years, but
rounded to 480 for the symbolism.
What is the bottom line of dating? I assume that the Exodus took place in 1446 BC because
that is the best biblical evidence that we have. However, that date could be off by a few
decades due to all the factors I have mentioned. Because of the inexact nature of dating
ancient events, it is very hard for us to lock down exactly which Pharaoh was the Pharaoh of
the Exodus. We can make a good educated guess but that is all that it is.
I.
The People Multiply in Egypt
We ended last week with the seventy descendants of Jacob having gone to Egypt to dwell.
God had promised Jacob that He would be with him in Egypt and would again bring them
back to Canaan. The promise of deliverance did not occur right away but was delayed for
over 400 years as God prophesied to Abram (Gen. 15:13-14). Jacob died in Egypt but was
buried in Canaan. Joseph, after a career of leadership in Egypt, also died and was placed in a
coffin in Egypt. Before Joseph died, he made his family promise that they would not leave
him in Egypt but would bring his body back to Canaan for burial.
The Egypt that the Hebrews
found themselves in was at a
most prosperous time in its
rich history. The Twelfth
Dynasty was in power. It was a
kingdom that held no
hostilities toward people from
Canaan. This fits perfectly
with the scriptural depictions
of Jacob’s children being
welcomed to Egypt.
It is amazing that the same pyramids we now see in Egypt would
have also been seen by Joseph and Moses
The Hebrews prospered in
Egypt. They multiplied
greatly.
Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. But the people of Israel
were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that
the land was filled with them. (Ex. 1:6-7)
Not only did God bless the Hebrews in Egypt, the rulers of Egypt would also not have been
hostile to them. Less than 100 years after the death of Joseph, Egypt was taken over by a
group of invaders called the Hyksos. The Hyksos were likely from Canaan and would
probably have seen the Hebrews as allies. The Hyksos controlled Egypt for about 215 years.
In that time, no doubt, the Israelites continued to prosper and multiply.
II. A New Egyptian Dynasty Comes to Power
In 1570 BC, things changed in Egypt. A new group of Egyptian rulers arose who overthrew
and expelled the Hyksos who had ruled Egypt for every 200 years. The scriptures say it this
way:
Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. (Ex. 1:8)
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That ‘new king’ was most likely Amosis I, the first of the kings of the
18the Dynasty. This king, after expelling the Hyksos from Canaan,
turned his sight toward the Hebrews. Hebrews were also from Canaan
and, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, would have been seen by
Amosis as a tremendous threat. This is confirmed by scripture.
And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many
and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they
multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight
against us and escape from the land. (Ex. 1:9-10)
Amosis’ plan was to transform the Hebrews from occupants in the land to
slaves in the land. Even though the Hebrews had lived in peace in Egypt
for over 300 years, they would now be deprived of their property and
forced to serve in hard bondage to Egyptian taskmasters.
Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy
Amosis I, the
burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses.
"New" King
But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the
more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.
Amosis So
I, the
they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives “New”
bitter King
with
hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work
they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. (Ex. 1:11-14)
The Pharaoh hoped the slavery would both weaken the Hebrews and reduce their number but
God did not abandon them. Even if the Egyptians had turned against them, God continued to
bless and multiply them even as they suffered in bondage.
III. The Birth of Moses
The continued growth of the Hebrews concerned the Pharaoh who saw them as potential
allies for enemies that might attack Egypt. As time passed and the slavery did not work, so
the Pharaoh came up with another strategy. His evil plan was reduce the Hebrew population
by having the midwives kill all the male children born to Hebrew women. The Hebrew
midwives refused to kill the male children so the people continued to multiply. When
Pharaoh could not get the midwives to cooperate, he commanded his own people to kill
every Hebrew male by throwing them into the Nile.
It was during this time, in about 1526 BC, that Moses was born into the family of the tribe of
Levi. Moses’ mother had no desire to see him killed so she hid him for three months. When
he could be hidden no longer, his mother made an ark of bulrushes and put it into the Nile
River. The rest was up to the providence of God.
Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women
walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant
woman, and she took it. 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.” (Ex. 2:56)
Who else but a daughter of Pharaoh could defy the king’s order and keep a Hebrew child. It
is the ultimate irony that the very one who would deliver the Hebrews should be raised in the
household of Pharaoh himself. God’s amazing arrangement of circumstances was not
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through yet. Pharaoh’s daughter needed a woman to nurse the young child. Miriam, Moses
sister, who was watching over the child, got Moses’ very own mother to nurse him.
So the woman took the child and nursed him. When the child grew up, she brought him to
Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she
said, “I drew him out of the water.” (Ex. 2:9b-10)
Nursing in the ancient world took about 3 years or so. It seems that Moses mother had him
to herself for that time after which she brought and presented him to Pharoah’s daughter. We
can have little doubt that Moses’ mother did all she could to instill an understanding into the
young child of his unique heritage and the God they served.
IV. Moses’ Life in Egypt
We have very little biblical information on what happened to Moses from the time of his
adoption by Pharaoh’s daughter until his flight from Egypt. We can assume some things.
First, he was raised in the house of Pharaoh. He had tremendous privileges and received the
best education. We also have a biblical hint that Moses did great things in Egypt. Stephen, in
the book of Acts, mentions this in his appearance before the Jews.
And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his
words and deeds. (Acts 7:22)
Some more information is given to us by Flavius Josephus, the famous historian if the Jews
who lived in the time of Christ. It must be remembered that Josephus’ writings are not
Scripture. They are histories handed down by the Jews but must be viewed with caution.
However, much of what Josephus writes of Moses makes sense and is consistent with the
biblical account.
According to Josephus, Moses was well educated and proved himself to be very capable.
However, since he was Hebrew and not Egyptian, he was not trusted and was kept at arm’s
length. But, according to Josephus, circumstances were to change. The Ethiopians made raids
on the southern border of Egypt and carried things away. The Egyptian army pursued and
were soundly defeated by the Ethiopians. The Ethiopians then pursued the fleeing Egyptian
army and threatened the rest of Egypt.
The Pharaoh at this time was probably Thutmose II. He realized that Egypt was in serious
trouble and that the most capable man available to help them was Moses the Hebrew. The
king and Moses’ adopted mother persuaded him to help Egypt. According to Josephus, some
hoped that while he was defeating the Ethiopians, Moses would himself be killed.
Moses took over the Egyptian army and by a combination strategy and military ability,
defeated the Ethiopians. The Egyptians, while they were glad that Moses had saved the
nation, hated and feared him even more. They feared that he would lead a rebellion and
maybe set himself up as king. Therefore, they were looking for a way to be rid of him.
As I stated, Josephus’ history is not Scripture so we cannot be absolutely sure of its truth.
However, it is basically very consistent with what we know of Scripture and could be true.
V. Murder and Flight
Moses no doubt led an uncertain existence in Egypt. On the one hand, he was connected to
the royal family. On the other, he was a Hebrew and was probably mistrusted, especially
huge Hebrew population that the Egyptians feared. Another think that complicated this
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situation was Moses’ early understanding that God had chosen him to lead the Hebrews out
of slavery in Egypt. For this information, we go again to Stephen in the book of Acts:
When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of
Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and
avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would
understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.
(Acts 7:23-25)
Most of us think that Moses had no idea that God was choosing him until he saw the burning
bush. However, Stephen tells us that Moses knew that God had called him even before he left
Egypt. Moses even tried to act on it, even to the point of killing an Egyptian who was beating
a Hebrew but the timing was not right from God’s standpoint and the Hebrews rejected his
leadership.
When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he
said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” He answered,
“Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the
Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” (Ex. 2:1314)
Now, there is much we could say at this point about how we, like Moses, can get ahead of
God and try to force things. We will try to talk about this next week. Moses had good
intentions but he acted before God was ready for him to act. This sets the stage for Moses’
flight from Egypt.
When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and
stayed in the land of Midian. (Ex. 2:15)
Normally, the killing of a minor official by someone of Egyptian nobility would have been a
small affair and the Pharaoh would have ignored it. However, given Moses’ likely precarious
situation, this gave his enemies the excuse they needed to eliminate him. Pharaoh himself
wanted to kill him. This left Moses with no other option other than to flee from Egypt and
that is what he did.
The transformation of Moses life has been amazing. He was born a Hebrew slave but became
part of the Egyptian royal family. He was a wise and sought-after military leader but he was
also feared and loathed by others. Now, he is homeless, broken and discouraged. He
probably had riches but now he has nothing. But, God was with him and God was putting
Moses into the next stage of his training to be the deliverer of his people.
Life Lessons
(1) God has control over all circumstances to bring about His will. God arranged for Moses, a
lowly slave, to be raised in the palace of Pharaoh. There, he received leadership training in
all the wisdom of the Egyptians. God was preparing Moses to lead His people.
(2) We also see in Moses how a person can act under the presumption that they are doing God’s
will, God’s way, but the result does not turn out that way. God was training Moses to follow
Him, not his own wisdom.
Next Week…From the Desert to the Palace
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