Exodus 2:3

“And when she could no longer hide him, etc.] Because of her neighbours, who might hear the crying of the child, or because of the diligent search made by Pharaoh’s officers, which some think was made every three months: the Jews f50 have a notion that his mother was delivered of him at six months’ end, and therefore when the other three months were up women usually go with child, she could hide him no longer, a birth of a child being then expected, and would be inquired about: she took for him an ark of bulrushes; the word, according to Kimchi f51, signifies a kind of wood exceeding light, so Gersom and Ben Melech; an Arabic writer f52 calls it an ark of wood; it is generally taken to be the…”

“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 Isa 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, as is often represented, committed to the bosom of the water but laid on the bank, where it would naturally appear to have been drifted by the current and arrested by the reedy thicket. The spot is traditionally said to be the Isle of Rodah,…”

“The 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, and which in this case was used to bind the stalks of the papyrus into a compact mass, and perhaps also to make the surface smooth for the infant. The pitch or bitumen, commonly used in Egypt, made the small vessel water-tight. In the flags -…”

“And when she could no longer hide him, she put him in an ark of bulrushes - By the river side. God put it into their hearts to do this, to bring about his own purposes: that Moses might by this means be brought into the hands of Pharaoh's daughter, and that by his deliverance, a specimen might be given of the deliverance of God's church. Exodus 2:5”

“2:3 Papyrus 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 Moses’ mother placed the basket in the water exactly where it was most likely to be found by the Egyptian princess.”

“could not: Exo 1:22; Mat 2:13, Mat 2:16; Act 7:19 an ark: Isa 18:2 bulrushes: Gome, is the papyrus, so famous in all antiquity. It 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. This reed was of the greatest use to the Egyptians; the pith serving them for food, and the woody part to build vessels with; which vessels frequently appear on various monuments of Egyptian antiquity. That boats were made of this reed is also attested by Pliny and others. with slime: Gen 6:14, Gen 11:3, Gen 14:10 Exodus 2:4”