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Exodus 2:4

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 2:4 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
Exodus 2:4 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 2

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
2And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
3And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river`s brink.
4And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
5And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river-side; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it.
6And she opened it, and saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews` children.
7Then said his sister to Pharaoh`s daughter, Shall I go and call thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
← Exodus 2:3Exodus 2:5 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And his sister stood afar off, etc.] This was Miriam, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it; who is supposed to be about ten or twelve years of age, others say seven: she was placed f54, as the word may be rendered, by her parents, or, “she placed herself” f55, by their instruction, at some distance from the place where the ark was, that she might not be observed and be thought to belong to it, and yet so near as to observe what became of it, which was the intent of her standing there, as follows: to wit what would be done to him; to know, take notice, and observe, what should happen to it, if anyone took it up, and what they did with it, and where they carried it, for, “to wit” is an old…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“his sister--Miriam would probably be a girl of ten or twelve years of age at the time.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Exo 15:20; Num 12:1-15, Num 20:1, Num 26:59; Mic 6:4 Exodus 2:5”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification