Exodus 2:6

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 2:6 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And 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.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And 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.
Exodus 2:6 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 2

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
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.

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 when she had opened it, etc.] The ark, for it was shut or covered over, though doubtless there were some apertures for respiration: she saw the child [in it], and, behold, the babe wept; and which was a circumstance, it is highly probable, greatly affected the king’s daughter, and moved her compassion to it; though an Arabic writer says f64, she heard the crying of the child in the ark, and therefore sent for it: and she had compassion on him, and said, this is one of the Hebrews’ children; which she might conclude from its being thus exposed, knowing her father’s edict, and partly from the form and beauty of it, Hebrew children not being swarthy and tawny as Egyptian ones: the Jewish…”
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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
“when she had opened it, she saw the child--The narrative is picturesque. No tale of romance ever described a plot more skilfully laid or more full of interest in the development. The expedient of the ark, the slime and pitch, the choice of the time and place, the appeal to the sensibilities of the female breast, the stationing of the sister as a watch of the proceedings, her timely suggestion of a nurse, and the engagement of the mother herself--all bespeak a more than ordinary measure of ingenuity as well as intense solicitude on the part of the parents. But the origin of the scheme was most probably owing to a divine suggestion, as its success was due to an overruling Providence, who not…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“She had compassion on him - The Egyptians regarded such tenderness as a condition of acceptance on the day of reckoning. In the presence of the Lord of truth each spirit had to answer, “I have not afflicted any man, I have not made any man weep, I have not withheld milk from the mouths of sucklings” (‘Funeral Ritual’). There was special ground for mentioning the feeling, since it led the princess to save and adopt the child in spite of her father’s commands. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“she had compassion: Kg1 8:50; Neh 1:11; Psa 106:46; Pro 21:1; Act 7:21; Pe1 3:8 Exodus 2:7”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification