1 A man from the house {bayit: genealogical line} of Levi went and took a daughter {bat: female descendant} of Levi as his wife.
2 And the woman conceived and bore a son. When she saw that he was good {tov: possessing notable quality} she kept him hidden for three months {yerakhim: full lunar cycles}.
3 When she could no longer hide him, she took for him a basket {tevat: papyrus container} of reeds and coated it with bitumen and pitch {zefet: waterproof resin}. She placed the child in it and set it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile.
4 His sister{achot: female sibling} remained at a distance, to discern{ledeah: to discern} what would happen to him.
5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe in the Nile, and her maidens {na'arot: palace attendants} walked along the riverside. She saw the basket among the reeds {suf: water plants} and sent her maidservant to fetch it.
6 She opened it and saw the child, and behold {vehinneh: Sudden Revelation}, the boy was weeping. She had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews {haivrim: Descendants of Eber}.”
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call for you a nursing woman {meneqet: maternal caregiver} from among the Hebrews {hivriyot: Hebrew lineage}, so that she may nurse the child for you?”
8 Pharaoh’s daughter {bat-par'oh: royal Egyptian princess} said to her, “Go.” So the young woman went and called the mother {em: biological mother} of the child.
9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child {yeled: young boy} with you and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages {sekhar: compensation}.” Then the woman took the child and nursed him.
10 When the child grew, she brought him to the daughter of Pharaoh, and he became a son to her. She named him Moses {Moshe: drawn out}, for she said, “Because I drew him out of the water {mayim: life-sustaining element}.”
11 In those days, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his brothers and saw their burdens {besivlotam: oppressive labor}. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew man, one of his brothers {meechav: his own brother}.
12 And he turned this way and that, and when he saw that there was no man {ish: individual witness}, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand {chol: loose soil}.
13 He went out on the second day, and behold, two Hebrew men were fighting. He said to the wicked one, “Why do you strike {takkeh: cause physical harm} your companion {re'a: relational peer}?”
14 He said, “Who appointed you as a man, ruler and judge {shofet: legal arbiter} over us? Are you saying you want to kill me just as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known {noda: publicly disclosed}.”
15 When Pharaoh heard of this matter {hadavar: specific incident}, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from before Pharaoh and lived in the land of Midian, and he sat down by the well {be’er: source of water}.
16 Now the priest of Midian {Midyan: nomadic region} had seven daughters. They came to draw water and filled the troughs {harhatim: feeding basins} to water their father’s flock.
17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses {Mosheh: drawn out} rose and rescued them, and he gave water to their flock {tson: herd}.
18 And they came to Reuel {reuel: friend of God} their father, and he said, “Why have you hurried {miharten: acted quickly} to come today?”
19 They said, “An Egyptian {mitsri: foreign resident} delivered us from the hand of the shepherds {ro’im: herd watchers}, and he also drew water for us and gave the flock to drink.”
20 And he said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why have you left the man {ish: male individual}? Call him, and let him eat bread {lechem: staple food}.”
21 Moses agreed {vayoel: readily consented} to live {lashevet: to reside} with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as a wife.
22 She bore a son and he named him Gershom {gershom: Sojourner’s Name}, because he said, “I have been a ger {ger: Temporary Resident} in a foreign land.”
23 After many days the king of Egypt died. The sons of Israel groaned under the labor {avodah: oppressive servitude} and cried out, and their cry for help rose up to God {haElohim, Covenant Hearer} from the labor.
24 God {Elohim, Promise Keeper} heard their anguished cry {na‘akah: distressed wail} and remembered the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
25 And God {Elohim, Compassionate Observer} saw the sons of Israel {benei Yisrael: covenant people}, and God knew.