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And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.
Exodus 2:8 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” The maiden went and called the child’s mother.
  • BSB “Go ahead,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. And the girl went and called the boy’s mother.
  • NKJV And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother.
  • NASB Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.
  • NLT “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Pharaoh's daughter agrees, and the girl fetches the baby's own mother. God arranges for Moses to be raised by his real mother at the palace's expense.

Overview

In a remarkable turn, the child is restored to his mother under royal protection. What Pharaoh meant for death God turns to abundant provision and safety. The episode displays the Lord's overruling providence, granting His servants more than they could ask as He prepares His deliverer.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Isa 46:3–4Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:
  • Ps 27:10When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
  • Exod 6:20And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.
  • Ezek 16:8Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 2:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.

How Exodus 2:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.