#4 – Exodus 2:11-14
“What’s My Motivation Here?”
A “fast 40”: Exodus 2:11
“Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up” [1] is the author’s way of hitting the “fast forward” button in our story.
Time is relative. “Time flies when you’re having fun,” but minutes seem like hours when burdens are crushing.
What was it like for a young Hebrew boy to be raised as a prince of Egypt? We’d have to watch a Hollywood movie to get details because Moses provides none in the Exodus narrative. We’re left to our imaginations to fill in the blanks as to what he experienced in daily life. We may safely assume Moses was in a favored position, enjoying the privileges of the palace and whatever education [2] a prince would be afforded.
A life-altering choice: Exodus 2:11-14
With no explanation of motivation for Moses’ “field trip,” verse 11 continues, “that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors.”
Whatever the rigors of his life of privilege may have entailed, they would not compare to what the oppressed Hebrews were enduring. The text is silent on what contact Moses may have maintained with his biological family, if any. How often had he made the trip to Goshen to check in on how his kinsmen were faring? We do not know. [3]
“And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.” [4] This is the second time in the verse the word “brothers” is used. In how many ways could Moses’ life in the Egyptian capital be contrasted with the Hebrews? Culture, language, socio-economic status, and religion would have been markedly different. Doubtless in Egyptian society the Jewish people would be deemed inferior. Who esteems slaves?
And yet, even with all the benefits of his royal status and the enculturation of four decades, Moses finds himself drawn to check on the welfare of his kin. The scene before him is of a degraded people amidst their forced labor.
However commonplace such violence may have been among the Hebrews, beholding the physical abuse of a kinsman hit Moses “right in the kishkes,” provoking a physical response. “So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.”[5]
We may imagine other options a prince may have had. Certainly, he would be used to having authority in many situations. But Moses is not in Goshen in an official capacity. In fact, it appears he visits on his own, perhaps clandestinely, and perhaps for the first time. Our text doesn’t say.
Nor are we given any direct statement on Moses’ motivation – and it’s never right to presume we know the thoughts of others. Here’s what we do know from the text:
1) Moses sees an Egyptian “striking/beating” a Hebrew.
2) He “turns this way and that” and sees no one.
3) He strikes/beats the Egyptian, then hides the corpse.
Why does Moses look all around? Was he seeing if anyone else would intervene?[6] Or checking if anyone would observe his actions?
Does Moses intend to beat the Egyptian to death out of anger – or perhaps just teach him a harsh lesson, enforce justice, and defend a helpless man being beaten? Our narrator gives us no insights into Moses’ motivation.[7] But we are told that Moses “hides” the corpse, burying in the sand the Egyptian he has killed, an indication that his deed needed to be covered.
Here’s what happens next:
13 He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?” 14 But he said, “Who made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill [8] me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known.”[9]
Fear factor/Misery index:
The lot of the Jewish people has not improved. In fact, in addition to servitude we are given to understand how tenuous their very existence is.
On the other hand, we find Moses traveling alone to Goshen to observe the plight of his people. In an instant, his action dramatically wrenches the course of his life. His own taking of a life had been observed – and the fear of that discovery washed over him.
Where is G-d?
G-d is not visible in this section of our story. We do see in Moses’ action evidence of both the sense of justice and conscience our Creator has hardwired into humanity.
It’s a reminder to us that our motivations are not hidden from the L-RD. In the words of King David:
1 O L-RD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.
3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O L-RD, You know it all (Psalm 139:1-4).
How different would our choices be if we remembered this reality?
[1] Exodus 2:11a. Rabbinic sources posit varying ages of Moses at this point, including 40, with which Stephen concurs (Acts 7:23).
[2] Stephen notes “Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22).
[3] “. . . it entered his mind to visit his brethren” (Acts 7:23) is Stephen’s interesting description. Could this have been the first time Moses entertained that thought? (And who put the idea in his head? one might wonder.)
[4] Exodus 2:11b.
[5] Exodus 2:12.
[6] In Isaiah 59:15-16 G-d sees there is no justice, no one to intervene or intercede, so He takes action personally.
[7] Stephen does provide details beyond what we learn in Exodus. “And when [Moses] saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. 25 And he supposed that his brethren understood that G-d was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand” (Acts 7:24-25).
[8] The Hebrew word for “kill” (harōg) is used. This is a different verb than God’s command in the Decalogue, “You shall not murder (retzakh).” In a court of law, Moses could not rightly be charged with premeditated murder; he went to check on the condition of his people, not kill a man. A jury would weigh evidence as to whether his action was justifiable homicide.
[9] Exodus 2:13–14. Moses wasn’t looking for his day in court. He feared the wrath of Pharaoh.
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