2:1 man of the house of Levi. The man, unnamed here, was Amram, and his wife was Jochebed (Exodus 6:20). Both were of the tribe of Levi, so this is the first indication that the twelve tribes, by this time, were inclining toward marriage not only within the nation of Israel but within their own tribal families.

2:3 ark of bulrushes. It is interesting to compare the three “arks” mentioned in Scripture. The word (Hebrew tebah) means, simply, “box-like container.” Noah’s ark (Genesis 6:14) was overlaid and inlaid with “pitch,” Moses’ ark with “slime and pitch,” and God’s ark of the covenant with “pure gold” (Exodus 25:10,11). One was made of “gopher wood,” the second of “bulrushes,” the third of “shittim wood.” The first preserved the remnants of the primeval dispensation, the second preserved the prophet of the new dispensation, the last preserved the inscribed divine standard of God’s holiness for every generation (Exodus 31:17,18; Revelation 11:19).

2:3 bulrushes. These were marsh plants, possibly the papyrus.

2:3 flags. These also were marsh plants, similar to the bulrushes.

2:4 his sister. This sister is undoubtedly Miriam, who is the first “prophetess” mentioned in the Bible (Exodus 15:20).

2:10 Moses. In Hebrew, “Moses” apparently means “to draw out.” However, it was also a common component of Egyptian names, probably meaning “son of” (e.g., Ahmose, Thutmose, both Pharaohs of this general period).

2:11 when Moses was grown. Moses was forty years old at this time (Acts 7:23) and, although he had been raised from infancy in Pharaoh’s palace and in all the culture and wisdom of the mighty nation of Egypt (perhaps even being a prospective Pharaoh himself, as the “son” of Pharaoh’s daughter–Exodus 2:10), he still considered the Hebrews to be “his brethren,” and needed his protection. It seems very likely that he had, by this time, come into custody of the ancient tablets which he would later compile into the book of Genesis. Joseph had possibly deposited them in his own vaults for safekeeping.

2:14 Moses feared. According to Hebrews 11:27, Moses “fear[ed] not the wrath of the king.” He would rather suffer affliction with God’s people than to live as an Egyptian prince but, once he had made that choice, it was essential that he leave both the palace and his own people for a time, in order that his life might be spared and he would be able to prepare to lead them out of bondage.

2:22 strange land. That is, “foreign land.”