Hebrews 11:23

Hebrews 11:23

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

a. NLT: It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.

b. NIV: By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

c. YLT: By faith Moses, having been born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw the child comely, and were not afraid of the decree of the king;

d. Amplified Bible Classic:  [Prompted] by faith Moses, after his birth, was kept concealed for three months by his parents, because they saw how comely the child was; and they were not overawed and terrified by the king’s decree.

1. “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents…”

a. [By] faith [Strong: 4102 pístis, pis'-tis; from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:—assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.]

b. Moses [Strong: 3475 Mōseús, moce-yoos'; of Hebrew origin; (H4872); Moseus, Moses, or Mouses (i.e. Mosheh), the Hebrew lawgiver:—Moses.]

c. [when he was] born [Strong: 1080 gennáō, ghen-nah'-o; from a variation of G1085; to procreate (properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother); figuratively, to regenerate:—bear, beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make, spring.]

d. was hid [Strong: 2928 krýptō, kroop'-to; a primary verb; to conceal (properly, by covering):—hide (self), keep secret, secret(-ly).]

e. three months [Strong: 5150 trímēnon, trim'-ay-non; neuter of a compound of G5140 and G3376 as noun; a three months' space:—three months;] [5140 treis trice, or neuter tria tree'-ah a primary (plural) number; "three":--three. & 3376 men mane a primary word; a month:--month.]

f. of [Strong: 5259 hoop-o'; a primary preposition; under, i.e. (with the genitive case) of place (beneath), or with verbs (the agency or means, through); (with the accusative case) of place (whither (underneath) or where (below) or time (when (at)):—among, by, from, in, of, under, with.]

g. his [Strong: 846 autós, ow-tos'; from the particle αὖ aû (perhaps akin to the base of G109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:—her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

h. parents [Strong: 3962 patḗr, pat-ayr'; apparently a primary word; a "father" (literally or figuratively, near or more remote):—father, parent.]

1). The only Scriptural record of Moses birth that I am aware of is of course in Exodus and Acts.

a). Exodus 2:1, 2 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

2:2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

(1) goodly [Strong: 2896 towb tobe from H2895; good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well):--beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, X fair (word), (be in) favour, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, -liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, X most, pleasant, + pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ((-favoured)).]

b). Acts 7:20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:

(1) exceedingly [Strong: 2316 theós, theh'-os; of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with G3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very:—X exceeding, God, god(-ly, -ward).] [Thayer: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities, the Godhead, trinity, spoken of the only and true God.]

(2) fair [Strong: 791 asteîos, as-ti'-os; from ἄστυ ásty (a city); urbane, i.e. (by implication) handsome:—fair.] [Thayer: of the city, of polished manners, elegant (of body), comely, fair.] [Vine: beautiful.]

2). It is fascinating to me that in Acts the text couples the word for God, “theos” with the word meaning “beautiful”, “comely” and “fair”. There is a Jewish tradition that says that when Moses was born, the entire house was filled with light. Chumash, p. 297, verse 2 note.  The tradition concerning the room filling with light is entirely believable when we consider the incident of Paul on the road to Damascus.

a). Acts 9:1-3 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:

3). We also have the account when Jesus was born and the glory of God shining all around.

a). Luke 2:8, 9 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

4). We also have in the writings of Josephus the following account which is certainly believable but it is not in the Biblical text.

a). Josephus, Book 2 Chapter 9, paragraph 3.  A man whose name was Amram, one of the nobler sort of the Hebrews, was afraid for his whole nation, lest it should fail, by the want of young men to be brought up hereafter, and was very uneasy at it, his wife being then with child, and he knew not what to do. Hereupon he betook himself to prayer to God; and entreated him to have compassion on those men who had nowise transgressed the laws of his worship, and to afford them deliverance from the miseries they at that time endured, and to render abortive their enemies' hopes of the destruction of their nation. Accordingly God had mercy on him, and was moved by his supplication. He stood by him in his sleep, and exhorted him not to despair of his future favors. He said further, that he did not forget their piety towards him, and would always reward them for it, as he had formerly granted his favor to their forefathers, and made them increase from a few to so great a multitude. He put him in mind, that when Abraham was come alone out of Mesopotamia into Canaan, he had been made happy, not only in other respects, but that when his wife was at first barren, she was afterwards by him enabled to conceive seed, and bare him sons. That he left to Ishmael and to his posterity the country of Arabia; as also to his sons by Keturah, Troglodytes; and to Isaac, Canaan. That by my assistance, said he, he did great exploits in war, which, unless you be yourselves impious, you must still remember. As for Jacob, he became well known to strangers also, by the greatness of that prosperity in which he lived, and left to his sons, who came into Egypt with no more than seventy souls, while you are now become above six hundred thousand. Know therefore that I shall provide for you all in common what is for your good, and particularly for thyself what shall make thee famous; for that child, out of dread of whose nativity the Egyptians have doomed the Israelite children to destruction, shall be this child of thine, and shall be concealed from those who watch to destroy him: and when he is brought up in a surprising way, he shall deliver the Hebrew nation from the distress they are under from the Egyptians. His memory shall be famous while the world lasts; and this not only among the Hebrews, but foreigners also: - all which shall be the effect of my favor to thee, and to thy posterity. He shall also have such a brother, that he shall himself obtain my priesthood, and his posterity shall have it after him to the end of the world.

5). However it the divine instruction came, it was enough to establish Moses parents in faith and give the grace to enable them to obey the LORD and disobey Pharoah. Arthur W. Pink [Calvinist], in his Exposition of Hebrews, chapter 70, p. 784, writes the following:

a). “Hebrews 11:23 distinctly affirms that it was “by faith” the parents of Moses acted, and this it is which explains their conduct. Now Romans 10:17 tells us,” faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”: thus Amram and Jochebed must have received a Divine revelation (not recorded in the O.T.), and this word from God formed the foundation of their confidence, and supplied the motive-power of what they did. It is true they knew from the prophecy given to Abram (Genesis 15) that the time for the deliverance of Israel from Egypt was drawing near, as they also knew from the prediction of Joseph (Genesis 50:24) that God was going to undertake for His people.. Yet we are persuaded that Hebrews 11:23 refers to something more definite and specific. Most probably the Lord made known to these parents that their child was to be the promised deliverer, and furnished them beforehand with a description of him.”  

2. “...because they saw he was a proper child…”

a. because [Strong: 1360 dióti, dee-ot'-ee; from G1223 and G3754; on the very account that, or inasmuch as:—because (that), for, therefore.

b. they saw [Strong: 1492 eídō, i'-do; a primary verb; used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent G3700 and G3708; properly, to see (literally or figuratively); by implication, (in the perfect tense only) to know:—be aware, behold, × can (+ not tell), consider, (have) know(-ledge), look (on), perceive, see, be sure, tell, understand, wish, wot.]

c. [he was a] proper [Strong: 791  asteîos, as-ti'-os; from ἄστυ ásty (a city); urbane, i.e. (by implication) handsome:—fair.]

d. child [Strong: 3813 paidíon, pahee-dee'-on; neuter diminutive of G3816; a childling (of either sex), i.e. (properly), an infant, or (by extension) a half-grown boy or girl; figuratively, an immature Christian:—(little, young) child, damsel.]

1). The text in more than one place mentions that Moses was an extremely handsome child. [See above] It is remarkable that the text in Acts combines the Greek word for God, translated “exceedingly” with “fair” to describe the impression of Moses appearance upon his parents.  

3. “...and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.”

a. and [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:—and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

b. [they were] not [Strong: 3756 ou, oo; a primary word; the absolute negative (compare G3361) adverb; no or not:—+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, + nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but.]

c. afraid [Strong: 5399 phobéō, fob-eh'-o; from G5401; to frighten, i.e. (passively) to be alarmed; by analogy, to be in awe of, i.e. revere:—be (+ sore) afraid, fear (exceedingly), reverence.]

d. [of] the [Strong: 3588 ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.]

e. king’s [Strong: 935 basileús, bas-il-yooce'; probably from G939 (through the notion of a foundation of power); a sovereign (abstractly, relatively, or figuratively):—king.]

f. commandment [Strong: 1297 diátagma, dee-at'-ag-mah; from G1299; an arrangement, i.e. (authoritative) edict:—commandment.]

1). Faith will make us fearless to obey God.