Exodus 2 · Verse 12

Exodus 2:12

And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

Exodus 2:12, King James Version

Exodus 2:12 in other translations

BSB	After looking this way and that and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
WEB	He looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no one, he killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
ASV	And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
YLT	and he turneth hither and thither, and seeth that there is no man, and smiteth the Egyptian, and hideth him in the sand.
DARBY	And he turned this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
BBE	And turning this way and that, and seeing no one, he put the Egyptian to death, covering his body with sand.
Webster	And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

What does Exodus 2:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

12. he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand--This act of Moses may seem and indeed by some has been condemned as rash and unjustifiable--in plain terms, a deed of assassination. But we must not judge of his action in such a country and age by the standard of law and the notions of right which prevail in our Christian land; and, besides, not only is it not spoken of as a crime in Scripture or as distressing the perpetrator with remorse, but according to existing customs among nomadic tribes, he was bound to avenge the blood of a brother. The person he slew, however, being a government officer, he had rendered himself amenable to the laws of Egypt, and therefore he endeavored to screen himself from the consequences by concealment of the corpse.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 2:11-15

Moses boldly owned the cause of God's people. It is plain from He 11. that this was done in faith, with the full purpose of leaving the honours, wealth, and pleasures of his rank among the Egyptians. By the grace of God he was a partaker of faith in Christ, which overcomes the world. He was willing, not only to risk all, but to suffer for his sake; being assured that Israel were the people of God. By special warrant…

Read the full comment on Exodus 2:11-15 →

Exodus 2:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּ֤פֶןvai.Yi.fenand he turnedH6437

כֹּה֙kohthusH3541

וָכֹ֔הva.Khohand thusH3541

וַיַּ֖רְאvai.Yar'and he sawH7200

כִּ֣יkithatH3588

אֵ֣ין'einthere notH369

אִ֑ישׁ'Ish[was] a personH376

וַיַּךְ֙vai.yaKhand he struck downH5221

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

הַמִּצְרִ֔יha.mitz.Rithe EgyptianH4713

וַֽיִּטְמְנֵ֖הוּvai.yit.me.Ne.huand he hid himH2934

בַּחֽוֹל\׃ba.Cholin the sandH2344

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 2:12

Acts 7:24-26
And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

he looked.
Ac 7:24-26
slew.If the Egyptian killed the Hebrew, Moses only acted agreeably to the divine law (Ge 9:6) in thus slaying the Egyptian; nor did he violate the law of Egypt; for, according to Diodorus Siculus (1. 1. 17), "he who saw a man killed, or violently assaulted on the highway, and did not rescue him, if he could, was punished with death." Moses, therefore, in this transaction, acted as a brave and good man; especially as at this time there was little probability of obtaining justice on an Egyptian murderer.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Exodus 2:11
And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.
Exodus 2:12
And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
Exodus 2:13
And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?

Read all of Exodus 2

Exodus 2:12 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y miró á todas partes, y viendo que no parecía nadie, mató al Egipcio, y escondiólo en la arena.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	et il regarda çà et là, et vit qu’il n’y avait personne, et il frappa l’Égyptien, et le cacha dans le sable.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er wandte sich dahin und dorthin, und als er sah, daß kein Mensch da war, erschlug er den Ägypter und verscharrte ihn im Sande.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Cumque circumspexisset huc atque illuc, et nullum adesse vidisset, percussum Ægyptium abscondit sabulo.