Exodus 2:2

2:2 The woman became pregnant 1  and gave birth to a son. When 2  she saw that 3  he was a healthy 4  child, she hid him for three months.

Exodus 4:3

4:3 The Lord 5  said, “Throw it to the ground.” So he threw it to the ground, and it became a snake, 6  and Moses ran from it.

1 tn Or “conceived” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

2 tn A preterite form with the vav consecutive can be subordinated to a following clause. What she saw stands as a reason for what she did: “when she saw…she hid him three months.”

3 tn After verbs of perceiving or seeing there are frequently two objects, the formal accusative (“she saw him”) and then a noun clause that explains what it was about the child that she perceived (“that he was healthy”). See GKC 365 §117.h.

4 tn Or “fine” (טוֹב, tov). The construction is parallel to phrases in the creation narrative (“and God saw that it was good,” Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 17, 21, 25, 31). B. Jacob says, “She looked upon her child with a joy similar to that of God upon His creation (Gen 1.4ff.)” (Exodus, 25).

5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

6 sn The details of the verse are designed to show that there was a staff that became a snake. The question is used to affirm that there truly was a staff, and then the report of Moses running from it shows it was a genuine snake. Using the serpent as a sign would have had an impact on the religious ideas of Egypt, for the sacred cobra was one of their symbols.