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¹ A man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi as his wife. ² The woman conceived, and bore a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. ³ When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him, and coated it with tar and with kofer. She put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank. ⁴ His sister stood far off, to see what would be done to him.

⁵ Par`oh's daughter came down to bathe at the river. Her maidens walked along by the riverside. She saw the basket among the reeds, and sent her handmaid to get it. <sup>6</sup> She opened it, and saw the child, and, behold, the baby cried. She had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children." <sup>7</sup> Then his sister said to Par`oh's daughter, "Should I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?" ⁸ Par`oh's daughter said to her, "Go." The almah went and called the child's mother. <sup>9</sup> Par`oh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." The woman took the child, and nursed it. ¹⁰ The child grew, and she brought him to Par`oh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moshe, and said, "Because I drew him out of the water."

¹¹ It happened in those days, when Moshe had grown up, that he went out to his brothers, and looked at their burdens. He saw a Mitzrian striking a Hebrew, one of his brothers. ¹² He looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no one, he killed the Mitzrian, and hid him in the sand. ¹³ He went out the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews were fighting with each other. He said to him who did the wrong, "Why do you strike your fellow?" ¹⁴ He said, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you plan to kill me, as you killed the Mitzrian?" Moshe was afraid, and said, "Surely this thing is known." ¹⁵ Now when Par`oh heard this thing, he sought to kill Moshe. But Moshe fled from the face of Par`oh, and lived in the land of Midyan, and he sat down by a well.

¹⁶ Now the Kohen of Midyan had seven daughters. They came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. ¹⁷ The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moshe stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. ¹⁸ When they came to Re`u'el, their father, he said, "How is it that you have returned so early today?" ¹⁹ They said, "A Mitzrian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock." ²⁰ He said to his daughters, "Where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread." ²¹ Moshe was content to dwell with the man. He gave Moshe Tzipporah, his daughter. ²² She bore a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land."

²³ It happened in the course of those many days, that the king of Mitzrayim died, and the children of Yisra'el sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. ²⁴ God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Avraham, with Yitzchak, and with Ya`akov. ²⁵ God saw the children of Yisra'el, and God was concerned about them.