Exodus 2:6

When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Pharaoh’s daughter speaks after her maid retrieves the basket from the Nile reeds, identifying the infant inside as a Hebrew child at the moment of discovery.

The words — וַתּחְמֹל (va.tachmol) translates literally as "and she had compassion," while נַעַר (na'ar) denotes a "lad" or "young boy," specifying the child's developmental stage.

The thread — The narrative of Pharaoh’s daughter raising the child reappears in Acts 7:21, while the motif of compassion toward a vulnerable people echoes the petition in 1 Kings 8:50 and the ethical directive in 1 Peter 3:8.

Why it lands — The text records a factual observation of weeping followed by a clinical identification of ethnicity, requiring the reader to note how immediate human pity precedes any theological or narrative resolution.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַתִּפְתַּח֙va./tif.Tachand/ she opened [it]וַתִּרְאֵ֣הוּva./tir.'E./huand/ she saw/ him אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַיֶּ֔לֶדhai./Ye.ledthe/ child וְהִנֵּה־ve./hi.neh-and/ there!נַ֖עַרNa.'ara lad בֹּכֶ֑הbo.Kheh[was] crying וַתַּחְמֹ֣לva./tach.Moland/ she had compassion עָלָ֔יו'a.La/von/ him וַתֹּ֕אמֶרva./To.merand/ she said מִיַּלְדֵ֥יmi./yal.Dei[is] one of/ [the] children of הָֽעִבְרִ֖יםha./'iv.Rimthe/ Hebrews זֶֽה׃Zehthis

King James Version

And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.

Cross-references

1 Kings 8:50 May You forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions they have committed against You, and may You grant them compassion in the eyes of their captors to show them mercy.
Acts 7:21 When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.
1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.
Nehemiah 1:11 O Lord, may Your ear be attentive to my prayer and to the prayers of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” (At that time I was the cupbearer to the king.)
Psalms 106:46 He made them objects of compassion to all who held them captive.
Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.