Exo 2:13 | NETfull | STEP | When he went out the next day, there were two Hebrew men fighting. So he said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your fellow Hebrew?”

Exodus 2:13

13 When he went out ^{▼▼ The preterite with the vav consecutive is subordinated to the main idea of the verse.} the next day, ^{▼▼ Heb “the second day” (so KJV, ASV).} there were ^{▼▼ The deictic particle is used here to predicate existence, as in “here were” or “there were.” But this use of הִנֵּה (hinneh) indicates also that what he encountered was surprising or sudden – as in “Oh, look!”} two Hebrew men fighting. So he said to the one who was in the wrong, ^{▼▼ The word רָשָׁע (rasha’) is a legal term, meaning the guilty. This guilty man rejects Moses’ intervention for much the same reason Pharaoh will later (5:2) – he does not recognize his authority. Later Pharaoh will use this term to declare himself as in the wrong (9:27) and God in the right.} “Why are you attacking ^{▼▼ This is the third use of the verb נָכָה (nakha) in the passage; here it is the Hiphil imperfect. It may be given a progressive imperfect nuance – the attack was going on when Moses tried to intervene.} your fellow Hebrew?” ^{▼▼ Heb “your neighbor.” The word רֵעֶךָ (re’ekha) appears again in 33:11 to describe the ease with which God and Moses conversed. The Law will have much to say about how the Israelites were to treat their “neighbors, fellow citizens” (Exod 20:16–17; 21:14, 18, 35; 22:7–11, 14, 26; cf. Luke 10:25–37).}