1. Exodus 2:15 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Was it fear or faith that led Moses to go in exile?

Exodus 2:15 (ESV)

15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.

It seems like a contradiction: Exodus 2:14 speaks of Moses’ fear. In Hebrews 11:27 we also read: By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Commentators give two interpretations of this issue. The first interpretation is that Hebrews 11 does not speak about Moses’ way to Midian but about the exodus. And the second interpretation is that Hebrews 11 gives an addition to Exodus: it is not (only) fear but more faith than fear. The arguments for the solutions are as follow:

Interpretation 1:

  • The argument for this interpretation is that there was no fear in the exodus.

  • The argument against this solution is that the exodus is mentioned before the Passover, but it happened after it.

Interpretation 2:

  • The argument for this interpretation is that a natural way of reading is to expect this word to characterize Moses’ fleeing from Egypt. But then we have to explain Hebrews 11:27 in this way: more than fear, it was his faith that led Moses to leave Egypt; although he had to flee for the Pharaoh, he trusted the Lord to save him and liberate his people.

Both interpretations are possible.