Exodus 2 24

Exodus 2:24 kjv

And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

Exodus 2:24 nkjv

So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

Exodus 2:24 niv

God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.

Exodus 2:24 esv

And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

Exodus 2:24 nlt

God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Exodus 2 verses

Exodus 2 24 Meaning

Exodus 2:24 communicates a pivotal moment in the unfolding narrative of God's covenant faithfulness. It states that God perceived the deep suffering of the Israelites in Egypt ("heard their groaning") and, in response, recalled and activated His solemn promises previously made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This verse signifies God's divine awareness of His people's distress and His unwavering commitment to His ancient covenant, setting the stage for the miraculous deliverance that follows.

Exodus 2 24 Context

Exodus chapter 2 narrates Moses' birth and preservation, his flight from Egypt after killing an Egyptian, and his settlement in Midian, where he marries Zipporah. The chapter ends with the king of Egypt dying, and the Israelites' continued severe oppression ("sighing" and "crying out") under the new monarch. Verse 24 marks a turning point; it's the divine response to the increasing suffering of the Hebrew people. Historically and culturally, the narrative places the enslaved Israelites in a land alien to the Abrahamic promise. Their "groaning" indicates the unbearable weight of their bondage, an existential crisis that would have resonated deeply with an ancient audience who understood suffering as a form of appeal to their deities. For the Israelites, their suffering called upon the specific God of their ancestors, whose covenant was central to their identity and hope.

Exodus 2 24 Word analysis

• And God (וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱלֹהִים - vayyishma Elohim):
  • God (אֱלֹהִים - Elohim): The generic but powerful Hebrew word for God, used here to emphasize the ultimate divine authority and sovereignty of the one true God over the affairs of nations and human suffering. It asserts that this act comes from the absolute divine being.
• heard (וַיִּשְׁמַע - vayyishma):
  • More than just audibly perceiving sound, "heard" (from the root shama) implies attentive listening, understanding, and crucially, an intent to respond or act. It signals divine comprehension and engagement with their plight. In a biblical sense, to hear often leads to action.
• their groaning (נַאֲקָתָם - na'akatam):
  • Refers to a deep, agonizing sigh or moan. It indicates the profound, unspoken distress and pain of the enslaved Israelites. It's a cry born out of the depths of their affliction, not a formal prayer but an visceral expression of suffering that reached God's ears.
• and God (וַיִּזְכֹּר אֱלֹהִים - vayyizkor Elohim):
  • God (אֱלֹהִים - Elohim): Repeated emphasis on the divine actor, reiterating that God's remembrance and subsequent action are deliberate and purposeful.
• remembered (וַיִּזְכֹּר - vayyizkor):
  • From the root zakhar, this is a profoundly theological term in Hebrew. It does not mean God had forgotten and suddenly recalled. Instead, "remembered" signifies God's active, intentional bringing to mind of a promise, covenant, or past action with the purpose of now acting upon it. It indicates God's unwavering faithfulness and determination to fulfill His commitment. This remembrance is a precursor to divine intervention.
• His covenant (בְּרִיתוֹ - berito):
  • Covenant (בְּרִית - berit): A solemn, binding agreement or promise, often accompanied by oaths and conditions. Here, it refers to the unbreakable, foundational promises God made to the patriarchs regarding land, numerous descendants, and divine blessing/presence.
• with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. (אֶת־אַבְרָהָם אֶת־יִצְחָק וְאֶת־יַעֲקֹב - et-Avraham et-Yitzhak ve'et-Ya'akov):
  • With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: The explicit naming of the patriarchs underscores the specific historical lineage and continuity of the covenant. It anchors God's present action in His past, unbreakable promises to the founders of the nation of Israel. It emphasizes the foundational nature of these promises as the basis for the Exodus.
• Words Group Analysis:
  • "heard their groaning": This phrase highlights God's compassion and responsiveness to the real-time suffering of His people. It contrasts with silent, passive, or indifferent deities of other ancient Near Eastern cultures, portraying YHWH as an active, immanent God who engages with human pain.
  • "God remembered His covenant": This pairing links God's active hearing to His underlying covenantal commitment. The deliverance is not arbitrary but a fulfillment of divine promise, establishing a trajectory of redemption rooted in history and oath. This serves as a strong polemic against deities who were thought to be capricious or forgetful; the God of Israel is steadfast and reliable.
  • "His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob": Emphasizes the continuity and specific lineage of God's promise. It grounds the immediate context of suffering and deliverance in a broader, centuries-old divine plan for the chosen people and, ultimately, for all humanity through them.

Exodus 2 24 Bonus section

This verse subtly introduces the theme of God's timing in salvation history. The 400 years prophesied in Gen 15:13-16 for the affliction of Abraham's descendants in a foreign land were nearing their end, and this verse marks God's preparation to move according to that timetable. The active verbs—"heard" and "remembered"—show God as an engaged and immanent deity, distinct from deistic concepts of a distant god. It emphasizes that human suffering, though seemingly unending, is not ignored by the Sovereign Lord who is always faithful to His promises. The cry of the oppressed functions as a divinely appointed signal, activating God's plan and intervention, demonstrating His providential care for His chosen people even when they may not be directly calling upon His covenant in explicit prayer but merely groaning in their distress.

Exodus 2 24 Commentary

Exodus 2:24 is a seminal verse marking the theological transition from passive suffering to active divine intervention in the book of Exodus. It unveils God's character as both compassionate and covenant-keeping. The "groaning" of the Israelites was not mere noise but an audible symptom of their profound misery, ascending to the very presence of God. This active hearing (שָׁמַע - shama) signals divine attention and empathy, implying that their affliction had reached a critical threshold, prompting God to act.

Crucially, God's response is predicated on His "remembering" (זָכַר - zakhar) His covenant. This remembering is not a sudden recall of something forgotten, but a dynamic, active reaffirmation and intention to fulfill prior sacred commitments. The specific mention of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob underscores the historical continuity and irrevocability of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 12, 15, 17), which promised numerous descendants and land. The suffering in Egypt directly threatened the realization of the promise of descendants becoming a great nation, thus triggering God's faithfulness to His oath. This verse lays the groundwork for the entire Exodus narrative as an unfolding of God's steadfast loyalty to His word, not as a whimsical or arbitrary act, but as the consistent execution of His redemptive plan initiated generations prior. It offers profound assurance that God sees, hears, and acts on behalf of His people, faithfully bringing His promises to fruition in His perfect timing.