Exodus 2:11-12 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

This passage is our first look at Moses as an adult. His first action (from our perspective) is to murder an Egyptian. Our only context for this act is that the Egyptian was beating an Israelite. While this is clearly wrong, was murder a justified response? The israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians, wouldn't this have been a common sight for Moses? Why is this incident different than the innumerable others he probably witnessed growing up? Why, after this act, does God proceed to bless Moses above all others, and choose him as the leader of the Israelites? Does this not contradict the "Thou shall not kill" commandment Moses receives from God? Why doesn't God punish moses for murdering the egyptian, or even mention it?