Moses' parents; Written by Lauren Gibson, Exodus 1:1-2:10

Willy Pogany "Moses Child of the Nile"

Moses’ mother hid him in the river reeds when he was three months old because the Pharaoh wanted to kill all the newborn babies. It is remarkable how well this scheme works. Not only does the Pharaoh’s daughter find the child and have pity on him (because he was crying), but she also hires Moses’ mother as a nursemaid and returns the child to live with her. When Moses’ grows up, his mother returns him to the Pharaoh’s daughter, who only then names him. It does not specify how old Moses was when he left his mother. I wonder what his mother called him and whether she was conflicted about returning her child to the oppressors. Did his parents ever consider hiding him further or sneaking him out of Egypt? Were they concerned that he would be assimilated into the Egyptians or that he would be treated not as an adopted child but as a house slave from a young age?

As can be seen in later chapters, Moses identified as a Hebrew and not as an Egyptian. One day, when he is older, he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and kills the Egyptian. The Bible identifies the Hebrew as one of his kinsfolk, though I am not sure whether the intent was to state that all Hebrews were his kinfolk or that that this specific Hebrew was a relation of Moses. Even later, he tells his father-in-law that he wants to return to Egypt to see whether his kindred are still living. His confrontation with the Pharaoh is recorded, but not his reunion with the Hebrews. I wonder which he was referring to as his kindred.

Strategically, I think the Egyptians made a mistake by either treating Moses as a Hebrew or allowing him to identify as such. The Pharaoh had already recognized that young male Hebrews were a threat, and now he was allowing one into the inner circle of the palace. All this did was provide a potential enemy with access to power. Which, of course, was what God intended with this semi-adoption scheme.

exodus 1:1-2:10

Exodus

1These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: ²Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, ³Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, ⁴Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. ⁵The total number of people born to Jacob was seventy. Joseph was already in Egypt. ⁶Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and that whole generation. ⁷But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

The Israelites Are Oppressed

8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ⁹He said to his people, ‘Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. ¹⁰Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.’ ¹¹Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. ¹²But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. ¹³The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, ¹⁴and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.

15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ¹⁶‘When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.’ ¹⁷But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. ¹⁸So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?’ ¹⁹The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.’ ²⁰So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. ²¹And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. ²²Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the Hebrews^* you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.’

Birth and Youth of Moses

2Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. ²The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. ³When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. ⁴His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.

5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. ⁶When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. ⁷Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ ⁸Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. ¹⁰When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses,^* ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out^* of the water.’