Birth and Rescue of Moses
Overview
- Testament: Old
- Book: Exodus 2:1-10
- Summary: Pharaoh orders all Hebrew baby boys killed. Jochebed hides Moses for three months, then places him in a basket on the Nile where Pharaoh’s daughter finds and adopts him.
Details
Pharaoh, fearing the growing Hebrew population, commanded midwives to kill Hebrew boys, then extended the order to all mothers. Jochebed defied the decree, hiding Moses for three months. When she could no longer hide him, she made a basket of bulrushes, coated it with pitch, and placed him among the reeds.
Miriam watched from a distance. When Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the basket, Miriam approached and asked if she should call a Hebrew nurse. Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, and Jochebed was hired to nurse her own son. When Moses grew, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him, calling him “Moses” (“I drew him out of the water”).
Key People Involved
Important Verses
- “And she took for him a basket of bulrushes, and coated it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.” — Exodus 2:3
Cross-References
- Hebrews 11:23 — “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents”