Jochebed - Birth of Moses

Birth of Moses

The story of Jochebed is found in the second book of the Torah (Exodus 2:1–10). She lived in Egypt, where the descendants of Israel were being oppressed. The Pharaoh had decreed that all their baby boys were to be thrown into the Nile, because he feared that they might become too powerful. When Moses, her youngest child, was born, Jochebed therefore hid him for three months until she could hide him no longer. To save her son's life, she made a wooded chest of bulrushes, made it watertight with slime and pitch and put the child in it. She then let the chest float in the Nile while Miriam, her daughter, kept watch over it from a distance. It was found by the Pharaoh's daughter, who had come to bathe in the river. Moved with compassion when she discovered the child, she decided to adopt him. Miriam, who had come forward, suggested to find her a Hebrew woman to nurse the child. The Pharaoh's daughter agreed and so Miriam called her mother, who was appointed to take care of him. Thus Jochebed nursed her son until he was old enough and brought him to the Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted him as her son. The story continues with Moses, who grew up to become the leader of the Exodus, leading his people out of the land of Egypt.