The Birth of Moses

In Egypt, the descendants of Jacob have multiplied. A new king, “which knew not Joseph,” grows afraid: he subjects the Hebrews to harsh slavery, then orders the midwives Shiphrah and Puah to kill the baby boys at birth. But they fear God and let the boys live. Pharaoh then commands that every son be thrown into the river. A woman of the tribe of Levi hides her baby for three months, then places him in an ark of bulrushes daubed with pitch, among the reeds by the river. The child’s sister keeps watch. Pharaoh’s daughter finds him and takes pity on him; the sister offers to find a Hebrew nurse… his own mother! Adopted, the child is named Moses, “Because I drew him out of the water.” When he is grown, Moses kills an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew, then flees to the land of Midian, where he marries Zipporah. Meanwhile, God hears Israel’s cry and remembers his covenant.