THE BIRTH OF MOSES

According to the Bible, the story of Moses’ birth takes place during the time when the Israelites were living in slavery in Egypt. The Pharaoh, fearful of the growing number of Israelites, had issued a decree that all male Hebrew babies be killed at birth.

In the midst of this, a Levite woman named Jochebed gave birth to a baby boy. To protect her child from Pharaoh’s decree, Jochebed put him in a basket and placed it in the Nile River, hoping that he would be found and cared for.

The baby was discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter, who was bathing in the river. She was immediately taken with the child and decided to adopt him as her own son, even though she knew he was a Hebrew baby.

The baby’s sister, Miriam, who had been watching from a distance, approached Pharaoh’s daughter and offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, and Miriam brought her own mother, Jochebed, to nurse the child.

The baby was named Moses, which means “drawn out of the water.” He was raised in Pharaoh’s palace as an Egyptian prince, but as he grew older, he became increasingly aware of his Hebrew heritage.

When Moses was grown, he witnessed an Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew slave, and in a fit of anger, he killed the taskmaster. Fearing for his life, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a shepherd for many years before being called by God to return to Egypt and lead the Israelites to freedom.