Photo courtesy of Aleksandr Kutsayev
Exodus 2:8-10
8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
There’s something that I’ve wondered about Moses’s upbringing. Pharoah’s daughter took in a Hebrew baby and raised him as a son. Her father, the Pharoah, was trying to kill the new-born Hebrew male children because the Hebrews were multiplying so quickly. I also gather that the Hebrews looked much different from the Egyptians?
Wouldn’t her father have objected to his daughter, raising one of his “enemies” under his own roof as her son? I’m wondering what kind of dialog went on between father and daughter? Did Pharoah finally relent and let her keep the baby just to appease her? Did Pharoah figure that keeping this one child alive could bring no harm? What do you think happened between father and daughter on this day?
I have wondered the same thing. Why would the King allow his daughter to raise a jewish baby boy? A girl, I might understand more since they were under their family’s control but a boy?
I don’t think the King really thought one jewish baby boy would present a problem and allowing his daughter to raise him made her happy. But all this was God’s plan and Moses became a real threat to them all and led his people as God had intented.
misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
Hi, Kallie. I guess you’re probably right. Pharoah just wanted to make his daughter happy. I’m comparing this situation to slavery that we had here in the United States in the 1800’s. What if you had a family with slaves and then there was a baby born and your daughter wanted to raise the baby as a son? I’d just find it hard to imagine in the deep south that a prejudiced person, who was killing people of color, would allow one to live under his/her roof as a grandchild.
But, you’re right, it was all part of God’s plan and Moses proved to be a real threat to Pharoah and the Egyptians later on.