The princess adopted Moses eventually but never knew that Jochebed was the little boy's biological mother. By faith, Jochebed and her husband Amram hid their son Moses even against the king of Egypts edict that all Hebrew boys should be put to death at birth. Jochebed had such a deep abiding faith in the trustworthiness of Gods Word that it drove her to act. Jochebed was the mother of Moses, one of the major characters in the Old Testament. Hebrews 11:23 and Exodus 2:1-2 and 6:20. God had told Abraham, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance (Genesis 15:13-14). The outcome of this brave action of defying the King of Egypt is now known to all. The midrash portrays Jochebed as a wise woman who was righteous and God-fearing. This was God responding to the faith of a mother who dared to trust in Him. According to tradition, Moses' parents, Amram and Jochebed . Did Amram marry his aunt? We must put on the shield of faith and believe that God is sending the trials to prepare us for even greater blessings. Jochebed was aware, when she was expecting a new arrival in the family, that if the child should be a boythe decree was that the male baby would have to perish in the Nile Riverand if the parents disobeyed, they too were subject to death. Jochebed just happened to be available and able to nurse? This word conveys the possibility that Jochebed sensed something was special about her new baby boy. Has anything just happened to you recently that you know really was God working for you? We often think of this passage as the story of Moses, but it might be more appropriate to call it the story of Jochebeda woman who is relatively unknown to many Christians. She had hard problems to face just like you and I have. When she saw that he was a healthy child, she hid him for three months. The choice to hid the baby put the whole family at risk. Also not to the tribe of Levi. Rabbah 7:3; Ex. Jochebed showed great trust in God's faithfulness. A careful reader of the Bible account can almost picture Miriam (the older sister of Moses) running to her mother and telling her what had happened. In Thy service pain is pleasure, Hebrews 11:23, 2:1 A man of the family of Levi married the daughter of a descendant of Levi. 11:23 By faith Moses was hidden by, Amram and Jochebed, his parents, for three months after he was born, because they saw that he was a beautiful child and were not afraid of the kings order. Have you ever had to give up and let go of someone or something very precious to you? It took faith to place the child in the river. Not only was Moses spared, but his older sister (later identified as Miriam in Exodus 15:20), who was standing somewhere within sight, offered the Egyptian princess her services. Here there would be less danger from crocodiles than if she just put him down on the beach. A type of non-halakhic literary activitiy of the Rabbis for interpreting non-legal material according to special principles of interpretation (hermeneutical rules). Jochebed lived in a critical time. Faith and trust in God knows that even when God seems silent, He is always working for the good of His children. Subscribe our channel: http://bit.ly/1MeurZHBeginners Bible - Encounter a time in ancient Egypt when Baby Moses was plucked from the reeds of the Nile River . for a little while. Text says she went to bathe in the Nile. 2:2) how good [tov] he was. The Rabbis ask what Jochebed saw that was special in her son, on account of which she sought to save him from Pharaohs death decree. Jochebed placed Moses in a basket and released him in the flow of River Nile. Although she is mentioned only twice in the Bible, Jochebed has a lasting place as one of the immortal mothers of Israel. But that was not the case. Moses would become God's servant who would lead Israel out of Egypt. V. 1 begins with the marriage of Jochebed and Amram, and then the reader is immediately told of Mosess birth, concealment and rescue. 6:20). 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. Job had some low points in his experience, but repeatedly he expressed his confidence in Gods faithfulness. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. 2:1), and thus was Amram's paternal aunt (Ex. Moses said: The mouth that will speak with God will not nurse something impure [the milk of non-Jews]. 2:12 state that he married a Levite woman. Amram and Jochebed still enjoyed a forbidden sexual relationship which produced three famous children, Aaron, Miriam and Moses, Exodus 6:20, 15:20. A desperate measure. [2] No details are given concerning her life. But this couple worshipped Jehovah God. Answer: According to tradition, Yocheved lived long enough to enter the Holy Land with the Israelites.. Part of her reward was an extremely long life, living to witness the positions of leadership held by her children, and she was even one of the Israelites who entered the land of Canaan. When Moses, her youngest child, was born, Jochebed hid him for three months until she could hide him no longer. Jochebed is usually lost in the shadow of her famous son, Moses, and although she is many times forgotten when studying Exodus 2:1-10, surely in Heaven Jochebed is well known. Hold on to things and people with open hands, like Jochebed they know when to release and. And down through the ages mothers have gone to great measures that required courage to guide and protect their children. She was Levi 's daughter, and Kehot, Amram's father, was Levi 's son. But in the midst of this trial, she had confidence and hope. Exodus 6:20 And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years. Have you ever been there? Faith and trust in God knows that God often works behind the scenes of our lives. We are thinking of faith in this lesson, not as saving faith, but as sustaining faith. After three months Jochebed was forced to obey the decree of Pharaoh. Their lives were made bitter with hard service in mortar and brick, and in many kinds of field labor. In the Rabbinic retelling, when Amram returned his wife, Jochebed was a hundred and thirty years of age, but signs of youth appeared on her: her body became smoother, her wrinkles were straightened out, and her former beauty was restored. Waiting for Breakthrough - Elizabeth's story. According to one opinion, she realized that he was suited to be a prophet; according to another, she saw that he was born circumcised; and according to a third exegetical suggestion, she saw that the entire house was filled with light (BT Sotah 12a). Family tree. 1:17 relates that the midwives, fearing God, let the boys live; their reward for fearing God, according to the midrash, is Torah: because Jochebed feared the Lord, she gave birth to Moses, through whom the Torah was given (Ex. Moses was a fortunate and blessed man. Moved with compassion when she discovered the child, she decided to adopt him. The story is familiar to many, but so that we have it clearly in mind, we summarize it here. We know from history that all the kings in Pharaohs day had bath houses, such as even the wealthiest do not possess in our day. [10] The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan identifies Jochebed as also having been wife of Elitzaphon Ben Parnach, and the mother of Eldad and Medad;[11] the text is ambiguous as to when this marriage occurred in relation to the marriage(s) to Amram. In thanks, Jethro--known as the Priest of Midian--invited him to stay in his camp, and gave him Zipporah to marry. The A type of non-halakhic literary activitiy of the Rabbis for interpreting non-legal material according to special principles of interpretation (hermeneutical rules).midrash portrays Jochebed as a wise woman who was righteous and God-fearing. Jochebed herself was from the tribe of Levi, and her two sons Aaron and Moses attained the High Priesthood and the scepter of royalty (BT Suspected adulteressSotah 11b). This kind of marriage between relatives was later forbidden by the law of Moses. With tears running down his cheek, he appealed to an older brother for help, and the brother picked up big stones and threw them out toward the boat. About 1486, the reigning Pharaoh tried to kill Moses when he sought identity with his people Israel, but Moses escaped to Midian. To protect Moses from Pharaoh's command that every male Hebrew child be killed, she placed him in an ark of bulrushes on the river. Hebrew: MSH Mosheh (M. T.), Greek: Mouses, Moses. Jochebed was married to Amram. She named him Moses. Growing up, we wanted him to have all the normal experiences of childhood, sleepovers, soccer, basketball, baseball, and football, field trips, then dates, eventually college and marriage: without me. The painting "The Mother of Moses" by Simeon Solomon depicts Jochebed and Miriam looking and holding Moses. Jochebed was surrounded by grieving mothers. Exodus 2:2b She hid him for 3 months. She put the child in it and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile. Just like today, true faith was mixed with pagan beliefs. While he was still in Egypt, Moses killed an Egyptian guard who was assaulting a Hebrew slave, and he hid the body. According to the Book of Numbers, Jochebed was born to Levi when he lived in Egypt. When she placed little Moses in the Nile River that day, Jochebed could not have known that he would grow up to be one of God's greatest leaders, chosen to rescue the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. The Lit. She looks like and is voiced by the late Ofra Haza. Robert Lehigh, Editor Another proof that "bare" in Numbers 26:59 cannot indicate an immediate father-son or father-daughter relationship is found by considering that this verse states Jochebed was a daughter of Levi. And her influence is felt to this day by the followers of the God of the Bible as we read about the great things that her son did for the people of God of his time. The Scripture says, And, behold, the babe wept (Exodus 2:6). A resolute faith and holy background were the foundation for her remarkable strength and trust in the promises of God. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us - including overcoming our greatest fears. She didnt just let him go, she was a woman of faith, and she let him go and trusted her God. Rabbi (Judah ha-Nasi) would sit and expound, and the public was drowsing. Why to Trust? She was curious, what could be in it? Jochebed, his biological mother, loved her son and kept him as long as she could after he was born. Meet Miriam: Moses' Sister and Prophetess During the Exodus. Jochebed was a human being just as all of us are today. The basket fell in the hands of the Pharaoh's daughter who was bathing in the river. Jochebed succeeded in concealing Moses for three months (Ex. [Amram lived 137 years]. "We cannot save our little boy from the forces of death,"Moses' parents decided, "but God can.". According to the Bible, Jochebed (/jkbd/; Biblical Hebrew: , romanized:Yee, lit. . Moses' sister, Miriam, accompanied her younger brother when he led the Hebrew people in their escape from slavery in Egypt. 2:2). This king observed that the Hebrew people were growing in numbers, and fearing that they might soon outnumber the Egyptians themselves, the new Pharaoh began seeking ways of reducing the number of Hebrews and keeping them subject to Egyptian authority. Jochebed is identified by some rabbis in the Talmud with Shiphrah, one of the midwives described by the book of Exodus as being ordered by Pharaoh to kill the new-born male children. Josephus and the Fathers assign the Coptic mo (water) and uses (saved) as the constituent parts of the name. His three friends sat for seven days and simply shook their heads in despair without saying a word (Job 2:13). Jochebed did not say, Im going to throw the child into the river; if hes Gods man, God will somehow save him. That is not faith; that is fanaticism. Why did she do this? And when she could no longer hide him, she made a little basket, sealed it with pitch, and put the child in the basket, and laid it among the reeds by the rivers brink (Exodus 2:3). Maybe its a relationship that is toxic and you need to make a hard choice. Her name in Hebrew means "bitterness." Miriam was the first woman in the Bible to be given the title prophetess. teaches that Jochebed put the ark in a protected place, where bushes and reeds grew. She named him Moses, saying, Because I drew him from the water.. It is our Christian duty to walk by faith in this world, until we come to live by sight in the eternal world. He does them in a big way if we dare to trust Him. Marriages with aunts and nieces have been common in many countries, and are not forbidden by any natural instinct. If you want to read the first two Bible studies check out: Zarephath Widow Bible Study - A lesson in courage and surrender. Exodus 2:1 A man from the household of Levi married a woman who was a descendant of Levi. And when the little crib was brought to Pharaohs daughter, she saw that it was a little Hebrew baby. Exodus 6: 20 The wording she placed it among the reeds (ibid.) Lit. We face a variety of trials. Some, its likely all of us, know the pain of giving up, letting go of someone, or something precious to you: A relationship, a job, a dream. She is praised for her faith in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Or would it be wise to just distance herself from this baby and let someone else throw him in the Nile? For some, there is a lack of the assurance of the forgiveness of past sins. The latest date that Jochebed could have been born was 2385 AM (1620 BC), the year her father died. "teaching," "study," or "learning." Like Jochebed, we won't always foresee God's purpose in letting go, but we can trust that his plan is even better. Exodus 6:20 And Amram took his aunt Jochebed to him for a wife. He is the author "Hope for Hurting Singles: A Christian Guide to Overcoming Life's Challenges.". Ex. Answer Moses' mother, Jochebed, was a Hebrew woman living in slavery in Egypt before the exodus. Amram and Jochebed were strong in their faith during a time where many Israelites had become idolatrous. She was told to do that. There arc three arks mentioned in Scripture. His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him. There was something supernatural and marvelous taking place here. One of the arguments advanced by Moses was his mothers suffering. That Jochebed could still be bearing children at the age of forty-eight might seem unlikely by modern standards. First, we need to estimate the population that went down to Egypt with Jacob, the amount of time and generations that elapsed between then and the Exodus, and any relevant data points that . For others, a family member rebels against the Gospel plan of salvation. The story of Jochebed is thought to be described in the Book of Exodus (2:110) although she is not explicitly named here. One of the explanations of this discrepancy is that Jochebed completed the number seventy; she was not included in the list because she was still in her mothers womb (Gen. Rabbah 94:9). Thus Jochebed nursed her son until he was old enough and brought him to the Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted him as her son. Zavada, Jack. not an ordinary child Hebrew for fine is tov(TOE v)= means good, beautiful Its the same word that used in the Creation account in Genesis 1:4(light), 10(land and sea), 18(sun, moon, stars), 25(animals), 31(mankind, looked and said=very good). Devorah was as active an anti-vaxxer as you'll see on this site. = Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Perhaps God might use him to fulfill the Promise. I learned to give injections, to plan meals, to test blood, to watch for highs and lows, and I learned to trust God in a new, powerful way. Joseph had revealed himself to his eleven brothers and requested that his father come to Egypt, which the family did. Jochebed, shes the one, who took him to the Royal Palace. Soon, Moses got word that Pharaoh knew what he had done and was going to kill him, so he fled from Egypt to the land of Midian to avoid prosecution. And after Jochebed did all that she could, she went back homeundoubtedly with a great sense of trust that God would work things out according to His plan. In 1571 BC, Pharaoh Ramesses I ordered the extermination of all of the Israelites ' newborn babies to avert a prophecy that one of them would lead the Israelites out of slavery. Resources Lockyer's All the Women of the Bible Chapter 2. Consequently, Miriam came and offered to the daughter of Pharaoh her mother Jochebed, who was a Hebrew (Ex. 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