Exodus 2:7-9

"Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maiden went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it."

Some scholars like to point out what they call resemblances between this Biblical event and other stories of similar rescues of children cast into rivers, but there can be no way that this narrative is in any manner whatever dependent upon any such myths or legends. This is not a myth. The truth of what is related here has been preserved and memorialized in the history of more than four millenniums, and there is no other way that the power and influence of Moses has ever been explained. The existence of Israel proves this narrative. "No tale of romance ever described a plot more skillfully laid, or more full of interest in the development."[18]

What a bundle of miracles is here! With all of the precision and skill required to land a man on the moon, God here landed the future deliverer of Israel in the very palace of the evil ruler who had become God's antagonist. Not only was Moses' life saved, he was endowed with royalty, became a presumptive heir to the throne of Pharaoh himself, received the most thorough and exalted education available in the world of that era, and in infancy was nursed by his own mother who received wages (!) for the service. Surely God Himself ordered every detail of this episode!

"And the woman took the child, and nursed it ..." We may discount and reject many Jewish tales about Moses' infancy, such as, for instance, his refusal to nurse Egyptian women, thus making necessary a Hebrew nurse. There are enough wonders here without reliance upon such tales.

How long did Jochebed nurse Moses? She would have kept him at least until he was weaned, and in those times that may well have been three years or even more. It is a fact that this writer's grandfather (paternal) was not weaned until he was seven (in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia), and certainly Moses was exposed to the teachings of his mother long enough to receive and accept fully all of the vital truth regarding Israel in the plan of Redemption.

We are grateful to Fields for his pointing out the importance of women in the life and development of Moses. Jochebed, Miriam, and the daughter of Pharaoh all played extremely important roles in his rise to power.

All honor to the women of all ages who fear the Lord. Moses' wise mother knew what some emancipated women of our times do not know, namely, that service at home to her family will have more powerful influence on the world than competing with men for authority. Who had a more lasting and powerful influence on the world? The Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut, or Jochebed, the mother of Moses?[19]