Exodus 2:1-5

The names of Moses’ parents were Amram and Jochebed (Exodus 6:20).

"At this point Scripture’s aim is to inform us that from an ordinary man, . . . and from an ordinary woman, . . . whose names there was no need to mention [at this point], God raised up a redeemer unto his people." [Note: Cassuto, p. 17.]

It is not clear from the text if Moses was an unusually beautiful child physically or if he was distinctive in some other respect (Exodus 2:2). Some commentators translated "beautiful" as "healthy." [Note: E.g., Brevard Childs, The Book of Exodus, p. 18; The NET Bible note on 2:2.] The phrase used to describe him in Hebrews 11:23, as well as the Hebrew word used here, can have a broader meaning than physical beauty. Josephus claimed that God had revealed to Amram in a dream that Moses would humble the Egyptians. [Note: Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 2:9:3.] There is no scriptural support for this tradition; it may or may not be true.

Jochebed and Amram hid Moses because they trusted God (Exodus 2:3; Hebrews 11:23-26). The same Hebrew word translated "wicker basket" in this verse (tehvah) reads "ark" or "boat" in English translations of Genesis 6:14. As Noah’s ark was God’s instrument for preserving one savior of the human race, Moses’ ark proved to be His means of preserving another savior of the Israelites. Moses’ parents obeyed Pharaoh and put Moses in the river (Exodus 1:22), but they also trusted God who delivered their baby.

"Ironically Jochebed, putting her son into the Nile, was in one sense obeying the Pharaoh’s edict to ’throw’ baby boys into the river! (Exodus 1:22)" [Note: Hannah, p. 109.]

"There is abundant warrant, afforded by this narrative, for Christian parents to cast their children upon God." [Note: Meyer, p. 26.]

Moses’ older sister was probably Miriam. She is the only sister of Moses mentioned in Scripture (Exodus 2:4; Numbers 26:59).

The daughter of Pharaoh (Thutmose I) was probably Hatshepsut who was a very significant person in Egyptian history (Exodus 2:5). She later assumed co-regency with Thutmose III and ruled as the fifth Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty (1503-1482 B.C.). The ruling class in Egypt was male dominated, and it took a very forceful woman to rise and rule. Queen Hatshepsut adopted certain male mannerisms to minimize objections to her rule including the wearing of a false beard that appears on some Egyptian pictures of her. [Note: See Merrill Unger, Archaeology and the Old Testament, pp. 144-45; Joseph Free, Archaeology and Bible History, p. 86, n. 9; and Francis Nichol, ed., The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary, 1:502.]

It was not uncommon for Pharaohs and other Egyptians to bathe ceremonially in the sacred Nile River, as many Indians do today in the Ganges River. The Egyptians believed that the waters of the Nile possessed the ability to impart fruitfulness and to prolong life.

Several women were involved in the events surrounding Moses’ birth: the midwives, Pharaoh’s daughter, her maid, Moses’ sister, and Jochebed. How ironic it was that women, whom Egyptian and Israelite men looked down on as less significant than themselves, should have been responsible for saving Israel’s savior! Truly the hand of God is evident. The Gospel writers also recorded that several women ministered to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, during His first advent.