Lieberman], pp. This kind of marriage between relatives was later forbidden by the law of Moses. She is a witless baby. Still another notion bases its understanding of the name on Job 26:13: By his wind the heavens were calmed [shifrah]. The verse describes the heavens that were created by God for Israel, and it was Shiphrah who returned Israel to their Father in heaven (Eccl. When hiding him was no longer possible, she placed him in a waterproof basket and set him adrift among the reeds, hoping he would be saved from Pharaoh's death squads. Their lives were made bitter with hard service in mortar and brick, and in many kinds of field labor. Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. 'YHWH is glory') was a daughter of Levi[1] and mother of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. She also was a descendant of Levi, born among the Levites in the land of Egypt. 6:20: Amram took to wife his fathers sister Jochebed. Amram was the son of Kohath and the grandson of Levi, while Jochebed was the daughter of Levi, and therefore his aunt. The story of his birth ( Exodus 2:1-10) is followed by an account of his killing of an Egyptian and the flight to Midian ( Exodus 2:11-16 ). God could grow a crop of wheat on the concrete pavements of our cities if He wanted to, but He normally expects the farmer to use the means at his disposal to grow a crop of wheat. Jochebed was thrilled to be able to raise her son. At any rate, Pharaohs daughter was determined to give protection to the baby. The latter had spoken impudently to Pharaoh, who sought to kill her in his anger. The next day the Egyptian women would say that I nursed the one who speaks with the Shekhinah [the Divine Presence] (Ex. It seems that God impressed upon their hearts the conviction that their very child, Moses, should be the one whom God would use to bring about the promised deliverance. Why did she do this? The Scripture says, And, behold, the babe wept (Exodus 2:6). She did not sit down and brood about the current situation in Egypt, and say, If this child is to be Israels deliverer, God will somehow spare him and deliver him; theres nothing we can do; so well throw him in the river, and if God wants him, He can save him. She knew that God expects us to do our part, and that He will not do for us what we are able to do for ourselves. The midrash apparently understands builds her house in a broad sense, because Jochebeds wisdom in the raising of her own children led to the building and firm establishment of the entire people of Israel. [6] In the Apocryphal Testament of Levi, it is stated that Jochebed was born, as a daughter of Levi, when Levi was 64 years old. There is nothing immoral in marrying your aunt unless the Torah explicitly forbids it. 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. The story is familiar to many, but so that we have it clearly in mind, we summarize it here. "Jochebed: Midrash and Aggadah." It is doubtful whether the decree of the wicked Pharaoh will be fulfilled, but you are righteous, and your decree will undoubtedly be fulfilled. Amram heeded his daughter, and returned to his wife, whom he remarried in a public celebration with all possible pomp and ceremony: he sat her in a palanquin, Aaron and Miriam danced before her, and the ministering angels proclaimed (Ps. The Pharaoh's daughter agreed and so Miriam called her mother, who was appointed to take care of him. His possessions were all gone; his body was racked with pain; his wife added to the pain of his soul by urging him to curse God and cry out for death. Exodus 6: 20 - "Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, and she gave birth to his sons Aaron and Moses. The Apostle Paul exhorts in Ephesians 6 that the Christian should have on the belt of truth and the coat of righteousness; our feet should be shod with the readiness of the gospel of peace. We are to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). According to another midrash, Moses rejected the breasts of the Egyptian women because he said: God will speak with me. Moses just happened to cry at the right time? But that was not the case. What if she had been found out, they would take the baby and kill him, perhaps she would lose her life, potentially the whole family, husband, 2 other children= Miriam=young little girl and Aaron=3 years old. [17][18] Biblical scholars have instead simply proposed that the discrepancy in the enumeration of Leah's children is due to the list not originally having included Dinah, who was added by a later editor to introduce consistency with the story of the Rape of Dinah. The life of Jochebed as a woman of influence teaches us that there are times in our lives when we have done all we can do, weve said all we can say, there is no more and we have to . Go then, earthly fame and treasure, Jochebed was married to Amram. JOCHEBED: THE MOTHER OF MOSES. So she made a little miniature Nile boat for her baby.2) She put the child in the basket among the reeds near the bank of the river. The Torah seemingly chose to concentrate on the birth of Israels deliverer, and therefore did not mention his two elder siblings. She looks like and is voiced by the late Ofra Haza. What some call fate or luck or it just happened is really Gods providential care. The expected thing for her to do was to have the little boy tilted over into the water. God saw to it that the baby should weep at this very moment. The basket fell in the hands of the Pharaoh's daughter who was bathing in the river. In the Old Testament this is the name of the mother of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. To protect Moses from Pharaohs command that every male Hebrew child be killed, she placed him in an ark of bulrushes on the river. Amram and Jochebed were the parents of Aaron, the first high priest of the nation of Israel; Moses, who led . Jewish Women's Archive. (NET). Miriam, the baby's sister, watched to see what would happen. Several rabbinic commentaries attest to this and comment that maidenhood was restored to Jochebed at the time of her marriage to Amram. Hebrews 11:23 and Exodus 2:1-2 and 6:20. Also not to the tribe of Levi. Jochebed was paid to nurse and care for the boy, her own son until he grew. Scripture does not tell us when Jochebed died but it is possible she was still living when the Law of Moses was given. Tellings of the birth of Moses story often overlook Jochebed's role in the story from beginning to end. Jochebed was married to Amram. Marriages with aunts and nieces have been common in many countries, and are not forbidden by any natural instinct. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. "Jochebed: Mother of Moses." Text says she went to bathe in the Nile. When Moses, her youngest child, was born, Jochebed hid him for three months until she could hide him no longer. Act out Pharaoh's daughter finding Moses. It was Jochebed's love and devotion to Moses that preserved his life and allowed him to lead the greatest salvation event in Old Testament history. Pharaohs daughter just happened to see the basket? The Torah relates that the midwives did not fulfill Pharaohs command because they feared God, who rewarded them for their actions: He established households [battim] for them (Ex. I felt like cold water had been poured all over me. The latest date that Jochebed could have been born was 2385 AM (1620 BC), the year her father died. 2 R. Alan Cole, Exodus, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, ed. And if all the male children were murdered, it would of course only be a generation or two until as a nation they would be wiped out completely. 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. The Haggadah extends this miraculous nature to Moses' conception by marking as 120 the age of Jochebed at conception. Jochebed was the mother of Moses, one of the major characters in the Old Testament. We don't know but we hope that she too was alive to see the Exodus. 26:59; cf. Thats a significant fact. Amram and Jochebed were strong in their faith during a time where many Israelites had become idolatrous. We dont know but we hope that she too was alive to see the Exodus. The Rabbis deduced from this that righteous women are not subject to the decree passed on Eve (that is, the curse of in pain shall you bear children [Gen. 3:16] does not apply to them) (BT Sotah 12a). 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). Joshua 24:14 throw away gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the river and in Egypt. Here then, we have Moses' own parents, living in a relationship clearly condemned as abomination under the Law of Moses. For others, health deteriorates, death takes a loved one, and plans for the future are shattered. Moses's mother, a Levite, later identified as Jochebed (Numbers 26:59), had married a Levite and given birth to a son. I have stayed my heart on Thee. (We learn later, in Exodus 6:20, that the father and mother of Moses are named Amram and Jochebed.) When a womans heart and a babys tears meet, something happens. You can never get them all quiet at the same time. At that same time, Pharaoh's daughter was bathing in the river. After three months Jochebed was forced to obey the decree of Pharaoh. Jochebed had faith in God's protection of her baby. Happy Womens History Month! Jochebed the mother of Moses. Exodus 2:2b She hid him for 3 months. The story of Moses' mother is found in chapter two of Exodus, Exodus 6:20, andNumbers26:59. 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. Would I ever see him again? And works His sovereign will. I had to learn over and over and over again to. Would he forget our family? Did Amram marry his aunt? With Thy favorloss is gain. Likewise, we have nothing to fear when we learn to rely on God. Just so, the Son of Righteousness is still shining, although in the dark tunnels of our trials and afflictions, sometimes we fail to see Him. Moses, the great law-giver, was born within what would soon be seen as an unlawful union. Moses was a fortunate and blessed man. Jochebed's story is the third part of our eight-week Bible study - Ordinary Parents with Extraordinary Faith. Years she had to love and influence her child for God. First, many unwed mothers refuse to have an abortion, yet have no choice but to place their baby for adoption. Surely Jochebed would have told little Moses stories of the faithfulness of the God of Israel. 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