1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
2433AM (1613BC).
This was not their first child. The Bible tells us that they had at least one older girl (Miriam) and their other son mentioned (Aaron) is older also.
This was a pretty baby and mommy couldn’t bear to kill him. I wonder just how many babies were hidden during this time. I would imagine quite a few.
3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him a basket of bulrushes, and daubed it with tar and with asphalt/cement, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
Acts 7:20-22 says Moses was hidden for three months. At about three months old a baby gets too noisy to keep hidden. There would have been too great a chance of the soldiers or other officials hearing him.
Tar and asphalt/cement would have waterproofed the little boat.
The flags were water plants (bulrushes) that grew in the shallows that were used to weave baskets.
4 And his sister stood afar off, to see what would happen to him.
Miriam (about 15 years old) was watching out for her brother. She likely loved him very much and was worried about him.
5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the basket among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.
The rich would have bathed in the comfort of their own homes. Especially the Pharaoh’s family would have had plenty of servants to bring water up to the palace. It is most likely that Pharaoh’s daughter was performing a religious ceremony to the fertility god (represented by the Nile). So she goes down to the river to pray for a baby and there he is!
We do know that during the 12th dynasty there was a large population of “Asian” slaves who just disappeared suddenly in the 13th dynasty (Egyptians called all people east of them “Asian.”) They left behind their houses, furniture, even boxes under the floorboards of their houses with the bones of babies (mostly about three months old each). This is just too coincidental to ignore.
Sesostris I (Mentuhotep’s Pharaoh) of the 12th dynasty had a great-grandson named Senusret III or Sesostris III (Khakaure). (Since most pharaohs had at least four names, these are all names you might see him under.) He attacked Nubians (Africa just to the south of Egypt) and Canaan. He left lots of statues, so we know what he looked like; very sour faced, always frowning.)
He was quite a tyrant, often burning his enemies crops (just the type of man who would order the death of thousands of baby boys). He did lots of building in the delta region (where the Bible says Israel had settled), and had his pyramid built of bricks. There is also archaeological evidence for Semitic slavery during his reign. He was 6’6” and ruled 19 years.
His son, Amenemhet III (Nimaatre) had two daughters but no sons of his own. He ruled a very long time; 46 years, a lot of which was actually a co-rule with his dad. He was sour faced, like his dad and also built pyramids of bricks. His was the last great pyramid.
Amenemhet III’s daughter, Sobekneferu, ruled for four years herself. There is no record of her having a son, though the next pharaoh (Amenemhet IV (Maakherure) who co-ruled with Amenemhet III for nine years but never ruled independently) is either the son or grandson of her father (which is kind of confusing since the records clearly say neither she nor her father had sons).
Could Sobekneferu have been this “Pharaoh’s daughter” who went to the river to pray for a baby? And Amenemhet IV, who just disappeared from the records with no explanation, in fact, have been Moses?
6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, ‘This is one of the Hebrews' children.”
Love at first sight.
Of course he was a Hebrew’s child. Why would an Egyptian woman put her baby in a boat on the Nile? Anyway, he would have been circumcised while an Egyptian boy probably wouldn’t have been. And there was very likely some physical differences (eye shape? Skin color? Hair texture?) between the Egyptians (descended from Ham) and the Hebrews (descended from Shem).
7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?”
Smart girl. It isn’t likely that her mom anticipated this happening, so Miriam had to have been listening to God.
8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” And the maid went and called the child's mother.
9 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 women took the child, and nursed it.”
It is very likely Pharaoh’s daughter knew this was the baby’s mom. She didn’t care, though. A mother’s care for the son she is adopting would be just what he needed. Both women were happy; the princess gets her baby and the mom gets paid to nurse her own child, protected from the evil laws of the land.
10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
We have no idea what Moses’ mom called him. The princess names him “Drawn out.”
He was probably about four when his mom brought him to the palace, since that was the common weaning age before the invention of formula and rubber nipples for bottles.
Moses was likely put into the same place as all other royal children at this time. He would have received the same education, one fit to make him the ruler someday, including being taught to write and judge, and do public speaking.
11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brothers, and looked on their burdens: and he saw an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brothers.
He had to have been old enough when brought to the palace to know he was a Jew, yet young enough to be trained for leadership.
Legend tells us Moses was groomed for the throne. He led the Egyptian army, becoming a great general, and in every way fulfilled the job of heir-apparent. The Bible is silent about this time period.
Amenemhet IV (Maakherure) co-ruled with Amenemhet III for 9 years and then disappeared. We have no idea how he was related to the pharaohs. Speculation runs from his being the son or grandson of Amenemhet III, (though the records say he had no son and neither did his daughters) to his being Sobekneferu’s husband (son? Brother? No idea).
Josephus says he was Moses.
He left no male heir and was succeeded by Sobekneferu when he disappeared suddenly from all the records (because he disappeared from the country or because the next pharaoh memory-wiped him from the records?) She was the last pharaoh of the 12th dynasty, only ruling 4-8 years.
12th Dynasty
- Amenemhet III (Nimaatre) “Sour face ll”
- Amenemhet IV (Maakherure) son or grandson of Amenemhet III? Moses?
- Neferusobek (Sobekkare) Daughter of Amenemhet III.
12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
Moses knew he was to deliver his people. But this isn’t God’s way. He has other plans that will result in true, permanent freedom.
13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews fought together: and he said to him that did the wrong, “Why do thou hit thy fellow?”
14 And he said, “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Do thou intend to kill me, as thou killed the Egyptian”? And Moses feared, and said, “Surely this thing is known.”
He evidently didn’t account for the Israelite that was being beaten spreading the word of what he did. And this second Israelite did not appreciate his interference.
15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and lived in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
“Moses' reputation as a military leader allegedly begins even before the Exodus. Josephus alleges that Moses commanded Egyptian troops before his initial exile.
According to that account, the Ethiopians were raiding the Egyptians, and the Egyptians selected Moses to fight back. Moses then used a remarkable tactic to take the Ethiopians by surprise.
The Ethiopians were expecting Moses to attack by marching along the river, rather than by land, because the land between the two armies was so thick with snakes that it was impassable. For that very reason, Moses was determined to march over land. He ordered his artificers to construct cages and to carry ibis birds (a sacred bird in Egypt) with them. The ibis is a natural enemy of snakes, and so they scattered the snakes, and the army was safe.
Thus the army crossed the land, surprised the enemy, and defeated them.” - http://creationwiki.org/Amenemhet_IV
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
17 And the shepherds came and chased them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
This fighting was a daily occurrence. Every day the girls tried to water their sheep but were driven away by the shepherds of other herds. So they would have to wait until the others were done before they could water their own animals.
18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that ye are come so soon to day?”
Their daddy knew they were home way earlier than usual.
Reuel means “Friend of God.”
19 And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.”
20 And he said unto his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that ye have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”
After helping his daughters, the least the man could do was to reward Moses with dinner and a place to sleep for the night. He ended up giving him a whole lot more.
21 And Moses was content to live with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
Reul (in other places called Jethro) gave Moses a job and a wife. He adopted him.
22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name “Gershom:” for he said, “I have been a stranger in a strange land.”
“Gershom” means “A Stranger There.”
23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel groaned by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
God at no point forgot His promises to Abraham and his descendants. He was watching the whole time and had a plan. He remembered them the whole time.
25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God favored them.