Summary of the story of Jochebed in the Bible Generations after Joseph died, the reigning Pharaoh became paranoid. However, when Amram married his aunt, this was before the Torah had been goven on Mount Sinai, soits laws didn't apply yet. Jesus reminds us that there will be those who are last which shall be first and first which shall be last (Luke 13:30). His three friends sat for seven days and simply shook their heads in despair without saying a word (Job 2:13). You can never get them all quiet at the same time. Moses just happened to cry at the right time? The midrash portrays Jochebed as a wise woman who was righteous and God-fearing. 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. And so Jochebed did what she could. She was portrayed by Martha Scott. I believe she recognized that the deliverance of God was at hand. Reason was Pharaohs edict. This exegesis teaches of Jochebeds longevity, and that she was still alive when Moses died. After many hardships, Moses was used by God as his servant to free the Hebrew people from slavery and lead them to the edge of the promised land. The Apocrypha calls her Tharmuth, other names suggested are Merris, or Bityah, perhaps even the well-known Hatshepsut( HAT shep shoot). On what was this confidence and hope based? In the film, she sings a lullaby to baby Moses as she sets the basket carrying him adrift in the river, also pleading the river to deliver Moses "somewhere he can live free". (Genesis 1:7-10) Pharaoh gave the midwives an order to kill any boy that was born of the Hebrew women . Amram and Jochebed were strong in their faith during a time where many Israelites had become idolatrous. I would have wondered if he would be safe? 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. When she saw that he was a "fine" child, she hid him for three months and when she could do so no longer, she made a basket out of bulrushes and put him among the reeds by the river bank. I imagine he learned about the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the Great Covenantal promises made to the Hebrews. 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. So what happens when you trust God, eyewitness account: Miriam is near by, watching and.. Exodus 2:5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself by the Nile, while her attendants were walking alongside the river, and she saw the basket among the reeds. The Apostle Peter says, That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7). She also was a descendant of Levi, born among the Levites in the land of Egypt. The Rabbis say that when the daughter of Pharaoh asked of Jochebed: Take [helikhi] this child and nurse it for me (Ex. First of all, God began to move upon the heart of the pagan daughter of a pagan king, so that at the exact time the baby Moses lay by the rivers edge, Pharaohs daughter came to this very place to take a swim. D. J. Wiseman (Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1973) 57. Jochebed had such a deep abiding faith in the trustworthiness of Gods Word that it drove her to act. Only because she trusted the Lord could she abandon her son rather than see him killed. If the Pharaoh here is Rameses (RAM uh sees) II, he had over 60 daughters.3 We dont know, but whoever she was, she had enough influence to kill Moses or keep him alive. If so, then why does Ex. Can you fill in the blank _____ Lord I hear You saying Let it go and trust Me with it, Women of Influence, women who are affecting their world, their family, their workplace, their friends for good for God have open hands. Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 02:24, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jochebed&oldid=1140850169, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 02:24. She named him Moses, saying, Because I drew him from the water.. 2:12 state that he married a Levite woman. A number of miracles were performed for Jochebed in connection with the birth of Moses: she bore him at the age of one hundred and thirty, and God restored her youth and her beauty. Cain the first human murderer recorded in the Bible, Jephthah the Gileadite the tenth Judge of Israel, Samuel 15th Judge of Israel and also a Prophet, Background Information: For Hebrews Chapter 11. Maybe youve not given a child up for adoption, but Im sure that most everyone here has some experience with giving up something precious to you. 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). The Exodus Rabbah argues that when the Pharaoh instructed midwives to throw male children into the Nile, Amram divorced Jochebed, who was three months pregnant with Moses at the time, but Miriam soon persuaded him to marry Jochebed again;[10] it goes on to argue that the Egyptians estimated the date that Moses would be due to be born by counting nine months from the start of this marriage, hence allowing Jochebed to hide him for the three months that were overestimated. Her name Jochebed in the Hebrew language means "YAHWEH is glory". (The length of Amrams life was 137 years.) She was the wife of Amram, as well as his aunt. Jochebed was given the name Shiphrah because she would cleanse (meshaperet) the newborn, by washing it and cleaning it after birth; another etymological explanation is that, by merit of her deeds, the Israelites were fruitful [she-paru] and multiplied in her time (Sifrei on Numbers, para. Mike Huckabee, Devorah Sklar (still trying to get her exact age) has died of COVID. JOCHEBED: THE MOTHER OF MOSES. 26:59; cf. The Bible; the Pentateuch; Tanakh (the Pentateuch, Prophets and Hagiographia)Torah also designates Jochebed as the daughter of Levi (Num. Conservative scholars date the "Exodus," a landmark in Israel's history, at 1446 B.C. When you let go, when you released that person or that thing, did you feel like part of you was breaking; now there was some new emptiness in your life? An additional midrashic explanation of her name is that she smoothed over (shiprah) her daughter Puahs words. 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. How do we know? When Moses, her youngest child, was born, Jochebed hid him for three months until she could hide him no longer. 2 R. Alan Cole, Exodus, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, ed. When not specified, "Talmud" refers to the Babylonian Talmud.Talmud discusses this relationship in the context of the incest prohibitions in Lev. The parents of Moses knew that the Children of Israel could never perish, for that would be denying the very promise that God had given to their father Abraham (Genesis 12:3). 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. Joshua 24:14 throw away gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the river and in Egypt. Rather, this verse teaches that Jochebeds pregnancy was without suffering, just as she gave birth without pain. By faith, Jochebed and her husband Amram hid their son Moses even against the king of Egypt's edict that all Hebrew boys should be put to death at birth. 2:9), she unwittingly prophesied: the word helikhi concealed the truthshelikhi hu [he is yours]. Pharaohs daughter promised Jochebed (ibid. 2:2). Yocheved is the major character birth mother of Moses, Miriam, & Aaron in The Prince of Egypt. Her hometown was probably Goshen, in the land of Egypt. She breathed air just like you and I do. Kadari, Tamar. She took leave of her baby with a heavy heart, and tried with all her might to protect him and ensure that he remain alive. Amram and Jochebed had a daughter, Miriam, and two sons, Aaron and Moses. They had faith that God had made promises to them through Abraham that they would be a nation, a people with land, their land. What strong faith this woman had, but also what courage. The latest date that Jochebed could have been born was 2385 AM (1620 BC), the year her father died. [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. Truthfully, there is a certain amount of pain, a loneliness pain, when they leave home to go to college, when they get married, when they start their own life. The ruler had thought sparing women was safe, but the midwives, the Hebrew mother, the daughter of Pharaoh, and Miriam, all work together to spare one child5. Transition to our next woman of influence, JochebedMoses mother. https://www.learnreligions.com/jochebed-mother-of-moses-701165 (accessed March 2, 2023). She was only shown onscreen at the time that Moses was exiled and got to meet his biological mother. She committed Moses to the Lord. For unknown reasons, Terah never made it to their destination but stopped and settled in Harran instead. There was something supernatural and marvelous taking place here. Their lives were made bitter with hard service in mortar and brick, and in many kinds of field labor. Jochebed complied with the royal decree, but in protecting the child from the deep waters of the river, the essential point of the decree (killing the male babies) was disregarded. Have you ever been there? Jochebed was the daughter of a Levi man and born in Egypt. This is a huge part of the story Jewish Study Bible, The verb could be given a more colloquial translation such as she felt sorry for him. But the verb is stronger than that; it means to have compassion, to pity, to spare. What she felt for the baby was strong enough to prompt her to spare the child from the fate decreed for Hebrew boys. In verse 16 we find that Levi's sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Joseph, Jacob's son, was a ruler in Egypt at that time and the children of Jacob (Israel) were treated kindly. Exodus 1; 2. The film The Ten Commandments calls her "Yoshebel". Jochebed the mother of Moses. Jochebed bore Amram three righteous offspring. During the few years, Jochebed was permitted to nurse her son, she would have had a profound influence upon him. They may have desired a happy marriage, a successful career, developing their talent, or some other worthwhile goal, yet circumstances prevented it. He treasures up His bright designs Jochebed, more commonly referred to as the mom of Moses, is an important biblical character when studying mothers in the Bible. God blessed Jochebed's obedience by making her Moses' nursemaid. Answer: As the verse doesn't state what Jochebed's intentions were, the matter is open to speculation. All must work for good to me. [25] Biblical scholars suspect that the Elohist account offers both matrilinial and patrilinial descent from Levites in order to magnify the religious credentials of Moses. Another midrash has Jochebed building a little canopy for Moses inside the ark, for she said to herself: Perhaps I will not see him under his wedding canopy (BT Sotah 12ab). The wording she placed it among the reeds (ibid.) 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). My story: Brents diabetes (Another stone of remembrance), When my youngest son was 5 years old he started loosing weight, was always thirsty and he started wetting the bed at night though hed been potty trained for a long time. Rabbah 1:25). "Jochebed: Mother of Moses." Learn Religions. Likewise, we have nothing to fear when we learn to rely on God. From that marriage, Moses was born. How did Jochebed help Moses become a Hebrew? Amram Remarries Jochebed His Name Bringing Heaven Down to Earth Sinless Amram Marries Jochebed Amram married his aunt Jochebed in Egypt. What if she kept the baby at home until eventually the authorities came? She hid Moses for a period of time, but as the childs lungs developed it became impossible to hide him. In all three explanations, Jochebed immediately comprehended that her son was meant for greatness and she discerned that he possessed unique spiritual qualities. 4 Dr. Thomas Constable, Constables Notes, Lumina, www.bible.org. Yocheved was the youngest member of the seventy souls who made up Jacob's household. Accordingly, Prov. This word conveys the possibility that Jochebed sensed something was special about her new baby boy. "teaching," "study," or "learning." She had hard problems to face just like you and I have. 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