Parshat Shemot5 min read

Pharaoh's Daughter Converted the Day She Saved Moses

Pharaoh's daughter came to the Nile that morning to wash away her father's idolatry. She walked away with a Hebrew infant and a new name from God.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. She Came to Wash Away Her Father
  2. The Angel Who Struck Her Maids Down
  3. The Arm That Stretched Across the Water
  4. Miriam and the Return of the Nurse

She Came to Wash Away Her Father

The way the story is usually told, Pharaoh's daughter came to the Nile to bathe, saw a basket among the reeds, opened it, found a crying baby, and decided to keep him. A moment of compassion. An act of mercy that changed history because she happened to be at the river that morning.

The Talmud in Sotah 12b tells a completely different story.

She did not come to the Nile to bathe. She came to immerse. The Hebrew word the Torah uses, lirhotz, ordinarily means to wash. But the rabbis read it the way they read Isaiah 4:4, where the same root appears in the context of God washing away the filth of Jerusalem, which is not physical dirt but spiritual contamination. The daughter of Pharaoh came to the Nile that morning to wash away her father's idolatry. She was converting. She was walking away from everything her father's house stood for, from the gods of Egypt and the world they organized, before she had any idea that Moses was waiting for her in the reeds.

The Angel Who Struck Her Maids Down

Her handmaidens tried to stop her. They offered the argument of ordinary loyalty: when a king decrees a decree, even if the whole world ignores it, surely his own household obeys it. Your father decreed that Hebrew boys be drowned in the Nile. You are his daughter. You should not be doing this.

The angel Gabriel heard that. He struck them where they stood, all but one, because a princess should not be entirely alone. The maids who had appealed to the authority of the decree died under the weight of that appeal. The one who survived went with her mistress to the water.

This detail in the rabbinic reading is not simply dramatic embellishment. It establishes a principle about the moment. The handmaidens represented the logic of the existing order: the decree was the decree, the hierarchy was the hierarchy, the daughter of Pharaoh should act like the daughter of Pharaoh. The princess rejected that logic at the cost of her entire attendant staff. She went forward alone, or nearly so, into a decision she had already made before she knew what the decision would cost her.

The Arm That Stretched Across the Water

She saw the basket. The Torah says she sent her amah to retrieve it. Two rabbis in the Talmud disagreed about what that word meant. One said it meant her maidservant, the one who had survived. One said it meant her arm, her forearm.

If it meant her arm, something extraordinary happened. The water was too far. The basket was out of reach. But her forearm stretched across the distance until her hand closed on the wicker. Not a supernatural event exactly, more like a loosening of the ordinary constraints on what a body can do, the same kind of loosening that appears in other moments in the tradition when a human being is positioned exactly where they need to be to accomplish something the world needs done. The arm went as far as the arm needed to go.

Miriam and the Return of the Nurse

Miriam was watching. She had positioned herself along the bank to see what would happen to her brother. When she saw the princess open the basket and heard the princess speak with compassion over the crying infant, she stepped forward from her hiding place and offered a solution: should I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse him for you?

The princess agreed. Miriam went and came back with Moses's own mother, Yocheved. The princess hired Yocheved to nurse her own son, not knowing she was hiring the child's mother. Moses spent his first years in his own home, fed by his own mother, in the household he came from, paid for by the household that had tried to kill him. Miriam had arranged this with a single question asked to a princess who did not know who she was talking to.

The daughter of Pharaoh named the child Moses, from the Hebrew word meaning to draw out, because she drew him from the water. She gave him a name in her own language from the Hebrew root, which the rabbis noted was unusual. She could have given him an Egyptian name. She gave him a name that recorded the act of rescue in Hebrew, the language of the people she had walked toward that morning when she came to wash away her father.

MosesExodusWomenMiraclesEgypt
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From the tradition

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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Sotah 12bTalmud Bavli, Sotah

She placed him in a marsh, as it is written: “The reeds and willows [suf] shall wither” (Isaiah 19:6). The verse states: “And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe [lirḥotz] in the river” (Exodus 2:5). Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: This teaches that she came down to the river to cleanse herself from the impurity of her father’s idols, as she was immersing herself as part of the conversion process.

And similarly it states: “When the Lord shall have washed [raḥatz] away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of destruction” (Isaiah 4:4). This washing clearly refers to the purging of spiritual sins, rather than bathing for the sake of cleanliness. The verse continues: “And her maidens walked along [holekhot] by the riverside” (Exodus 2:5).

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: This walking is nothing other than the terminology of going toward death, and similarly it states: “Behold, I am going [holekh] to die” (Genesis 25:32). The verse continues: “And she saw the ark among the willows” (Exodus 2:5). Once her maidens saw that the daughter of Pharaoh was intending to save Moses, they said to her: Our mistress, the custom of the world is that when a king of flesh and blood decrees a decree, even if all the world does not fulfill it, at least his children and members of his household fulfill it, and yet you are violating the decree of your father.

After the maidens tried to convince her not to save Moses, the angel Gabriel came and beat them to the ground and they died. The verse concludes: “And she sent amatah to take it” (Exodus 2:5). Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya disagree as to the definition of the word “amatah.” One says that it means her arm, and one says that it means her maidservant.

The Gemara explains: The one who says that it means her arm explained it in this manner, as it is written “amatah,” which denotes her forearm. And the one who says that it means her maidservant explained it in this manner because it does not explicitly write the more common term: Her hand [yadah]. Therefore, he understands that this is the alternative term for a maidservant, ama. The Gemara asks: And according to the one who says that it means her maidservant, didn’t you say earlier: Gabriel came and beat them to the ground and the maidservants died, so how could Pharaoh’s daughter send her?

The Gemara answers: It must be that Gabriel left her one maidservant, as it is not proper that a princess should stand alone. The Gemara asks: And according to the one who says that it means her hand, let the Torah write explicitly: Her hand [yadah]. Why use the more unusual term amatah? The Gemara answers: This verse teaches us that her arm extended [ishtarbav] many cubits.

As the Master said in another context: And similarly you find with regard to the hand of Pharaoh’s daughter that it extended, and similarly you find with regard to the teeth of evildoers, as it is written: “You have broken [shibbarta] the teeth of the wicked” (Psalms 3:8), and Reish Lakish said: Do not read the word as shibbarta, rather read it as sheribbavta, you have extended. The next verse states: “And she opened it and saw it [vatirehu], even the child” (Exodus 2:6).

The Gemara comments: The verse states: “And she saw it”; it should have stated: And she saw. Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: In addition to Moses, she saw the Divine Presence with him. This is indicated by the usage of “saw it.” The verse states: “And saw it, even the child [yeled]; and behold a lad [na’ar] that wept” (Exodus 2:6).

The verse calls him “a child [yeled],” and the same verse calls him “a lad [na’ar].” A Sage teaches: He is the age of a child but his voice is as loud and deep as a lad; this is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Neḥemya said to him: If that is so, you made Moses our teacher blemished, since his voice was unusually deep. Rather, this teaches that his mother made a canopy of youth, i.e., a small canopy, for him in the ark, as she said: Perhaps I will not merit to see his wedding canopy.

The verse concludes: “And she had compassion on him, and said: This [zeh] is one of the Hebrews’ children” (Exodus 2:6). The Gemara asks: From where did she know that he was a Hebrew child? Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: As she saw that he was circumcised. The Gemara comments: The Pharaoh’s daughter said: “This [zeh] is one of the Hebrews’ children” (Exodus 2:6).

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: This teaches that she prophesied unknowingly, as the intention of the word “zeh” was: This one falls, i.e., is cast, into the water, but no other will fall by means of water, for on that day Pharaoh’s decree was canceled. The Gemara explains: And this is what Rabbi Elazar said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And when they shall say to you: Seek unto the necromancers and the diviners, that chirp [metzaftzefim] and that mutter [mahggim]” (Isaiah 8:19)?

The explanation of their chirping and muttering is: They see [tzofin], but they do not know what they are seeing; they enunciate [mahggim], but they do not know what they are enunciating. Although necromancers and diviners do have some insight into the future, they do not see clearly enough to understand what they are actually seeing. The Gemara applies this to Pharaoh: Pharaoh’s astrologers saw that the savior of the Jewish people would be stricken by water.

Therefore, they arose and decreed: “Every son that is born you shall cast into the river” (Exodus 1:22); they thought that their vision indicated that Moses would be killed in the water. Once Jochebed cast Moses into the water, although he was protected in an ark, the astrologers said: We no longer see in the stars anything like that sign we saw as to the downfall of the leader of the Jews by water, and therefore at that moment they canceled their decree.

But they did not know that what they saw foretold that Moses would be stricken on account of the waters of Meribah. They envisioned a downfall for Moses by water but didn’t fully comprehend their vision. And this is what Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “These [hemma] are the waters of Meribah, where the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and He was sanctified in them” (Numbers 20:13)?

The verse indicates that these are the waters that the astrologers of Pharaoh saw and on account of which they erred. And this is what Moses said: “The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand men on foot [ragli]; and yet You have said: I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month” (Numbers 11:21). Moses said to the Jewish people: On account of me, which is an alternative meaning of the word ragli, all of you were saved, as the decree to throw all males into the river was canceled on my account.

Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa says: That day that Moses was placed in the river was the twenty-first day of the month of Nisan. The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, should the one who in the future will say the Song at the Red Sea on this day be stricken on this day? As this was also the date on which the Red Sea would be parted during the salvation of the Exodus.

Rabbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina says: That day was actually the sixth day of the month of Sivan. The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, should the one who in the future will receive the Torah on Mount Sinai on this day be stricken on this day? As this was also the date on which the Torah was received. The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who says that Moses was placed in the water on the sixth of Sivan, you find that there can be three months during which Moses was hidden after his birth; as the Master said (Tosefta 11:7): Moses died on the seventh of Adar, and Moses was born on the seventh of Adar.

And based on this, from the seventh of Adar until the sixth of Sivan there are three months, which correspond to the three months Moses was hidden before being placed in the water. But according to the one who says that it was on the twenty-first of Nisan, how can you find that he was hidden for three months? The Gemara answers: That year was a leap year in which there were two months of Adar. Moses was hidden most of the first month of the three, from the seventh day of the first Adar when he was born, and most of the last month of the three, i.e., all of Nisan until the twenty-first, and the entire middle one.

All of this together is considered as three months. The Gemara now discusses the next verse in Exodus: “Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter: Shall I go and call you a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?” (Exodus 2:7). The Gemara asks: And what is different that Pharaoh’s daughter would specifically want a nurse of the Hebrew women? The Gemara answers: This teaches that prior to this, they took Moses around to all the Egyptian wet nurses and he did not agree to nurse from any of them, as he said: Shall a mouth that in the future will speak with the Divine Presence actually nurse something impure?

And this is as it is written: “Whom shall one teach knowledge? And whom shall one make understand the message?” (Isaiah 28:9). The prophet is asking: To whom shall God teach the knowledge of the Torah, and to whom shall God make to understand the message of the Torah? The answer is as the verse continues: “Them that are weaned from the milk, them that are drawn from the breasts” (Isaiah 28:9).

The conclusion of the verse indicates that the Torah should be taught to the one who did not want to nurse from the milk of a gentile woman, i.e., Moses. The next verse states: “And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her: Go. And the maiden [ha’alma] went and called the child’s mother” (Exodus 2:8). Rabbi Elazar says: This teaches that she went quickly like a maiden, i.e., with the strength of one of marriageable age, and not as the young child that she was.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says: The word ha’alma is related to the word meaning to hide [le’alem], for she hid her words and didn’t tell Pharaoh’s daughter that she was bringing the baby’s mother. The next verse states what Pharaoh’s daughter said to Jochebed: “And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her: Take this [heilikhi] child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it” (Exodus 2:9).

Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: Pharaoh’s daughter is prophesying and she does not know what she is prophesying, as the word heilikhi means: This is yours [ha shellikhi], i.e., this is your child. The next part of the verse states: “And I will give you your wages.” Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: This teaches that with regard to righteous people, not only is it so that God arranges that their lost items are returned to them, but He also arranges that they get their wages, as the son of Jochebed was returned to her and she also received payment for nursing him.

Elsewhere, the verse states with regard to Miriam: “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances” (Exodus 15:20). The Gemara asks: Why is Miriam referred to as “the sister of Aaron,” and not the sister of Moses? Rav Amram says that Rav says, and some say that Rav Naḥman says that Rav says: This teaches that Miriam already prophesied when she was still the sister of only Aaron, i.e., before Moses was born.

Full source
Legends of the Jews 4:59Legends of the Jews

It wasn't just a lucky break; it was a carefully orchestrated act of bravery and quick thinking by his sister, Miriam.

The scene: Pharaoh's daughter, Thermutis (some traditions even call her Bithiah), has just rescued a baby from the Nile. She names him Moses, meaning "drawn from the water." But the baby, naturally, needs a wet nurse. And he refuses to take milk from any of the Egyptian women brought to him.

What's a princess to do?

That's where Miriam steps in. As we find in Legends of the Jews, Miriam casually strolls up to Thermutis, as if she just happened to be passing by and admiring the child. She suggests, ever so subtly, that perhaps a Hebrew woman would have better luck. After all, the baby might just prefer someone from his own nation.

It's a brilliant move. Thermutis, desperate to care for the child, agrees. She tells Miriam to fetch a Hebrew woman.

And here's where Miriam's true genius shines. She doesn't just grab any random woman. She races home, "with winged steps, speeding like a vigorous youth," the verse says. She brings back her own mother – Moses's own mother, Jochebed. But, crucially, no one in the palace knows that this Hebrew woman is actually the baby's mother!

The plan works perfectly. The baby, without hesitation, latches onto Jochebed’s breast and holds on tight. Thermutis, delighted, entrusts the child to Jochebed's care.

And here's the truly amazing part: Thermutis, without even realizing it, utters a prophecy. She tells Jochebed, "Here is what is thine." As Legends of the Jews points out, it's an unconscious divination. She then says, "Nurse the boy henceforth, and I will give thee two silver pieces as thy wages."

So, Jochebed gets to raise her own son, to instill in him the values and traditions of their people, and she gets paid for it!

It's a beautiful story about courage, family, and the power of a well-placed suggestion. Miriam's quick thinking not only saved her brother's life but also ensured that he would be raised knowing his true heritage, setting the stage for his future role as the leader who would deliver the Israelites from slavery. What a evidence of the strength and wisdom of women in our tradition!

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Megillah 13aTalmud Bavli, Megillah

Rabbi Shimon ben Pazzi, when he would begin expounding Chronicles, would say thus: All your words are one, and we know how to expound them. "And his wife the Jewess bore Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah; and these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took" (1 Chronicles 4:18).

Why is she called "the Jewess"? Because she renounced idol worship, as it is written: "And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river" (Exodus 2:5), and Rabbi Yohanan said: that she went down to cleanse herself from the idols of her father's house.

"Bore"? But did she only raise him! This teaches you that whoever raises an orphan boy or orphan girl within his house, Scripture reckons it for him as though he had begotten him.

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Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 166:7Yalkut Shimoni on Torah

The LORD sent scorching heat and sun and burning upon the land of Egypt, and the flesh of man blazed upon him as the sun blazes in the season of Tammuz, and it distressed them greatly; and the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe because of the heat and the scorching wind. "And she sent her amah and took it" (Exodus 2:5): Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Nechemyah differ. One said, her arm; and one said, her maidservant. The one who said "her arm" holds so because the word amah is written. And the one who said "her maidservant," because it does not write "her arm." Now, according to the one who said "her maidservant" - but did you not say that Gabriel came and dashed them to the ground, leaving her only one, since it is not the way of the world for a king's daughter to stand alone? And according to the one who said "her arm," let it write "her arm" plainly. This comes to teach us that it was stretched out and elongated, as the master said, And so you find with the arm of Pharaoh's daughter. And so you find with the teeth of the wicked, as it is said, "You have broken [shibarta] the teeth of the wicked" (Psalms 3:8): do not read it shibarta [you broke] but shirbavta [you stretched out].

"And she opened it and saw him, the child" (Exodus 2:6): it should have said "and she saw," but rather she saw the Divine Presence with him. "And behold, a weeping boy [na'ar]": it calls him na'ar [youth] and it calls him yeled [child]. It was taught: he was a child, but his voice was like a youth's, the words of Rabbi Yehudah. Rabbi Nechemyah said to him: If so, you have made Moses blemished; rather, this teaches that his mother made him a youth's canopy within the ark.

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