I wonder if she picked him up, cuddled him to stop his cries; did he smile at her and melt her heart? In the Rabbinic retelling, when Amram returned his wife, Jochebed was a hundred and thirty years of age, but signs of youth appeared on her: her body became smoother, her wrinkles were straightened out, and her former beauty was restored. First, many unwed mothers refuse to have an abortion, yet have no choice but to place their baby for adoption. 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. All Israel saw this, and they, too, remarried their wives (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai [ed. 2. Ex. Sustaining faith, in simple language, is the assurance that the thing which God has said in His Word is true, and that God will act according to what He has said. Amram and Jochebed had a daughter, Miriam, and two sons, Aaron and Moses. Joseph had revealed himself to his eleven brothers and requested that his father come to Egypt, which the family did. (Isaiah 18:2 writes that the Egyptians made their boats, skiffs out of this material. Maybe its a relationship that is toxic and you need to make a hard choice. In fact, the goodness and mercy of God were so great that the mother was even paid for nursing her own son! Exodus 6:20 And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years. First, some background. Jacob, too, married two sisters t. God returned her child to her, thus granting her a part of her reward for keeping alive the Hebrew boys (Ex. Jochebed was a daughter of Levi ( Exodus 2:1 ), and the mother of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam ( Exodus 6:20; Numbers 26:59 ). I wonder. Would I ever see him again? She sent one of her attendants, took it. It is an unquestionable fact of scripture that God blessed the forbidden marriage of Amram and Jochebed. 2:12 state that he married a Levite woman. "There arose up a new king over Egypt," or rather a new dynasty, "which knew not Joseph" ( Exd 1:8 . 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. A compilation of the commentary and discussions of the, Yael Wife of Heber The Kenite: Midrash and Aggadah, Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab: Midrash and Aggadah, They will spit: In the tradition of Miriam, Jewish women will continue to challenge the establishment, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Copyright 19982023, Jewish Women's Archive. When Jochebed gave birth to a son, she saw that he was a healthy baby. Joseph, Jacob's son, was a ruler in Egypt at that time and the children of Jacob (Israel) were treated kindly. Shiphrah placated him, saying: Do you pay attention to such a one as her? Has He brought something to your mind that youve been holding on to and need to let go? 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. When Moses, her youngest child, was born, Jochebed hid him for three months until she could hide him no longer. (Viewed on March 1, 2023) . That same day God swore that the Ark and the Torah would be entrusted to the arms of his descendants (the Kohathites are the only ones who bore the Ark during the journeying in the wilderness, as is attested in Num. There is great historical debate on who was Pharaohs daughter? 113:9): He sets the childless woman [akeret ha-bayit] among her household as a happy mother of children. Jochebed, who had been uprooted [nitakrah) from her home as a result of the decree of Pharaoh, would now be set happily among her household. Yet the Bible reveals that Levi and his son and grandson all had very long life spans. To save her son's life, she waterproofed a basket and put the child in it. We know from history that all the kings in Pharaohs day had bath houses, such as even the wealthiest do not possess in our day. The mother of Moses is famous in the eyes of God, not because she bore the baby Moses, but because of her faitha faith that knew no defeat. T. Moses died. 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). We indeed must marvel at Jobs faith. The God of Israel was more real to Amram and Jochebed than was the king of Egypt. 'YHWH is glory') was a daughter of Levi[1] and mother of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. https://www.learnreligions.com/jochebed-mother-of-moses-701165 (accessed March 2, 2023). Moses, in the wilderness, instructed them to put away pagan gods. To save her son's, Moses' life, she made a wooden . Rabbah 1:25). (We learn later, in Exodus 6:20, that the father and mother of Moses are named Amram and Jochebed.) We go through many trials in our life, but Jochebed, a woman who feared God, had the one of the worst nightmares of any mother. About 1486, the reigning Pharaoh tried to kill Moses when he sought identity with his people Israel, but Moses escaped to Midian. Hebrews 11:23 and Exodus 2:1-2 and 6:20. She was curious, what could be in it? All must work for good to me. She also gave birth to Aaron, a high priest of Israel. Moses's mother, a Levite, later identified as Jochebed (Numbers 26:59), had married a Levite and given birth to a son. Have you ever worked in the baby bed nursery at church? 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). Perhaps God might use him to fulfill the Promise. Question we have to ask is: What do you do when you cant do anything more? She was convinced that her son would be used for an important work. Mike Huckabee, Devorah Sklar (still trying to get her exact age) has died of COVID. She was probably about the same age as Amram or maybe even younger. 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. Some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Septuagint state that Jochebed was Amram's father's cousin, and others state that she was Amram's cousin. Jochebed was the mother of Moses, one of the major characters in the Old Testament. Rather, this verse teaches that Jochebeds pregnancy was without suffering, just as she gave birth without pain. 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. Have you ever had to give up and let go of someone or something very precious to you? They may have desired a happy marriage, a successful career, developing their talent, or some other worthwhile goal, yet circumstances prevented it. The story of Jochebed is thought to be described in the Book of Exodus (2:110) although she is not explicitly named here. Thats how God does things. Jochebed lived in a critical time. It was at this time that Moses was born to Amram and Jochebed. The smaller lad began to cry even more, because he thought his brother was trying to sink the boat. According to tradition, Moses' parents, Amram and Jochebed (whose other children were Aaron and Miriam), hid him for three months and then set him afloat on the Nile in a reed basket daubed with pitch. Exodus 6: 20 I felt like cold water had been poured all over me. [4] The story continues with Moses, who grew up to become the leader of the Exodus, leading his people out of the land of Egypt. Did Amram marry his aunt? Whatever it is, we must remember that God is still on the thronethat He is behind the scenes working out all things for our ultimate good. 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). As Moses grew up Jochebed educated Moses in the religion and history of Israel, ensuring that Moses did not lose his Hebrew identity. Moved with compassion when she discovered the child, she decided to adopt him. The answer: It was based on the promises of Gods Word. [10] The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan identifies Jochebed as also having been wife of Elitzaphon Ben Parnach, and the mother of Eldad and Medad;[11] the text is ambiguous as to when this marriage occurred in relation to the marriage(s) to Amram. 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). There arc three arks mentioned in Scripture. By faith, Jochebed placed her son, Moses, in a papyrus basket and placed it in the Nile River where the Pharaohs daughter found the basket and child. One of the arguments advanced by Moses was his mothers suffering. Exodus 1:10-14 describes the hardships placed upon the Hebrew people. Maybe you need to let go of a dream that is not going to come true; yet, the idea of letting it go seems too painful. Lesson two Handout (Click Here). 1 Then she brought him back to Pharaoh's daughter, who raised him as her own. We must put on the shield of faith and believe that God is sending the trials to prepare us for even greater blessings. [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. Can you see the Providence of God in this story? Amram was the Levite man who was Moses father. Thus Jochebed nursed her son until he was old enough and brought him to the Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted him as her son. Our background is not our destiny 2 R. Alan Cole, Exodus, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, ed. Have an update or correction? 1:17 relates that the midwives, fearing God, let the boys live; their reward for fearing God, according to the midrash, is Torah: because Jochebed feared the Lord, she gave birth to Moses, through whom the Torah was given (Ex. (Her name is first mentioned in Exodus 6:20.) God saw to it that the baby should weep at this very moment. Moses said: The mouth that will speak with God will not nurse something impure [the milk of non-Jews]. Devorah and her husband Maurice Sklar ran Maurice Sklar Ministries, founded by Maurice Sklar, which has about 10,000 followers online. An Impossible Problem Solver. Thats a significant fact. All three point to Christ. "the written Torah." The latest date that Jochebed could have been born was 2385 AM (1620 BC), the year her father died. And the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty seven years. Hebrews 11:23 BY FAITH they hid MosesThey saw life through the eyes of faith. She is described as the daughter of Levi, born to him in Egypt (Num. V. 1 begins with the marriage of Jochebed and Amram, and then the reader is immediately told of Mosess birth, concealment and rescue. 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