"Jochebed: Mother of Moses." United States of America, (Click + to show other publications in this category), (A Study of Acts 18:1-26 and Romans 16:3-5), (Click + to show other publications that have this tag). First, many unwed mothers refuse to have an abortion, yet have no choice but to place their baby for adoption. Here then, we have Moses' own parents, living in a relationship clearly condemned as abomination under the Law of Moses. Jochebed was able to use her amazing creativity and courage to solve an impossible problem. Kadari, Tamar. She was the daughter of a Levite, and she married Amram, another Levite ( Exodus 2:1 ). ): I will pay your wages, from which the Rabbis learned of Jochebeds righteousness: like the righteous, she merited the return of what she had lost (her son), and in addition received reward for it (for having nursed him) (Ex. What are some areas of your life you need to stop holding on to and start trusting God? Only because she trusted the Lord could she abandon her son rather than see him killed. Rather, this verse teaches that Jochebeds pregnancy was without suffering, just as she gave birth without pain. It is our Christian duty to walk by faith in this world, until we come to live by sight in the eternal world. The Rabbis identify Jochebed with Shiphrah, one of the two Hebrew midwives (Shiphrah and Puah) who delivered the children of the Israelites during the Egyptian servitude. 3:31) (Seder Eliyahu Rabbah 29). She also gave birth to Aaron, a high priest of Israel. I have called Thee Abba Father; Miriam, who was six years old at the time, said: Father, father, your decree is harsher than that of Pharaoh. Rabbah 1:25; for the identification of Jochebed with Shiphrah, see above). Leah and Rachel: The Mothers Who Had to Share. The conditions described in the first two chapters of Exodus indicate that indeed those were dark days for the Children of Israel. It took faith to place the child in the river. Imagine the emotions, the feelings Jochebed had as she placed him down and backed away. Jochebed is identified by some rabbis in the Talmud with Shiphrah, one of the midwives described by the book of Exodus as being ordered by Pharaoh to kill the new-born male children. 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. Rabbah 1:26). In fact, the goodness and mercy of God were so great that the mother was even paid for nursing her own son! Moses, Hebrew liberator, leader, lawgiver, prophet, and historian, lived in the thirteenth and early part of the twelfth century B.C.. NAME. The sun has not stopped shining just because the traveler in the tunnel doesnt see it. After three months Jochebed was forced to obey the decree of Pharaoh. Hebrews 11:23 and Exodus 2:1-2 and 6:20. One of the great hymns of the church says: God moves in a mysterious way At just this moment, Miriam steps forward and approaches the daughter and volunteers her service to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child, and whom did she bring back? Jochebed was aware, when she was expecting a new arrival in the family, that if the child should be a boythe decree was that the male baby would have to perish in the Nile Riverand if the parents disobeyed, they too were subject to death. [24], It has been proposed by a number of Biblical scholars that Ichabod and Jacob may ultimately be linguistic corruptions of Jochebed, and possibly once have referred to the same individual.[26]. 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. Lit. One of her maidservants saw the basket and brought it to her. God always honors such faith as theirs. He had a string tied to the boat and was holding the string in his handbut the string slipped from his fingers, and a breeze carried the boat beyond his reach. She was curious, what could be in it? The wording she placed it among the reeds (ibid.) God had told Abraham, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance (Genesis 15:13-14). As she raised her children, she implanted the seeds of hope in their hearts. Verbs tell us that she herself opened it and saw Moses and at that very moment he cried. We learn that secret by reading Hebrews 11:23, which says, By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw that he was a proper child, and they were not afraid of the kings commandment. Moses was hid in his home for three months, and then in the reeds by the river, not because Jochebed could not bear to see her child perish, or because she loved him too much to cast him into the river. Alphabetical Exposition of Named Bible Women J Jochebed. she took pity on the baby. Although the Torah asserts that Jacobs household who came to Egypt numbered seventy souls, the Rabbis noted that only sixty-nine individuals are listed in Gen. 46. According to Jewish legend, Jochebed is buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs, in Tiberias. I wonder. Jack Zavada is a writer who covers the Bible, theology, and other Christianity topics. She loved all of her children dearly and proved this when she risked her life to save her youngest child, Moses, from Pharaoh Seti I's soldiers. In Thy service pain is pleasure, Answer: According to tradition, Yocheved lived long enough to enter the Holy Land with the Israelites.. When Jacob went to stay with his uncle Laban, he met one of his daughters, Rachel, and loved her. Consequently, Miriam came and offered to the daughter of Pharaoh her mother Jochebed, who was a Hebrew (Ex. Josephus and the Fathers assign the Coptic mo (water) and uses (saved) as the constituent parts of the name. Sometimes we need to slow down and learn to see Him and His presence in our circumstances and thank Him for His care. Adoption is a wonderful way to unconditionally love someone but it comes with a painful price tag (as well see in our story). Learn Religions. Tellings of the birth of Moses story often overlook Jochebed's role in the story from beginning to end. He ordered all male Hebrew babies to be killed. Jochebed placed Moses in a basket and released him in the flow of River Nile. Rabbah 1:13). She put the child in it and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile. How do we know? Exodus 1; 2. Those must have been precious years. 4. Devorah and her husband Maurice Sklar ran Maurice Sklar Ministries, founded by Maurice Sklar, which has about 10,000 followers online. She saw that he was a beautiful child, and hid him for three months. Amram and Jochebed had a daughter, Miriam, and two sons, Aaron and Moses. (Her name is first mentioned in Exodus 6:20.) Jewish Women's Archive. He said, for example, I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth (Job 19:25). Question we have to ask is: What do you do when you cant do anything more? Jochebed's name means, "Honor of God" or "God is glory". When he saw that Pharaoh had decreed that all the boys be cast into the Nile, he proclaimed: Are we laboring in vain? (we give birth to sons who will eventually be killed), and so he divorced his wife. 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. Jochebed is most known as the mother of Moses. (Genesis 1:7-10) Pharaoh gave the midwives an order to kill any boy that was born of the Hebrew women . Can you imagine what it would be like to give away your 3-month-old baby, not knowing what would happen to him? Resources Lockyer's All the Women of the Bible Chapter 2. 1 Clearly one of the Bible's most outstanding figures, she served ancient Israel as a prophet, 2 judge, military leader, songwriter, and minstrel (Judges 4-5). Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023, Women of Influence Surrounding the Life of Moses. [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. "teaching," "study," or "learning." She breathed air just like you and I do. [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 Jews had been in Egypt for 400 years. 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). While he was still in Egypt, Moses killed an Egyptian guard who was assaulting a Hebrew slave, and he hid the body. Faith and trust in God knows that even when God seems silent, He is always working for the good of His children. Years passed. After all she did have a husband and two other children to consider and take care of. Amram married Jochebed for the sake of Heaven. The Pharaoh's daughter agreed and so Miriam called her mother, who was appointed to take care of him. Amram and Jochebed were strong in their faith during a time where many Israelites had become idolatrous. Jochebed took baby Moses and placed him in an ark of bulrushes. The mother of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. For some, poverty comes, friends disappoint, children bring heartaches, and feelings of inferiority torment. Just like today, true faith was mixed with pagan beliefs. For some, there is a lack of the assurance of the forgiveness of past sins. They may have desired a happy marriage, a successful career, developing their talent, or some other worthwhile goal, yet circumstances prevented it. Probably about 3 years. And this is true; consideration must be given to the years that Jochebed, Moses' mother, was upon the earth after Levi died and before Moses was born. We are to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). JOCHEBED: THE MOTHER OF MOSES. Also not to the tribe of Levi. When Jochebed gave birth to a son, she saw that he was a healthy baby. 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