The Birth and Early Years of Moses (xlvii. 1-12)

The Birth and Early Years of Moses (xlvii. 1-12; cf. Exod. ii.).

XLVII. And in the seventh week, in the seventh

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year, in the forty-seventh jubilee, thy father ³ went forth from the land of Canaan, and thou wast born in the fourth week, in the sixth year thereof, in the

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forty-eighth jubilee; this was the time of tribulation on the children of Israel. 2. And Pharaoh, king of Egypt, issued a command regarding them that they

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should cast all their male children which were born into the river. 3. And they cast them in for seven months until the day that thou wast born. And thy mother hid thee for three months, and they told regarding her. 4. And she made an ark for thee, and covered it with pitch and asphalt, and placed it in the flags on the bank of the river, and she placed thee in it seven days, and thy mother came by night and suckled thee, and by day Miriam, thy sister, guarded thee from the birds. 5. And in those days Tharmuth, ¹ the daughter of Pharaoh, came to bathe in the river, and she heard thy voice crying, and she told her maidens to bring thee forth, and they brought thee unto her. 6. And she took thee out of the ark, and she had compassion on thee. 7. And thy sister said unto her: "Shall I go and call unto thee one of the Hebrew women to nurse and suckle this babe for thee?" And she said (unto her): "Go." 8. And she went and called thy mother Jochebed, ² and she gave her wages, and she nursed thee. 9. And afterwards, when thou wast grown up, they brought thee unto the daughter of Pharaoh, and thou didst become her son, and Amram thy father taught thee writing, ³ and after thou hadst completed three weeks they brought thee into the royal court. 10. And thou

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wast three weeks of years at court until the time when thou didst go forth from the royal court and didst see an Egyptian smiting thy friend who was of the children of Israel, and thou didst slay him and hide him in the sand. 11. And on the second day thou didst find two of the children of Israel striving together, and thou didst say to him who was doing the wrong: "Why dost thou smite thy brother? 12. And he was angry and indignant, and said "Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Thinkest thou to kill me as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday?" And thou didst fear and flee on account of these words.

Footnotes

203:1 This interesting statement apparently implies that some of the Hebrew tribes were already in Canaan before the Exodus. Or is it a reminiscence of the fact that the tribe of Judah absorbed some South Canaanitish tribes which were never in Egypt? Cf. Burney in Journal of Theological Studies, 1908, pp. 321-352.

203:2 So LXX (Exod. i. ii); MT =? "store cities."

203:3 i. e. Moses' father, Amram.

204:1 Thermuthis (Josephus, Ant. ii. 9, 5, 7).

204:2 Cf. Exod. vi. 20; Num. xxvi. 59.

204:3 Contrast Acts vii. 22.