Adar 7 – The woman conceived and bore a son…

March 6, 2025

12 – Adar, Exodus, Hebrew, Levi, Moses, Pharaoh

Adar 7, 5785; from sunset March 6, 2025, to sunset March 7, 2025

(The seventh day of the twelfth month)

This is the name “Mosheh” (מֺשֶׁה – Moses) as seen in the Dead Sea Scrolls, written over two thousand years ago.

At the end of Exodus chapter one, the Bible tells us that Pharaoh was concerned about the population explosion of the Israelites. He gave the order to the Hebrew midwives to kill all of the male children born unto them. Today in the Bible, we’ll pick up the biblical text from this point in order to tell the story surrounding the birth of Moses. Jewish tradition recognizes today as the date of his birth.

And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.

Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother.

Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.

And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.” – Exodus 2:1-10 (NKJ)

She called his name “Moses” (“Mosheh”) because she drew him out of the water. The verb “mashah” means “to draw out.” This verb is only used three times in the Bible. The first is in Exodus 2:10, which is shown above. The other two times are 2 Samuel 22:17 and in Psalm 18:16. In all three references it is used “to draw out of water.” Perhaps Moses’ name is an indication of how God will work through him in the future. Moses held an essential role in drawing the children of Israel out of the nation of Egypt. He brought them out of the “sea of people” living in Egypt, split the sea, and led them into the wilderness in order for God to form them into a new nation. A people unto Himself.

In the Message Bible, Eugene Peterson likens Goshen to a womb in which the nation of Israel grew until they were ready for birth. At the Red (Reed) Sea, the waters “broke” and the nation of Israel was born.

We hope you’ll join us for our next post which will be about the death of Moses. Jewish tradition holds that Moses died on his 120^th birthday.

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