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But when she could no longer keep him hidden, she made a basket out of reeds and covered it with tar. She put him in the basket and placed it in the tall grass along the edge of the Nile River. The baby's older sister[a] stood off at a distance to see what would happen to him.

About that time one of the king's[b] daughters came down to take a bath in the river, while her servant women walked along the river bank. She saw the basket in the tall grass and sent one of them to pull it out of the water. When the king's daughter opened the basket, she saw the baby crying and felt sorry for him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”

At once the baby's older sister came up and asked, “Do you want me to get a Hebrew woman to take care of the baby for you?”

“Yes,” the king's daughter answered.

So the girl brought the baby's mother, and the king's daughter told her, “Take care of this child, and I will pay you.”

The baby's mother carried him home and took care of him. 10 (A) And when he was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him. She named him Moses[c] because she said, “I pulled him out of the water.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2.4 older sister: Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron.
  2. 2.5 the king's: See the note at 1.11.
  3. 2.10 Moses: In Hebrew “Moses” sounds like “pull out.”

But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus(A) basket[a] for him and coated it with tar and pitch.(B) Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds(C) along the bank of the Nile. His sister(D) stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank.(E) She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

“Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named(F) him Moses,[b] saying, “I drew(G) him out of the water.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 2:3 The Hebrew can also mean ark, as in Gen. 6:14.
  2. Exodus 2:10 Moses sounds like the Hebrew for draw out.