BITHIAH
PART -1
![](Dura_Europos_fresco_Moses_from_river.jpg)
A
fresco of the daughter of Pharaoh drawing Moses from the Nile,
from the synagogue in Dura-Europos, Syria. The synagogue is one
of the oldest examples of diaspora Jewish artwork, and while the
paintings are preserved in the Museum of Damascus, the site was
destroyed by ISIS. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Daughter
of Pharaoh: Midrash and Aggadah by Tamar Kadari :
The
daughter of Pharaoh did not follow her father’s wicked ways,
but rather converted and ceased worshiping idols. She was highly
praised by the Rabbis, and the midrash includes her among the
devout women converts: Hagar, Asenath, Zipporah, Shiphrah, Puah,
the daughter of Pharaoh, Rahab, Ruth and Jael wife of Heber the
Kenite (Midrash Tadshe, Ozar ha-Midrashim [ed. Eisenstein], p.
474). The midrash specifically praised the daughter of Pharaoh
for her rescue of Moses, thereby aiding in the exodus of all the
Israelites from Egypt. Moses was raised in her home, by a woman
who believed in God. She radiated warmth and loved him as if he
were her own son, and accordingly was richly rewarded: she married
Caleb son of Jephunneh and joined the people of Israel. Some midrashim
attest to her longevity and claim that she entered the Garden
of Eden while still alive.
The
Daughter of Pharaoh Is Bithiah :
The midrash calls the daughter of Pharaoh “Bithiah,”
identifying her with the woman mentioned in I Chron 4:18: “And
his Judahite wife bore Jered father of Gedor, Heber father of
Soco, and Jekuthiel father of Zanoah. These were the sons of Bithiah
daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married.” The “Bithiah
daughter of Pharaoh” mentioned in this verse is one of the
two wives of Mered, who was descended from Caleb son of Hezron,
who apparently was of Judahite extraction. The Rabbis found the
name bat-yah to be fitting for the daughter of Pharaoh in the
Book of Exodus, since she (unwittingly) realized the divine plan
when she kept alive the rescuer of Israel. The midrash relates
that the daughter of Pharaoh received her new name of Bithiah
(bat-yah; literally, the daughter of God) from God as reward for
her actions. God told her: “Moses was not your son, yet
you called him your son; you are not My daughter, but I call you
My daughter” (Lev. Rabbah 1:3). The verse in Chronicles
served as the basis for various expositions concerning the daughter
of Pharaoh (see also below). The Rabbis ask why Chronicles refers
to her as “his Judahite [or, Jewish] wife,” since
she was an Egyptian. They answer that Bithiah received this appellation
because she repudiated idolatry (BT Megillah 13a).
The
Daughter of Pharaoh Comes Down to Bathe in the Nile :
The midrashim about the story of Moses’s rescue are replete
with wondrous acts and miracles, that are meant to graphically
illustrate the threat to the infant’s life and the divine
intervention that was manifested in his rescue. The reader gains
the impression that Moses was not like all men, and that his qualities
were already evident while still a child. The miraculous deliverance
of the infant Moses symbolizes the future salvation of the people
of Israel from Egypt, where miraculous events would occur, as
well.
The
Torah relates that the daughter of Pharaoh found Moses when she
went down to bathe in the Nile (Ex. 2:5). In the midrashic expansion,
she did not go there to bathe, but to cleanse herself from the
idols of her father’s house (that is, to perform the immersion
of conversion) (BT Megillah loc. cit.). This exegesis illuminates
the spiritual qualities of the daughter of Pharaoh, by merit of
which she was chosen to be the one to find and raise Moses.
The
Rabbis magnify the test to which the daughter of Pharaoh was put
when she saw the ark. In the midrashic account, when her handmaidens
saw that she intended to rescue Moses, they attempted to dissuade
her, and persuade her to heed her father. They said to her: “Our
mistress, it is the way of the world that when a king issues a
decree, it is not heeded by the entire world, but his children
and the members of his household do observe it, and you wish to
transgress your father’s decree?” Immediately, Gabriel
appeared and beat them to the ground, and they died (BT Sotah
12b). These handmaidens represent the internal voice of the daughter
of Pharaoh, who might have been undecided as to whether she should
disobey her father’s edict. The angel Gabriel removes this
obstacle and reinforces her resolve to draw Moses forth from the
Nile.
An
additional miracle was performed when the ark was drawn forth
from the water. Ex. 2:5 attests: “and she sent her slave
girl [amatah] to fetch it.” The Rabbis have different understandings
of the word amatah, which has two possible meanings: “her
slave girl,” or “her hand.” According to one
view, she sent her slave girl to draw forth the ark. Although
the angel Gabriel had killed her handmaidens (see above), he left
her one, because it is not customary for the daughter of a king
to stand unattended, and it was this slave girl who was sent to
rescue Moses from the Nile (as was fitting for the daughter of
royalty). In another hermeneutical approach, that understands
amatah as “her hand,” the daughter of Pharaoh herself
drew forth Moses from the river. Since it was not meet for the
daughter of Pharaoh to trouble herself and go down into the river
to try and catch the floating ark, a miracle was performed for
her, and her arm stretched out until it could reach the ark (Ex.
Rabbah 1:23); one tradition has her arm extending to a length
of sixty cubits (Sekhel Tov [ed. Buber], Ex. 2:46). This exegesis
emphasizes the personal involvement of the daughter of Pharaoh
in Moses’s rescue, as she herself attests in Ex. 2:10: “I
drew him out of the water.”
In
the Torah’s account of what happened after the ark was drawn
forth (Ex. 2:6): “When she opened it, she saw that it [va-tire-hu]
was a child […]. She took pity on it.” The Rabbis
ask what caused the daughter of Pharaoh to take pity on Moses
and keep him alive, contrary to her father’s command. The
midrash replies that she saw the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence)
with him, and the wording “va-tire-hu” alludes to
the name of God (Ex. Rabbah 1:24). Another approach is based on
the continuation of the verse, that relates that the child’s
weeping motivated the daughter of Pharaoh: “She saw that
it was a child, a boy crying. She took pity on it.” The
Rabbis maintain that divine intervention was needed for the infant
to cry, which they learn from a close reading of v. 6. The beginning
of the verse refers to Moses as a “child [yeled],”
and then calls him a “boy [na’ar],” from which
the Rabbis learn that Moses was a yeled, that is, an infant, but
he conducted himself as a na’ar (an older child).
Thus, when the daughter of Pharaoh opened the ark, Moses, unlike
other babies, did not cry. The angel Gabriel immediately came
and hit Moses so that he would cry, thereby arousing the compassion
of the daughter of Pharaoh (Ex. Rabbah 1:24). Another tradition
claims that the daughter of Pharaoh suffered from leprosy and
she went down to bathe in the water to be cured of her disease.
When she touched Moses’s ark, she was miraculously cured,
leading her to take pity on the child and love him so strongly
(Ex. Rabbah 1:23).
The
Torah relates that when the daughter of Pharaoh saw Moses, she
declared (Ex. 2:6): “This must be a Hebrew child,”
to which the midrash adds that Moses was born circumcised (Ex.
Rabbah 1:20); when she saw that the infant was circumcised, she
realized that he was a Hebrew child (Ex. Rabbah 1:24). Another
midrash explains that when the daughter of Pharaoh made this statement,
she was unconsciously prophesying: “This” child fell
into the Nile, but none other of the children of the Hebrews did
so (she prophesied that Moses was the last Hebrew child to be
cast into the river). She was correct, because Pharaoh’s
astrologers saw in the stars that the one destined to save Israel
would be punished through water, and they therefore had Pharaoh
issue his decree (Ex. 1:22): “Every boy that is born you
shall throw into the Nile,” in order to kill the deliverer.
Once Moses had been placed in the water, the astrologers said:
“We no longer see that sign,” and they canceled the
decree (BT Sotah loc. cit.). Consequently, the daughter of Pharaoh
was prophetic, because Pharaoh’s decree was revoked after
Moses had been placed in the water. The midrash adds that the
astrologers were correct to a certain degree, since Moses would
be punished by water when he sinned at the Waters of Meribah (Num.
20:7–13).
A
Hebrew Nurse :
In the midrashic depiction, the daughter of Pharaoh saw that Moses
was hungry when she drew him forth from the Nile. She went around
with him to all the Egyptian women, but Moses was not willing
to nurse from any of them. Moses said: “The mouth that will
speak with God will not suckle something impure [the milk of non-Jews].”
Accordingly, Miriam came and offered the daughter of Pharaoh her
mother Jochebed, who was “a Hebrew” (Ex. 2:7) (BT
Sotah loc. cit.). Following another interpretation, Moses rejected
the breasts of the Egyptian women because he said: “God
will speak with me. The next day the Egyptian women would say:
‘I nursed the one who speaks with the Shekhinah’”
(Ex. Rabbah 1:25).
The
daughter of Pharaoh asked of Jochebed (Ex. 2:9): “Take [helikhi]
this child and nurse it for me,” which, according to the
Rabbis, was an instance of unwitting prophecy, since the word
“helikhi” concealed the truth—“shelikhi
hu [he—the infant—is yours]” (Ex. Rabbah 1:25).
Jochebed nursed Moses for twenty-four months (Ex. Rabbah 1:26).
The midrash asserts that although Jochebed gave birth to Moses,
he is called the son of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, because
she raised him (BT Sotah 19b).
The
Daughter of Pharaoh Raises Moses :
The midrash tells that the daughter of Pharaoh would kiss and
hug Moses as if he were her own son, and she would not take him
out of the royal palace. Because of his beauty, everyone desired
to see him, and no one who saw him could tear his eyes away. Moses’s
life was in danger, despite the daughter of Pharaoh’s guarding
of the infant. One time Pharaoh held Moses and hugged him. Moses
took Pharaoh’s crown from the monarch’s head and put
it on his own, as he would later do when he grew up. Pharaoh’s
magicians, who were sitting there, explained: “We fear that
this child will take your crown and place it on his own head,
lest this be the one who we prophesy will seize the kingdom from
you.” Some of the magicians said to kill the child, and
some said to have him burnt. Jethro was sitting among them (as
one of the magicians). He told them: “This child is witless.
In order to test him, set before him two bowls, one containing
gold, and the other, a coal. If he stretches his hand to the coal,
he is witless and does not deserve to die; but if he stretches
his hand to the gold, he did this with intelligence, and he is
to be put to death.” They immediately set before him the
gold and the coal and Moses put forth his hand to take the gold,
but Gabriel came and pushed his hand away. Moses took the coal
and put his hand, with the coal, in his mouth. His tongue was
burnt, thus causing him to be (Ex. 4:10) “slow of speech
and slow of tongue” (Ex. Rabbah 1:26). The Rabbis observe
that the daughter of Pharaoh raised in the palace the one who
would eventually bring all manner of troubles upon her father
as punishment for the subjugation of Israel, as is said in Ezek.
28:18: “So I made a fire issue from you, and it has devoured
you,” thus symbolizing the manner in which the future redemption
would occur.
The
names of the daughter of Pharaoh’s six offspring in I Chron.
4:18 are expounded as six different appellations for Moses: “And
his Judahite wife bore Jered[,] father of Gedor, Heber[,] father
of Soco, and Jekuthiel[,] father of Zanoah.” The midrash
notes that she did not actually give birth to him, as this verse
states, but only raised him, from which the Rabbis learn that
anyone who raises an orphan in his house is accounted by Scripture
as if he was the child’s birth parent (BT Megillah loc.
cit.).
Another
midrash lists ten names that were given to Moses: Jered, Avi-
[father of] Gedor, Heber, Avi-Soco, Jekuthiel, Avi-Zanoah, Tobijah,
Shemaiah, Levi, and Moses. God told him: “By your life,
of all the names by which you are called, I will call you only
by the name given you by Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh”
(Lev. Rabbah 1:3). This teaches of the reward given to those who
engage in acts of lovingkindness. The daughter of Pharaoh acted
in such a manner with Moses, and was rewarded by the Torah using
the name that she gave Moses; nor did God call him by any other
name (Ex. Rabbah 1:26).
The
Reward of the Daughter of Pharaoh :
The Rabbis applied to the daughter of Pharaoh the verse from the
“Woman of Valor” poem “She sees that her business
thrives; her lamp never goes out at night” (Prov. 31:18).
In the midrashic exposition, the “night” in this verse
is that of the plague of the firstborn, in which all the firstborn
of Egypt died. The female firstborn also died in this plague,
with the exception of the daughter of Pharaoh. Despite her being
a firstborn, Moses was an advocate for her and she was saved by
merit of his prayer. Solomon therefore declared (Prov. 31:18):
“She sees that her business thrives [ki tov],” since
“ki tov” is an appellation for Moses, of whom it is
said (Ex. 2:2): “she saw how beautiful [ki tov] he was.”
“Her lamp never goes out at night,” because she did
not die that night, of which it is said (Ex. 12:29): “In
the middle of the night” (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, Va-Yehi
Ba-Hazi Ha-Laylah [“In the middle of the night”] [ed.
Mandelbaum] 7:7; Ex. Rabbah 18:3).
The
Rabbis deduced from I Chron. 4:18: “whom Mered married”
that the daughter of Pharaoh was married to Caleb son of Jephunneh.
They further maintain that he was given the name “Mered”
because he rebelled (marad) against the counsel of the spies (when
they spoke ill of the land of Canaan: Num. 13–14). God said:
“Let Caleb, who rebelled against the counsel of the spies,
marry the daughter of Pharaoh, who rebelled against the idols
of her father’s house” (BT Megillah loc. cit.).
The
midrash asserts that Bithiah did not die, but was among those
who entered the Garden of Eden while still alive, as did Enoch,
Serah daughter of Asher, Elijah, the three sons of Korah, King
Hiram of Tyre, Jabez, Jonadab son of Rahab and his descendants,
Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, Abraham’s servant Eleazar, the
slave of R. Judah ha-Nasi and R. Joshua ben Levi (Kallah Rabbati
3:23; Masekhet Derekh Erez 1:18; for the various traditions, see
L. Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, vol. 5, pp. 95–96 n. 67).
She was so privileged because she cared for Moses (i.e., rescued
him and raised him) (Midrash Eshet Hayil 31:15). Another exegetical
tradition has God saying: “Since this one brought salvation
to Israel and brought them forth to life, I shall prolong her
life. I shall reward this one, who left her father’s royal
house and adhered to Israel” (Kallah Rabbati loc. cit.).
This midrash attributes the salvation of all Israel to the daughter
of Pharaoh, because she saved Moses from death, and thereby facilitated
the redemption of Israel from Egypt by means of their leader Moses.
Source
:
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/
daughter-of-pharaoh-midrash-and-aggadah