BITHIAH
PART - 2
Finding
of Moses in the Dura-Europos synagogue, c. AD 244
First
appearance : Book of Genesis
In-universe
information :
Alias
: Thermouthis (birth name, Judaism), Bithiah (adopted
name, Judaism), Merris (Christianity), Merrhoe (Christianity), Asiya
(Islam)
Spouse
: Mered
Children
: Moses (adoptive)
Religion
: Ancient Egyptian religion (formerly) Yahwism (convert)
Nationality
: Egyptian
Pharaoh's
daughter (Exodus) :
The
Pharaoh's daughter in the story of the finding of Moses in the
biblical Book of Exodus is an important, albeit minor, figure
in Abrahamic religions. Though some variations of her story exist,
the general consensus among Jews, Christians, and Muslims is that
she is the adoptive mother of the prophet Moses. Muslims identify
her with Asiya, the Great Royal Wife of the pharaoh. In either
version, she saved Moses from certain death from both the Nile
river and from the Pharaoh. As she ensured the well-being of Moses
throughout his early life, she played an essential role in lifting
the Hebrew slaves out of bondage in Egypt, their journey to the
Promised Land, and the establishment of the Ten Commandments.
Portrayal
:
Her name :
The Book of Exodus (Exodus 2:5) does not give a name to Pharaoh's
daughter, or to her father; she is referred to in Hebrew as simply
the Bat-Paroh, a Hebrew phrase that literally translates to "daughter
of Pharaoh." The Book of Jubilees (Jubilees 47:5) and Josephus
both name her as Thermouthis, also transliterated as Tharmuth
and Thermutis, the Greek name of Renenutet, the Egyptian snake
deity. Meanwhile, Leviticus Rabbah (Leviticus Rabbah 1:3) and
the Books of Chronicles (1 Chronicles 4:18) refer to her as Bit-Yah
(Hebrew: lit.daughter of Yahweh'), also transliterated as Batyah
and Bithiah, and it is written that she is given the name for
her adoption of Moses, that because she had made Moses her son,
Yahweh would make her his daughter. Also in the Books of Chronicles
(1 Chronicles 4:18), she is called ha-yehudiyyah (Hebrew: lit.
'the Jewess'), which some English translations of the Bible treat
as a given name, Jehudijah (Hebrew: romanized: yehudiyyah, lit.
'Jewess'), notably the King James Version, but the word is actually
an appelative, there to indicate that Pharaoh's daughter was no
longer a pagan. In Christianity, she is also named as Merris and
Merrhoe, and in Islam, she is named Asiya, Asiyah and Asiya bint
Muzahim.
In
Judaism :
In the Jewish narrative, Pharaoh's daughter first appears in the
Book of Exodus, in Exodus 2:5-10. The passage describes her discovery
of the Hebrew child, Moses, in the rushes of the Nile River and
her willful defiance of her father's orders that all male Hebrew
children be slain, instead taking the child, whom she knows to
be a Hebrew, and raising him as her own son. The Talmud and the
Midrash Vayosha provide some additional backstory to the event,
saying that she had visited the Nile that morning not to bathe
for the purpose of hygiene but for ritual purification, treating
the river as if it were a mikveh, as she had grown tired of people's
idolatrous ways, and that she first sought to nurse Moses herself
but he would not take her milk and so, she called for a Hebrew
wet nurse, who so happened to be Moses' biological mother, Jochebed.
Rabbinic literature tells a significantly different take on the
events that day, portraying Pharaoh's daughter as having suffered
from a skin disease (possibly leprosy), the pain of which only
the cold waters of the Nile could relieve, and that these lesions
healed when she found Moses. It also describes an encounter with
the archangel Gabriel, who kills two of her handmaidens for trying
to dissuade her from rescuing Moses. After Moses is weaned, Pharaoh's
daughter gives him his name, purportedly taken from the word mašah
(Hebrew: lit. 'to draw'), because she drew him from the water,
but some modern scholars disagree with the Biblical etymology
of the name, believing it to have been based on the Egyptian root
m-s, meaning "son" or "born of," a popular
element in Egyptian names (e. g. Ramesses.
Thutmose
used in conjunction with a namesake deity. In her later years,
Pharaoh's daughter devotes herself to Moses, and to Yahweh; she
celebrates the first Passover Seder with Moses in the slaves'
quarters and for that, her firstborn is the only Egyptian to survive
the final of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, and leaves Egypt with him
for the Promised Land. In the Books of Chronicles, (1 Chronicles
4:18), she is said to have married a member of the Tribe of Judah,
Mered, and to have had children with him, and she is referred
to as a Jewess, indicating that she had accepted Yahweh as her
own god. Furthermore, the Jewish rabbis claim that, in the Book
of Proverbs (Proverbs 31:15), she is praised in Woman of Valor.
Further, the Midrash teaches that because of her devotion to Yahweh
and her adoption of Moses, she was one of those who entered heaven
alive.
Now
the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and her
maidens walked beside the river; she saw the basket among the
reeds and sent her maid to fetch it. When she opened it she saw
the child; and lo, the babe was crying. She took pity on him and
said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children." Then his
sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call you
a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?"
And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the girl
went and called the child's mother. And 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; and she named him Moses, for
she said, "Because I drew him out of the water."
-
RSV, Exodus 2:5-10
In Islam :
Asiya
and her servants find baby Moses in the Nile. (From the Persian
Jami' al-tawarikh)
In contrast to her story as portrayed in Judaism and Christianity,
in Islam, she is known as Asiya (in the Hadith) and the Pharaoh's
wife (in the Quran). Also, she does not draw Moses from the Nile,
her servants do, and Pharaoh, having learned of the boy's existence,
seeks to kill him but Asiya intervenes and Pharaoh changes his
mind, allowing the boy to live. Mirroring the Judeo-Christian
story, Jochebed is called to Pharaoh's palace to act as a wet
nurse for him but then, her story, as told by Islam, deviates
from the Judeo-Christian version once more, with Asiya being tortured
to death at the hands of Pharaoh for professing a belief in Allah.
Art
and culture :
In the 1956 English-language epic film, The Ten Commandments,
Pharaoh's daughter is referred to as Bithiah, and she is the daughter
of Ramesses I, the founding pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty
of Egypt, and sister to his successor, Seti I. She is portrayed
as a young widow, childless, who believes the baby Moses to be
a gift to her from the Egyptian gods and is determined to raise
him, despite her servant's assertions that the child is a Levite,
not an Egyptian. This is in stark contrast to the Biblical telling
of the story, as Bithiah had forsaken the gods of Egypt when she
happened upon Moses and so, she would not have seen him as a gift
from them. In the latter half of the film, Bithiah is shown to
be a pious individual, though sympathetic to her fellow Egyptians,
who suffer at Pharaoh's stubbornness. She leaves the luxury and
safety of her palatial home to reunite with Moses, in the slaves'
quarters of the city, and celebrates with him the first Passover
Seder. She then accompanies the Israelites to Canaan and, in Moses'
absence, is one of the few who refuse to participate in the worship
of the Golden calf. She is portrayed by Nina Foch.
In
the 1998 English-language animated film, The Prince of Egypt,
Pharaoh's daughter is depicted as Queen Tuya, a fictionalized
version of Tuya, the queen consort of Seti I, the second pharaoh
of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The reason for this change
is likely because at the time of production, Ramesses II, also
Ramesses the Great, her son with Seti I, was still a popular candidate
among theologians for the historical counterpart of the pharaoh
mentioned in the Book of Exodus as having caused the Plagues of
Egypt for his refusal to liberate the Hebrews from bondage. Additionally,
Pharaoh's daughter, in this film, is portrayed as the wife of
Pharaoh, rather than his daughter, and is never shown to renounce
her idolatrous beliefs or reunite with Moses following his return
from Midian, both central parts to her character within Judaism
and Christianity, perhaps to simplify the familial connection
and plot line for the film's intended child audience. The character
is voiced by Helen Mirren, with her singing voice provided by
Linda Dee Shayne.
The
Moses Chronicles, a novel-trilogy by H. B. Moore, includes Pharaoh's
daughter as a character named Bithiah. Parts of the story are
written from her perspective.
The
1935 opera Porgy and Bess song It Ain't Necessarily So (George
and Ira Gershwin), mentions Pharaoh's daughter finding baby Moses.
Gallery
:
Pharaoh's daughter
12th
century
Moses
Saved from the Waters (c. 1556), Bernaert de Rijckere
Moses
Saved from the Waters (1633), Orazio Gentileschi
The
Finding of Moses (17th century), Andrea Celesti
The
Finding of Moses (1740), Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
The
Finding of Moses (1862), Frederick Goodall
Moses
Saved from the Waters (1894), Jacques Clement Wagrez
Pharaoh's
Daughter Receives the Mother of Moses (c. 1900), James Tissot
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Pharaoh%27s_daughter_(Exodus)