Jochebed
“Jehovah is her glory”
Summary
The mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, who courageously hid her infant son for three months to save him from Pharaoh's decree ordering the death of Hebrew male children.
☩Family Relationship
Jochebed was the daughter of Levi, making her a member of the tribe from which Israel's priesthood would come. She became the wife of Amram, who was also her nephew—a marriage between aunt and nephew that would later be forbidden under the Mosaic law. The candor of the biblical record in noting this relationship—which was unusual though not yet prohibited—demonstrates the honesty of the historical account, especially since Moses himself delivered the legislation that would have condemned such a union. She bore three children who would all play crucial roles in Israel's history: Miriam, Aaron, and Moses.
☩Faith and Courage
When Pharaoh decreed that all Hebrew male infants be thrown into the Nile, Jochebed saw that her newborn son was 'a fine child' and hid him for three months. When concealment was no longer possible, she fashioned a waterproof basket of bulrushes, placed the child in it, and set it among the reeds of the river—an act of desperate faith that trusted God with her son's life. Her daughter Miriam watched from a distance and, when Pharaoh's daughter discovered and pitied the weeping infant, cleverly offered to find a Hebrew nurse. By divine providence, Jochebed was hired to nurse her own son and was even paid for doing so. The apostle commends this act: 'By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict' (Hebrews 11:23).
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Jochebed," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Jochebed," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Jochebed," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).