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Jochebed

The mother who hid baby Moses, set him afloat in a basket, and was paid to nurse her own son.

Old Testament · c. 1500–1300 BC · Exodus, Numbers, Hebrews · Also known as Mother of Moses

About Jochebed

Jochebed, a daughter of Levi, married Amram and became the mother of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. When Pharaoh ordered every newborn Hebrew boy thrown into the Nile, she "saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months." When she could hide him no longer, "she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein." Pharaoh’s daughter found him, and through Miriam’s quick thinking Jochebed was hired to nurse her own baby: "Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages." Hebrews counts her among the faithful: "they were not afraid of the king’s commandment."

Jochebed has no recorded words, so this guide speaks about her. Exodus 2 doesn’t name her; her name appears in Exodus 6 and Numbers 26. The word for Moses’ basket, "ark," is the same Hebrew word used for Noah’s ark, and it appears nowhere else.

The story

A goodly child

Pharaoh commanded, "Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river." "And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months."

Exodus 1:22-2:2

An ark of bulrushes

"And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him."

Exodus 2:3-4

Nurse it for me

Pharaoh’s daughter found the child, "and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him." Miriam offered to fetch a Hebrew nurse, "and the maid went and called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it."

Exodus 2:5-10

Not afraid of the king’s commandment

"The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi... and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister." Hebrews remembers her courage: "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment."

Numbers 26:59; Hebrews 11:23

Key moments

Questions about Jochebed

Why did Jochebed put Moses in the river?

Pharaoh had ordered, "Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river." She hid Moses for three months, and "when she could not longer hide him," she made a waterproof ark and laid it "in the flags by the river’s brink," with Miriam watching. Exodus doesn’t say what she hoped would happen, but Pharaoh’s daughter came to that very river, and God turned Pharaoh’s own river into a place of rescue.

Was Jochebed really paid to look after her own baby?

Yes. Pharaoh’s daughter said, "Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it." So she not only had her son back for his early years, she was paid by the royal household to raise him, until "the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter."

Where does the Bible praise her faith?

In Hebrews 11, the chapter of faith: "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment." Her courage was quiet: hiding a baby, making a basket, trusting God with what she couldn’t control. And all three of her children became leaders: "I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam."

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