Women who pay no attention to the rules often get great things done. Take the story of the baby Moses (Exodus 1:15-2:10).
First, Pharoah issues orders to have all Hebrew baby boys killed at birth. Two midwives refuse to carry out his command, coming up with the flimsy excuse -
“Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
Not only do they defy the king, but they insult his women. Talk about a couple of subversives!
Then, there is Moses’ mother. Pharoah has now extended the death penalty not just to newborns, but all Hebrew baby boys. Moses’ mother (and father, we assume) hide the baby in their home. The gall of these law-breaking Jews! Subversives!
When Moses couldn’t be hidden any longer, his mother carefully crafts a mini-ark for him and sends his sister to place him on the Nile, praying somehow that he be rescued.
Moses’ sister follows along, watching the basket float downstream to - all of places - the Pharoah’s castle.
Pharoah’s daughter picks him up and isn’t sure how to respond -
She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl 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.
Pharoah has a difficult decision to make. Her motherly instincts tell her to care for this needy child. But as a dutiful daughter, the last thing she would want to do would be to openly defy her father, her king.
Before she has too much time to mull it over, in steps Moses’ sister -
[She] asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
Pharoah’s daughter, lost in a moral haze as she holds the crying child, tells her to go ahead.
Then comes the most subversive part of all.
And 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.
So Moses will be adopted by the Egyptian princess and nursed by his own mother. I wonder what went through the mind of Moses’ mother?
”OK. Let me get this straight. Not only are you going to let my son live, but you’re going to let me nurse him until he’s weaned. And, on top of that, you’re going to pay me for it. Yeah, I guess I can live with that. Sure, why not?”
Pharoah’s daughter not only takes in Moses, but she keeps him connected to his Hebrew heritage during his critical early years. What a subversive!
Shiphrah and Puah. Moses’ mother and sister. Pharoah’s daughter. A bunch of subversives out rescuing babies. Who next?
***********
more Bible stories…
Many Nights Before Christmas (Scene One)
Many Nights Before Christmas (Scene Two)
Many Nights Before Christmas (Scene Three)
Like much of the myth that is christianity, the story of Moses was plagerized from earlier myths. This baby in a basket story was lifted directly from the myth of Sargon of Akkad of around 2250 b.c. Sargon was born, placed in a reed basket in order to avoid infanticide, and set adrift in a river. He was in turn rescued and raised by Akki, a royal mid-wife. Also, the Ten Commandments, they are taken outright from Spell 125 of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. What the Book of the Dead phrased “I have not stolen” became “Thou shall not steal,” “I have not killed” became “Thou shall not kill,” “I have not told lies” became “Thou shall not bare false witness” and so forth. In fact, the Egyptian religion is likely the primary foundational basis for the Judeo-Christian theology. Baptism, afterlife, final judgment, virgin birth and resurrection, crucifixion, the ark of the covenant, circumcision, saviors, holy communion, the great flood, Easter, Christmas, Passover, and many many more, are all attributes of Egyptian ideas, long predating Christianity and Judaism.
The Pistol fires back: You’ve done your comparative religion homework. No doubt world religions draw stories from similar sources. This doesn’t make them any more or less true. Whether or not the events contained in the Bible are actually factual, does not make them any less true. The story of Moses reveals the truth about the value of life and the need to protect and preserve God-given life even when it means disobeying the law of the land. That, my friend, is no myth.
I love it!
The Pistol fires back: Thank you, fellow Scribe. I would also commend to folks your piece “Unplanned Fatherhood: Men and Abortion”. Seems like we’re thinking on similar planes.
Yes, indeed we are :)
I loved this post. I just happen to believe it too!
We should be as brave today as was Mose’s sister, Mother and Pharoh’s daughter.
Is it not funny, how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Different settings, Different people, relatable circumstances.
The Pistol fires back: I’m glad you found this meaningful. It is absolutely true that the stories in Scripture are as true for today as they ever been.
Cool post. Moses really lucked out bigtime, didn’t he?
I’ve heard the quote “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive,” but I always heard it was Latina women are not like white women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive. Strange, huh?
The Pistol fires back: Maybe Latina women are long lost descendants of Hebrew women. Tell me, do you ever have cravings for bagels and lox?
Everytime i read this I feel lighter. Is that suppose to happen?
The Pistol fires back: Sounds interesting. I really don’t know.
i’ve had to stick my neck out recently & have encountered unbelievable fury..only thanks to the support of my Priest,husband & other good Catholics i would have gone under..so thanks for that story..
The Pistol fires back: Glad you stuck your neck out and that it didn’t get cut off. Keep in touch.
I liked this post until I saw the political poster at the end from a pro-life demonstration. the idea of being subversive to save a baby — to resist the genocide that Pharaoh has decreed — is great. But liberation means freedom to choose what is best for one’s own self, family and community. We are responsible for our own decisions. Isn’t that the crux of being human — to make moral decisions that are chosen, not dictated?