overseers [1] over them, to oppress them with labour. But the more they were oppressed, the more numerous they became. The king, seeing this, issued a decree that all the male children born of Hebrew parents should be cast into the river[2]; hoping, by this means, either to destroy the Hebrew people, or at least to prevent their increasing in number.
Now it came to pass that a Hebrew mother bore a son, and, seeing that he was very beautiful, she hid him for three months. At the end of that time, not being able to keep him any longer [3], she laid the babe in a basket of reeds and placed it in the sedges [4] by the river’s bank. The sister of the child stood a little way off, to see what would happen.
And behold, at that time the daughter of Pharao went down to bathe in the Nile. Seeing the basket amongst the bulrushes by the river-bank, the princess sent one of her maids to bring it to her. On opening it, they saw within it a lovely infant, crying piteously. She had compassion on it, and said: “This is one of the babes of the Hebrews.” The child’s sister[5] then, taking courage, drew near and asked: “Shall I go and call to thee a Hebrew woman to nurse the babe?” She answered: “Go!” The maid went and called her mother.
- ↑ Overseers. Or task-masters, so called because they forced the Israelites to labour and build great houses, dams, canals and monuments.
- ↑ The river, i. e. the Nile.
- ↑ Any longer. The king had given orders that the houses of the Israelites should be searched from time to time.
- ↑ The sedges. Or bulrushes. She did this in order that the floating basket might not be carried down the river by the current.
- ↑ Sister. Miriam (Mary).
