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.
![Fig. 20. Israelites forced to labour in Egypt (brick-making). Old Egyptian wall-painting.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikisource/en/thumb/5/59/Fig20israelwork.png/400px-Fig20israelwork.png)
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).