The Adopted Son: The Story of Moses

by James Hartwell Willard

Abraham had a son named Isaac, who became the father of Jacob, and Jacob was the father of twelve sons, among whom was Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers when but a boy. Joseph was taken to Egypt and in time rose from a slave to be the governor of that country under Pharaoh, its king.

Jacob, with his eleven sons and their families, settled in Egypt at the invitation of Pharaoh, and after the death of their father his sons continued to live there, and became prosperous. After the death of Joseph they increased rapidly in numbers, and from shepherds and herders of flocks became masters of various crafts and occupations. At this time they began to be called "The Children of Israel."

They lived in towns and villages in the land of Goshen, on the eastern border of Egypt, industrious and contented. The king who had been so friendly to Joseph was now dead, and another Pharaoh ruled the land. He watched with much distrust the growing wealth and greatness of the children of Israel and determined to prevent any possible harm they might do him by making them work for him instead of for themselves.

So Pharaoh began to treat the Israelites like slaves. Under the direction of his officers he set them at work making bricks and then had them build two cities to hold his treasures. From a prosperous people they were now reduced to the condition of common laborers, working without pay day after day in the burning heat of that country.

"WORKING WITHOUT PAY DAY AFTER DAY."

But in spite of their hardships the Israelites increased in numbers, and, to further crush them, Pharaoh ordered that all their boys should be destroyed as soon as they were born. But the people would not obey this order, and then Pharaoh commanded that all boys should be flung into the Nile, the sacred river of Egypt, immediately after their birth.

At this time a child was born among the Israelites whose life was to be one of the most remarkable that history has recorded for us. His father's name was Amram and his mother's Jochebed, and they belonged to the tribe of Levi, the third son of Jacob. They had two older children, a son named Aaron and a daughter named Miriam.

The mother of this little boy managed to keep him out of sight for three months, and then she made a little boat of the water-reeds called papyrus, fastening them together with clay and pitch. It was not much more than a basket, but she put the baby into it and placed it among the rushes at the edge of the river Nile, leaving her daughter Miriam to see what became of her baby brother.

The Egyptians had many beliefs which appear very strange to us now. One of them was that anything surrounded by papyrus would be safe from the crocodiles which infested the river. Possibly Jochebed had some faith in this superstition, for during the time when the Israelites were living contentedly in the land of Goshen, many of them had fallen into the customs of the Egyptians, worshipping Ra, the sun-god, Apis, the sacred calf, and others of their national deities.