1 Over time, the Egyptians became indulgent and lazy, pursuing pleasures and greed. They resented the Hebrews, envying their success and wealth earned through diligence. As the Hebrews thrived, the Egyptians saw their own downfall in the Hebrews’ prosperity and forgot the benefits they had once gained from Joseph, particularly since a new royal family now held power. They treated the Hebrews cruelly, developing many ways to oppress them—forcing them to dig countless canals for the river, build walls for cities, and construct massive banks to contain the river’s flooding. They also compelled them to build pyramids. Through these labors they wore the Hebrews down, teaching them all kinds of mechanical skills, while they toiled for many years. The Egyptians aimed to destroy them with forced labor, while the Hebrews strove to endure these hardships. 2 During this time, the Egyptians found further motivation for eradicating the nation of the Hebrews. A sacred scribe, known for accurately predicting the future, advised Pharaoh that around this period a Hebrew child would be born who would lower the kingdom of Egypt⁠a and raise the Israelites, standing out in virtue and remembered forever. Alarmed by this prophecy, the King commanded that every male Hebrew infant be cast into the river,⁠b ordering the Egyptian midwives who assisted Hebrew mothers to obey this edict on pain of death. This was an extreme affliction for the Hebrews, forced to do away with their sons or face punishment, seeing their entire future extinguished. Yet no one can outwit God’s power, no matter how many cunning devices are devised. For the child, whose birth the scribe had predicted and whose life Pharaoh sought to end, was saved and hidden. The prophet also did not err in predicting this child would elevate the Hebrews and ruin the Egyptians. 3 Amram, a distinguished Hebrew, feared the destruction of his nation through the slaughter of their male children.⁠c His wife was pregnant, and he was at a loss, torn by what to do. Turning to prayer, he appealed to God’s mercy for those who had not violated His commands, seeking their deliverance from suffering and the thwarting of their enemies’ plan. God listened to him and, appearing in a dream, reassured him that He would always reward the devotion of those who upheld His worship. Recalling how He increased Abraham’s descendants from a single man and gave Isaac, whom Abraham once thought impossible, God promised to care for Amram’s people and grant him personal renown. He revealed that the very child threatening Egyptian power would be Amram’s own son. Concealed from those seeking to harm him, the child would later deliver the Hebrews from their afflictions. His memory would endure through all time, among Hebrews and foreigners alike, fulfilling God’s favor to Amram and his offspring. This child would also have a brother who would become a priest, passing that priesthood down to his descendants forever. 4 When Amram awoke, he told his wife Jochebed about this vision. Though it calmed them somewhat, the dream also heightened their vigilance. When the time came, Jochebed gave birth so quietly that the midwives did not detect the delivery. After hiding the infant for three months, Amram, fearing discovery, decided it was safer to entrust the child’s fate to God’s protection than to rely on his own concealment, for fear that both child and parents might be destroyed. He was certain that the same God who had foreordained great things for this baby would keep him safe. They wove a small cradle from river reeds, sealing it with slime to keep out the water, placed the baby inside, and set it afloat, leaving everything to God. The cradle drifted with the current, but Miriam, the child’s sister, stood watch from the bank, observing where the little ark would go. God thus showed that human wisdom is nothing compared to divine will, and how illusions of safety or cunning can fail, while the worst dangers turn to miraculous rescue if God so wills. Indeed, Moses was saved, and those most intent on destroying him eventually provided for him. 5 Thermuthis, the King’s daughter, was walking by the river and noticed the cradle floating. She ordered swimmers to retrieve it, and when they brought it to her, she saw a beautiful, large baby. God had formed Moses with extraordinary beauty and stature so that even those bent on destroying him would be moved to care for him.⁠d Thermuthis sent for a wet nurse, but the baby refused the milk of Egyptian women. Miriam, who had been nearby merely as an onlooker, suggested they seek a Hebrew nurse. Agreeing, Thermuthis instructed her to find such a woman. Miriam brought back her own mother, unnoticed as the infant’s real mother. The baby took her milk willingly, so Thermuthis placed him fully in Jochebed’s care. 6 Thermuthis then named him Moses, explaining that Egyptians call water ‘Mo,’ and that one who is rescued from it is called ‘Uses,’ combining the words into this name. He indeed fulfilled God’s prediction, excelling all Hebrews in courage and resourcefulness. He was the seventh generation from Abraham: Moses, son of Amram, son of Caath, son of Levi, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham. Moses’ mind matured beyond his years, and his learning outstripped that of other children. Even as a toddler, he was unusually tall, and people could not help but stop and gaze at him, astonished by his beauty. People walking by would often turn around to marvel at him. Because of this, Thermuthis resolved to adopt him as her son, having no children of her own. 7 One day, she took him to her father and told him she hoped Moses would one day succeed him if she had no children, a boy sent from the river by divine providence. Delighted, the King playfully placed his own diadem on Moses’ head, but the baby threw it to the ground and stepped on it, an act that seemed an omen for the downfall of Egypt.⁠e The sacred scribe who had predicted that a Hebrew child would humble Egypt leaped up to kill Moses, crying out, ‘Your Majesty! This is the child we feared. If we kill him now, we’ll be safe. See how he tramples your crown!’ However, Thermuthis snatched Moses away, and the King, moved by divine influence, spared him. Thus Moses was raised with great care, and the Hebrews believed their liberation was at hand. The Egyptians, though anxious, refrained from killing him, for there was no heir as clearly favored by prophecy as Moses.