A new king arises in Egypt who does not know Joseph. Alarmed by the growing Israelite population, he subjects the people to forced labor.

When oppression does not stop their growth, Pharaoh orders Hebrew midwives to kill newborn boys. The midwives fear God and refuse. Pharaoh then commands that every Hebrew boy be thrown into the Nile.

During this crisis, a Levite woman gives birth to a son. Seeing that he is a fine child, she hides him for three months.

When hiding him is no longer possible, she makes a basket, coats it to keep out water, places the child inside, and sets it among the reeds along the Nile. His sister watches from a distance.

Pharaoh’s daughter comes to the river, sees the basket, and discovers the crying Hebrew baby. She has compassion on him despite recognizing his identity.

The child’s sister approaches and offers to find a Hebrew woman to nurse him. Pharaoh’s daughter agrees, and the girl brings the baby’s own mother.

Moses’ mother is therefore paid to nurse the child she had been forced to surrender. When he grows older, she brings him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopts him as her son.

She names him Moses because she drew him out of the water. The child targeted by Pharaoh’s decree is preserved inside Pharaoh’s own household, setting up one of Exodus’s central reversals.