Reading for July 25th

 Read Exodus 2.1-10. In 2.1-10: Moses is born and saved from the Nile River. This story of Moses' birth and rescue from the river includes parallels to other birth stories of heroes, especially the Legend of King Sargon on Akkad (8th century BCE). In verse 1: Moses is born of parents from the Israelite tribe of Levi. The Levite tribe became a tribe of priests or servants dedicated to the worship of God (32.25-29). The family tree for the tribe of Levi in 6.14-27 names Moses' parents as Amran and Jochebed (6.20). Moses' brother is Aaron. In verse 3: The Bible uses this rare word for basket only one other time. it is the same word used for Noah's "ark" in Gen 6.14, another story of dramatic rescue from water. In verse 4: Moses' sister is not named here. Later we will discover that she is Miriam, a sister to Aaron (vv. 15-20) and to Moses (Num 26.59). Micah 6.4 lists these three siblings--Moses, Aaron, and Miriam-- as the leaders of Israel in their wilderness trek from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan. In verse 9: Pharaoh's own daughter conspires with Hebrew women to resist her father's vicious program against Israelite children. In a satisfying twist of fate, Pharaoh's daughter will pay wages to Moses' mother for nursing the mother's own child. In verse 10: The name Moses ("Mosheh") plays on the verb "to draw out" ("mashah"). Comments or Questions..