Pharaoh’s Daughter Rescuing Moses in Exodus 2:6-9 (Sotah 12b)
This is the final installment of a series in honor of the upcoming holiday of Passover on the extended sugya in Sotah 11a-12b on the beginning of the Book of Exodus (chapters 1-2).
Previous installments, in the order of the Talmud/ Bible / Chronology:
Pharaoh’s Decree and the Midwives’ Response: Talmudic Interpretations of Exodus 1:16-21 (Sotah 11b)
Pharaoh’s Decrees and Amram’s Response: Talmudic Interpretations of Exodus 1:16-2:3 (Sotah 12a)
The Symbolism and Miracles in Pharaoh’s Daughter Rescuing Moses in Exodus 2:3-5 (Sotah 12a-b)
The Talmud continues to discuss the dramatic rescue of Moses by Pharaoh’s daughter in Exodus 2. We encounter subtle linguistic analyses that transform apparent contradictions—such as Moses being called both a "child" and a "young man"—into opportunities for deeper understanding. The text also highlights instances of unwitting prophecy, where Pharaoh's daughter speaks words carrying meaning beyond her conscious intent.
Central to this analysis is the rabbinic conviction that divine providence operates throughout the narrative. From the Shekhina's presence with the infant Moses to the astrologers' misreading of celestial signs, the text demonstrates how God's plan unfolds despite human attempts to thwart it. Even seemingly mundane details—Moses' refusal to nurse from Egyptian wet nurses or the specific dates of his placement in the Nile—are invested with theological significance.
Outline
The Shekhina with the Infant Moses in the Basket (Exodus 2:6)
Contradiction in Terminology Regarding Moses' Age (Exodus 2:6): deep voice or a chuppah
Identifying Moses as a Hebrew Via His circumcision (Exodus 2:6)
The Misinterpretation of Pharaoh’s Astrologers and Its Consequences
Part 1: Pharaoh’s Daughter’s Unintentional Prophecy
Part 2: Astrological Error and the Misreading of Moses' Fate (Exodus 1:22): Pharaoh’s Astrologers and the Water Decree; Moses Cast into the River
Part 3: Interpretation of Meribah; Moses’ Role in Saving Israel (Numbers 20:13, 11:21)
The Date of Moses’ Placement in the Nile: 21st of Nisan (Shevi'i shel Pesach) or 6th of Sivan (Shavuot)
Title: Moses Refuses Egyptian Wet Nurses Due to Future Spiritual Role (Exodus 2:7, Isaiah 28:9)
Interpretations of the Word “Alma” (Exodus 2:8): Swiftness of Movement or Concealment of Intent
Pharaoh’s Daughter’s Unwitting Prophecy and Jochebed’s Reward (Exodus 2:9)
Appendix 1 - The Incoherent Vision of Necromancers (Isaiah 8:19)
Appendix 2 – “Circumcised” as a Metonym for “Jewish”: Vows Concerning Benefit from the 'Circumcised' and the 'Uncircumcised' (Mishnah Nedarim 3:11)
The Passage
The Shekhina with the Infant Moses in the Basket (Exodus 2:6)
The verse states that Pharaoh’s daughter “saw it” (תראהו), rather than simply stating that “she saw” (תרא).
R' Yosei ben Ḥanina interprets this as meaning that she not only saw the baby but also the Shekhina present with him.
״ותפתח
ותראהו את הילד״.
״ותרא״ מיבעי ליה!
אמר רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא:
שראתה שכינה עמו.
The next verse states: “And she opened it
and saw it [vatirehu], even the child” (Exodus 2:6).
The Gemara comments: The verse states: “And she saw it”; it should have stated: And she saw.
R' Yosei, son of R' Ḥanina, says:
In addition to Moses, she saw the Divine Presence with him. This is indicated by the usage of “saw it.”
Contradiction in Terminology Regarding Moses' Age (Exodus 2:6): deep voice or a chuppah
The verse refers to Moses both as a "child" (ילד - “yeled”) and a "young man" (נער - “na’ar”), prompting homiletic interpretation.
R' Yehuda suggests that Moses was physically a child but had the deep voice (קולו) of a young man.
R' Neḥemya rejects this, arguing that attributing an unusually deep voice to Moses would imply a blemish (מום).
Instead, R' Neḥemya explains that "young man" refers to a “chuppah”1 his mother placed over him in the basket, symbolizing her fear that she might not live to see his “chuppah" (i.e. wedding).
״והנה נער בכה״.
קרי ליה ״ילד״, וקרי ליה ״נער״.
תנא:
הוא ילד וקולו כנער, דברי רבי יהודה.
אמר לו רבי נחמיה:
אם כן, עשיתו למשה רבינו בעל מום!
אלא, מלמד:
שעשתה לו אמו חופת נעורים בתיבה,
אמרה: שמא לא אזכה לחופתו.
The verse states: “And saw it, even the child [yeled]; and behold a lad [na’ar] that wept” (Exodus 2:6).
The verse calls him “a child [yeled],” and the same verse calls him “a lad [na’ar].”
A Sage teaches:
He is the age of a child but his voice is as loud and deep as a lad; this is the statement of R' Yehuda.
R' Neḥemya said to him:
If that is so, you made Moses our teacher blemished, since his voice was unusually deep!
Rather, this teaches that
his mother made a canopy of youth, i.e., a small canopy, for him in the ark,
as she said: Perhaps I will not merit to see his wedding canopy.
Identifying Moses as a Hebrew Via His circumcision (Exodus 2:6)
Pharaoh’s daughter immediately recognized Moses as a Hebrew child.
R' Yosei ben Ḥanina explains that this was because he was circumcised.2
״ותחמל עליו ותאמר מילדי העברים זה״.
מנא ידעה?
אמר רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא:
שראתה אותו מהול.
The verse concludes: “And she had compassion on him, and said: This [zeh] is one of the Hebrews’ children” (Exodus 2:6).
The Gemara asks: From where did she know that he was a Hebrew child?
R' Yosei, son of R' Ḥanina, says:
As she saw that he was circumcised.
The Misinterpretation of Pharaoh’s Astrologers and Its Consequences
Part 1: Pharaoh’s Daughter’s Unintentional Prophecy
R' Yoḥanan explains that when Pharaoh’s daughter declared, "This (זה - zeh) is one of the Hebrews’ children" (Exodus 2:6), she unknowingly prophesied:
The word “zeh” implied that Moses was cast into the water, and no other Hebrew child would suffer the same fate (as Pharaoh's decree was canceled that very day, as discussed in the next section).
״זה״.
אמר רבי יוחנן:
מלמד:
שנתנבאה שלא מדעתה —
זה נופל, ואין אחר נופל.
[...]
The Gemara comments: The Pharaoh’s daughter said: “This [zeh] is one of the Hebrews’ children” (Exodus 2:6).
R' Yoḥanan says:
This teaches that
she prophesied unknowingly,
as the intention of the word “zeh” was: This one falls, i.e., is cast, into the water, but no other will fall by means of water, for on that day Pharaoh’s decree was canceled.
[...]
Part 2: Astrological Error and the Misreading of Moses' Fate (Exodus 1:22): Pharaoh’s Astrologers and the Water Decree; Moses Cast into the River
Pharaoh’s astrologers foresaw a Jewish leader’s being “struck” (לוקה) by water. They misinterpreted the vision as foretelling Moses’ death by drowning. In response, they decreed that all newborn Jewish boys be cast into the Nile (Exodus 1:22).
Once Jochebed placed Moses in the river—safely in a basket—the astrologers believed the threat had passed, as the ominous sign disappeared.
They then rescinded the decree, unaware that their vision referred not to Moses’ death but to his later sin at the Waters of Meribah.3
ראו שמושיען של ישראל במים הוא לוקה,
עמדו וגזרו: ״כל הבן הילוד היארה תשליכהו״.
כיון דשדיוה למשה,
אמרו: תו לא חזינן כי ההוא סימנא,
בטלו לגזירתייהו.
והם אינן יודעין, שעל מי מריבה הוא לוקה.
The Gemara applies this to Pharaoh:
Pharaoh’s astrologers saw that the savior of the Jewish people would be stricken by water.
Therefore, they arose and decreed: “Every son that is born you shall cast into the river” (Exodus 1:22); they thought that their vision indicated that Moses would be killed in the water.
Once Jochebed cast Moses into the water, although he was protected in an ark,
the astrologers said: We no longer see in the stars anything like that sign we saw as to the downfall of the leader of the Jews by water,
and therefore at that moment they canceled their decree.
But they did not know that what they saw foretold that Moses would be stricken on account of the waters of Meribah. They envisioned a downfall for Moses by water but didn’t fully comprehend their vision.
Part 3: Interpretation of Meribah; Moses’ Role in Saving Israel (Numbers 20:13, 11:21)
R' Ḥama bar R' Ḥanina explains that the verse “These (המה - “hemma”) are the waters of Meribah” refers to the very waters the Egyptian astrologers had seen, misinterpreted, and feared. (Their error lay in misunderstanding the true timing and nature of the water-related downfall.)
Moses later reminded the people that the entire nation was saved “on account of me”.4
והיינו דאמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא:
מאי דכתיב ״המה מי מריבה אשר רבו״ —
המה שראו איצטגניני פרעה, וטעו.
והיינו דקאמר משה: ״שש מאות אלף רגלי וגו׳״,
אמר להן משה לישראל: בשבילי נצלתם כולכם.
And this is what R' Ḥama, son of R' Ḥanina, says:
What is the meaning of that which is written: “These [hemma] are the waters of Meribah, where the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and He was sanctified in them” (Numbers 20:13)?
The verse indicates that these are the waters that the astrologers of Pharaoh saw and on account of which they erred.
And this is what Moses said: “The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand men on foot [ragli]; and yet You have said: I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month” (Numbers 11:21).
Moses said to the Jewish people: On account of me, which is an alternative meaning of the word ragli, all of you were saved, as the decree to throw all males into the river was canceled on my account.
The Date of Moses’ Placement in the Nile: 21st of Nisan (Shevi'i shel Pesach) or 6th of Sivan (Shavuot)
R' Ḥanina bar Pappa states that Moses was placed in the river on the 21st of Nisan (i.e. Shevi'i shel Pesach, the future date of the splitting of the Red Sea).
The angels protested that it would be unjust for the one who would later sing at the sea (שירה על הים) to suffer on that day.
R' Aḥa bar Ḥanina, however, argues that the date was the 6th of Sivan, the future day of the giving of the Torah, prompting a similar protest.
רבי חנינא בר פפא אמר:
אותו היום עשרים ואחד בניסן היה,
אמרו מלאכי השרת לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא:
רבונו של עולם!
מי שעתיד לומר שירה על הים ביום זה —
ילקה ביום זה?!
רבי אחא בר חנינא אמר:
אותו היום ששה בסיון היה,
אמרו מלאכי השרת לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא:
רבונו של עולם!
מי שעתיד לקבל תורה מהר סיני ביום זה —
ילקה ביום זה?!
R' Ḥanina bar Pappa says:
That day that Moses was placed in the river was the twenty-first day of the month of Nisan.
The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He:
Master of the Universe!
should the one who in the future will say the Song at the Red Sea on this day
be stricken on this day?! As this was also the date on which the Red Sea would be parted during the salvation of the Exodus.
R' Aḥa bar Ḥanina says:
That day was actually the sixth day of the month of Sivan.
The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He:
Master of the Universe!
should the one who in the future will receive the Torah on Mount Sinai on this day
be stricken on this day?! As this was also the date on which the Torah was received.
Moses Refuses Egyptian Wet Nurses Due to Future Spiritual Role (Exodus 2:7, Isaiah 28:9)
The Talmud asks why Pharaoh’s daughter specifically sought a Hebrew wet nurse for Moses.
It answers that Moses had already refused to nurse from Egyptian women.
His future role as a prophet who would speak with the Shekhina rendered it inappropriate for him to nurse from someone impure.
Isaiah 28:9 is cited as support, describing how Torah knowledge is destined for “those weaned from milk,” interpreted here as those who refrained from nursing from non-Jews, namely Moses.
״ותאמר אחותו אל בת פרעה
האלך וקראתי לך אשה מינקת מן העבריות?״.
ומאי שנא מעבריות?
מלמד:
שהחזירוהו למשה על כל המצריות כולן,
ולא ינק,
אמר:
פה שעתיד לדבר עם השכינה
יינק דבר טמא?!
והיינו דכתיב: ״את מי יורה דעה וגו׳״.
למי יורה דעה,
ולמי יבין שמועה?
״לגמולי מחלב,
ולעתיקי משדים״.
The Gemara now discusses the next verse in Exodus: “Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter:
Shall I go and call you a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?” (Exodus 2:7).
The Gemara asks: And what is different that Pharaoh’s daughter would specifically want a nurse of the Hebrew women?
The Gemara answers: This teaches that
prior to this, they took Moses around to all the Egyptian wet nurses
and he did not agree to nurse from any of them,
as he said:
Shall a mouth that in the future will speak with the Divine Presence
actually nurse something impure?!
And this is as it is written: “Whom shall one teach knowledge? And whom shall one make understand the message?” (Isaiah 28:9).
The prophet is asking:
To whom shall God teach the knowledge of the Torah,
and to whom shall God make to understand the message of the Torah?
The answer is as the verse continues:
“Them that are weaned from the milk,
them that are drawn from the breasts” (Isaiah 28:9).
The conclusion of the verse indicates that the Torah should be taught to the one who did not want to nurse from the milk of a gentile woman, i.e., Moses.
Interpretations of the Word “Alma” (Exodus 2:8): Swiftness of Movement or Concealment of Intent
R' Elazar homiletically interprets “alma” (עלמה - “young woman”) as indicating that Miriam moved quickly with the vigor (זריזות) of a maiden, despite her actual youth.
R' Shmuel bar Naḥmani connects “ha-alma” to the verb “le’alem” (העלימה - “to hide”), stating that Miriam “concealed” her true intentions (not revealing to Pharaoh’s daughter that she was bringing the baby’s actual mother).
״ותאמר לה בת פרעה לכי וגו׳״.
אמר רבי אלעזר:
מלמד:
שהלכה בזריזות כעלמה.
רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר:
״העלמה״ —
שהעלימה את דבריה.
The next verse states: “And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her: Go. And the maiden [ha’alma] went and called the child’s mother” (Exodus 2:8).
R' Elazar says:
This teaches that
she went quickly like a maiden, i.e., with the strength of one of marriageable age, and not as the young child that she was.
R' Shmuel bar Naḥmani says:
The word ha’alma
is related to the word meaning to hide [le’alem], for she hid her words and didn’t tell Pharaoh’s daughter that she was bringing the baby’s mother.
Pharaoh’s Daughter’s Unwitting Prophecy and Jochebed’s Reward (Exodus 2:9)
Pharaoh’s daughter tells Jochebed to take and nurse the child, using the word “heilikhi” (היליכי), which R' Ḥama ben Ḥanina interprets as an unconscious prophecy:
He explains that the word hints at “ha shellikhi” (הא שליכי)—"this is yours" (i.e. this child, Moses, truly belongs to Jochebed).
R' Ḥama ben Ḥanina further states that the verse illustrates God’s care for the righteous:
Not only does He ensure that their lost possessions are returned, but He also arranges for them to be paid. (Jochebed not only regains her son but is also paid for nursing him.)
״ותאמר לה בת פרעה:
היליכי את הילד הזה״.
אמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא:
מתנבאה, ואינה יודעת מה מתנבאה,
״היליכי״ —
הא שליכי.
״ואני אתן את שכרך״.
אמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא:
לא דיין לצדיקים שמחזירין להן אבידתן,
אלא שנותנין להן שכרן.
The next verse states what Pharaoh’s daughter said to Jochebed: “And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her:
Take this [heilikhi] child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it” (Exodus 2:9).
R' Ḥama, son of R' Ḥanina, says:
Pharaoh’s daughter is prophesying and she does not know what she is prophesying,
as the word heilikhi means:
This is yours [ha shellikhi], i.e., this is your child.
The next part of the verse states: “And I will give you your wages.”
R' Ḥama, son of R' Ḥanina, says:
This teaches that with regard to righteous people, not only is it so that God arranges that their lost items are returned to them,
but He also arranges that they get their wages, as the son of Jochebed was returned to her and she also received payment for nursing him.
Appendix 1 - The Incoherent Vision of Necromancers (Isaiah 8:19)
R' Elazar interprets the verse in Isaiah 8:19 about necromancers (אבות) and diviners (ידענים) who "chirp" (מצפצפים) and "mutter" (מהגים) to mean that their communication is unclear and their visions are incoherent:
He states:
“They see (צופין), but they do not know what they are seeing;
they enunciate (מהגים), but they do not know what they are enunciating.”5
והיינו דאמר רבי אלעזר:
מאי דכתיב:
״וכי יאמרו אליכם:
דרשו אל האבות ואל הידענים
המצפצפים והמהגים״:
צופין, ואינם יודעין מה צופין,
מהגים, ואינן יודעים מה מהגים.
The Gemara explains: And this is what R' Elazar said:
What is the meaning of that which is written:
“And when they shall say to you:
Seek unto the necromancers and the diviners,
that chirp [metzaftzefim] and that mutter [mahggim]” (Isaiah 8:19)?
The explanation of their chirping and muttering is:
They see [tzofin], but they do not know what they are seeing;
they enunciate [mahggim], but they do not know what they are enunciating.
Although necromancers and diviners do have some insight into the future, they do not see clearly enough to understand what they are actually seeing.
Appendix 2 – “Circumcised” as a Metonym for “Jewish”: Vows Concerning Benefit from the 'Circumcised' and the 'Uncircumcised' (Mishnah Nedarim 3:11)
The Mishnah describes how “circumcised" (מולים) and "uncircumcised" (ערלים) function as halakhic categories rather than physical descriptions: A vow not to benefit from "the uncircumcised" excludes non-Jews—even if circumcised—but not Jews, even if uncircumcised.6
קונם שאיני נהנה לערלים —
מתר בערלי ישראל,
ואסור במולי הגוים.
קונם שאיני נהנה למולים —
אסור בערלי ישראל,
ומתר במולי הגוים,
Benefiting from those who are uncircumcised is konam for me —
he is permitted to derive benefit from uncircumcised Jews because they are not regarded as uncircumcised,
but he is prohibited from deriving benefit from the circumcised of the nations of the world.
Conversely, if he said: Benefiting from those who are circumcised is konam for me —
he is prohibited from deriving benefit even from uncircumcised Jews
and he is permitted to derive benefit from the circumcised of the nations of the world,
The Mishnah explains the reason for these rules: the term “uncircumcised” is scripturally associated with non-Jews, not with Jews.
Verses from Jeremiah and Samuel show this by consistently using "uncircumcised" to describe non-Israelite nations, even when they are physically circumcised.7
שאין הערלה קרויה אלא לשם הגוים,
שנאמר (ירמיה ט):
"כי כל הגוים ערלים
וכל בית ישראל ערלי לב",
ואומר (שמואל א יז): "והיה הפלשתי הערל הזה",
ואומר (שמואל ב א):
"פן תשמחנה בנות פלשתים,
פן תעלזנה בנות הערלים
as the term uncircumcised is used only to name the nations of the world,
as it is stated:
“For all the nations are uncircumcised,
but all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart” (Jeremiah 9:25),
and it says: “And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be” (I Samuel 17:36),
and it says:
“Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph” (II Samuel 1:20).
These verses indicate that ordinary gentiles are referred to as uncircumcised, regardless of whether they are actually circumcised.
חופת נעורים - “chuppah of youth”.
See Wikipedia, “Chuppah“:
A chuppah (Hebrew: חֻפָּה, romanized: ḥuppā, lit. 'canopy, covering', Yiddish: חֻפָּה, romanized: khupe) is a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony.
It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held up by attendants to the ceremony […]
In a more general sense, chuppah refers to the method by which nessuin, the second stage of a Jewish wedding, is accomplished.
מהול. Which was a distinguishing mark of the Hebrews, as opposed to Egyptian.
Notably, as stated earlier in the sugya, Moses was “born circumcised”; so in theory, the fact that he was circumcised didn’t indicate his ethnicity. See my piece here, section “Interpretations of "Tov" in Moses' Birth (Exodus 2:2): Moses' Name; Fit for Prophecy; Born Circumcised; House Filled with Light (Genesis 1:4)“, and see my Appendix there, ““Born Circumcised”: The Case of the Foreskin-Free Newborn in Talmudic Sources“.
And compare my Appendix 2 – “Circumcised” as a Metonym for “Jewish”: Vows Concerning Benefit from the 'Circumcised' and the 'Uncircumcised' (Mishnah Nedarim 3:11).
מי מריבה. In Numbers 20:1-13. As discussed in the next section.
I quote the next part of the sugya in the Appendix at the end of this piece: “The Incoherent Vision of Necromancers”.
Since the Egyptian astrologers’ misreading of his fate led them to cancel the genocidal decree against them, while they were still slaves in Egypt. Interpreting “ragli (רגלי)” in Numbers 11:21 as “because of me”.
It should be pointed out that the Talmudic passage contains a fundamental logical inconsistency: If the astrologers' vision that “the savior of the Israelites will be struck by water“ in fact referred to the Meribah incident in Moses' old age, then Moses being placed in the Nile as an infant should not have caused them to cancel their decree. The logic of “we saw a vision, and now we no longer see it” only makes sense if the vision was actually fulfilled, not merely seemed to be.
Meaning, while these practitioners might glimpse future events ("they see"), they lack understanding of what they are perceiving.
Similarly, their speech is obscure—they speak ("enunciate") without comprehension.
The full passage is quoted also in my “Literary Structure and Rhetorical Technique in the Mishnah: Visualizing Patterns with Formatted Lists and Tables“, section “List of 16 Vows re Associating With and Benefiting from Specific Groups of People (Nedarim 3:6-11a)“, p. 24 items #15-16).
Notably, from a critical-historical perspective, two of those verses explicitly state that they’re referring to Philistines. The Philistines were of Greek origin, and therefore didn’t have the Semitic custom of circumcision.
See “Philistines“, section “Scholarly consensus“:
Most scholars agree that the Philistines were of Greek origin, and that they came from Crete and the rest of the Aegean Islands or, more generally, from the area of modern-day Greece.
And see that Mishnah, ibid., for seven aggadic statements on the “greatness of circumcision (quoted in my piece ibid., section “7 Statements on Circumcision (Nedarim Chapter 3:11b)“, p. 26).