ONE of the climactic points of the constantly increasing enmity of the Egyptians against the Hebrews in their midst was the edict issued by Pharaoh himself to the effect that every male child born among the Hebrews must be slain at birth. When this decree was evaded by the midwives who attended the Hebrew mothers, the king extended his cruel purpose, demanding that all his subjects see to it that every infant son of Israelite parents should be thrown into the river Nile.
One of the Hebrew children born at this period was of pure priestly descent, for both his father, Amram, and his mother, Jochebed, came from the tribe founded by Jacob's third son, Levi. They had two other children: a son, Aaron, three years old at the time (see Ex. 7:7), and a daughter, Miriam, who was probably in her teens, for she played an active part in saving her infant brother, Moses, who was to become the most famous member of the family.
For three months Jochebed succeeded in hiding the child from the prying eyes of those who might have gained Pharaoh's favor by casting the infant into the river; but sensing that her secret might be revealed at any moment, she conceived a plan to ensure his survival. Where Amram's family lived is not stated in the Biblical record, but there is good reason to suppose that it was near Memphis, where the reigning Pharaoh and his daughter seem also to have lived.
