Moses entered the world at a time when Pharaoh ruthlessly commanded all Egyptians to cast male infants of the Hebrews into the river. He was born in the capital, where this decree was strictly enforced. The newborn Moses was regarded as beautiful, appealing not only to those around him but also to God (Acts 7:20), who had chosen him from his mother’s womb to be a servant of His people. His parents, driven not merely by the instinctual love that every mother and father possess but by their faith in the remarkable future ordained for their son, discernible in his expressive features, resolved to protect him from the imminent danger, disregarding Pharaoh’s wrath in fear of being denounced as disobedient (Hebrews 11:23). They sheltered him in their home for three months. However, they could no longer hide him, as houses were likely searched periodically, which posed a threat not just to the child but to the entire family of Amram. The mother’s love inspired a new plan for saving her son. She constructed a basket made of Nile reeds, waterproofed it, and placed her child inside, setting it adrift in a marshy area with reeds lining the banks of the Nile to prevent the current from sweeping it away. His parents maintained hope that their son would be protected; they believed the basket would provide the same means of salvation in the river as Noah’s ark had during the flood. Miriam, his sister, was instructed to keep watch over the situation. Their trust in God’s Providence was rewarded when the basket with the child was placed near the spot where Pharaoh's daughter would come to bathe. On this occasion, she also approached the river for her bath. The Nile was revered by the ancient Egyptians as a sacred river, even regarded as a deity, with temples constructed and sacrifices offered in its honor. It is plausible that Pharaoh's daughter sought the sanctity of the river’s waters for religious purposes while also wishing to maintain physical purity and seek refreshment, given the recognized healing properties of Nile water, which ancient people believed in and which many travelers have affirmed since. As the princess bathed, her attendants kept watch nearby, ensuring no one interfered with their mistress's bathing. Upon noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent a maid to retrieve it. It remains unclear why she was drawn to the basket, whether it was the sound of the baby’s cries that caught her attention or merely its placement near where she bathed; nonetheless, the life held within was preserved thanks to her curiosity. The historian Josephus Flavius refers to her as Thermuthis.
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