Drawn Out
Background and Printed Text: Exodus 1:22-2:10
Exodus 1:22 And Pharaoh commanded to all his people, saying, “Ye shall cast every son childed riverward! And ye shall cause-to-live every daughter.”
Exodus 2:1 And a man from the House of My-Joined-[one] [Levi] walked. And he took a daughter of My-Joined-[one] [Levi]. 2And the woman conceived. And she childed a son. And she saw him, that he is good. And she hid him three moons.
3And she was not further able to hide him. And she took a papyrus box to him. And she tarred her via tar and via pitch. And she put the child into her. And she put into a reed upon the lip of the river. 4And his sister positioned herself from afar to know—what will he do to him?
5And the daughter of Pharaoh descended to bathe by the river. And her maidens are walking by the hand of the river. And she saw the box in the midst of the reed. And she sent her handmaid. And she took her.
6And she opened. And she saw him—a child! And behold, a youth is weeping! And she had compassion upon him. And she said, “This is from the children of the Hebrews.” 7And his sister said unto the daughter of Pharaoh, “Shall I walk? And I will call a nursing woman to thee from the Hebrews [fem.]. And she will nurse the child to thee!” 8And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her, “Walk!” And the virgin walked. And she called the mother of the child.
9And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her, “Walk this child. And nurse him to me. And I, I will give thy wage.” And the woman took the child. And she nursed him.
10And the child ‘biggened.’ And she brought him to the daughter of Pharaoh. And he became to a son to her.
And she called his name Draw. And she said, “For I drew him from the waters.”
I. Genocide (Chapter 1, verse 22)
Pharaoh had gotten nowhere with the Midwives. He therefore commanded his own people to cast every Israeli son newly born to the river. “And ye shall cause to live every daughter.”
Questions
1. How many Egyptians were responsible to cast every Israeli son born to the river?
2. He again repeated that he wanted the girl babies kept alive. Why keep them alive?
II. Marriage and Horror (chapter 2, verses 1-2)
Life went on. A man from the House of Levi walked and took a daughter of Levi for a wife. The woman became pregnant. She childed a son. She saw the child: he is good. She hid the child three months.
Questions
1. Where did the man from the House of Levi walk?
2. Why did he take a woman from the same tribe (Levi) of which he was a part?
3. Why does the text state, “And she saw him, that he is good”?
4. The text states that she hid him three moons. What is the relationship between a month and a moon?
5. How could she hide an infant for three whole months?
6. What was happening among the rest of the Israelis regarding boy babies?
III. The End (verses 3-4)
A child of this age can be quite noisy. The mother could no longer hide this child. She had an idea. She took a box made of bulrush plant material, and brought it to the child. She tarred the box using both tar and pitch. The then put the child into the box.
She put the box into a reed plant upon the lip (shore) of the river.
In the meantime, the child’s sister positioned herself at a distance to know what an unnamed person will do to the child.
Questions
1. Why wasn’t she able to hide him any longer?
2. Who gave her the idea of the papyrus box?
3. What is a papyrus?
4. Did she make the papyrus box?
5. What is tar and what is pitch?
6. Was the box that she made pretty?
7. Did she put the child straight into the box with no blanket?
8. What does “And she put into a reed upon the lip of the river” mean?
9. What is the lip of the river?
10. Did his sister’s mother know that his sister had positioned herself to watch to see what would occur with the baby?
11. Who is he and him in, “What will he do to him?”
IV. The Box (verse 5)
Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe by the river. She had maidens who attended her, walking by the hand (extension) of the river.
She saw the box—it was in the midst of the reed! She sent her handmaid; the handmaid took the box.
Questions
1. What is the hand of the river?
2. How could she see the box in the midst of the reed?
3. Why did she send her handmaid?
4. What is her in, “And she took her”?
V. Identification and Need (verses 6-8)
Pharaoh’s daughter opened the box. She saw him—a child! And the youth is weeping! She had compassion on him.
She then said, “This is from the children of the Hebrews.”
The child’s sister spoke to the daughter of Pharaoh: “Shall I walk? And I will call a nursing woman to thee from the Hebrews. And she will nurse the child to thee!” Pharaoh’s daughter replied, “Walk!” The virgin did exactly that, and called the mother of the child—her own mother—to come.
Questions
1. What does the wording of the text, “And she saw him—a child!” indicate?
2. What was important about the youth weeping?
3. What did she do to show that she had compassion upon him?
4. Pharaoh’s daughter then said, “This is from the children of the Hebrews.” Why did she say this?
5. We next see the child’s sister speaking to Pharaoh’s daughter. Wasn’t Pharaoh’s daughter startled to see a Hebrew youth suddenly appear and speaking to her?
6. The child’s sister volunteered, “Shall I walk? And I will call a nursing woman to thee from the Hebrews. And she will nurse the child to thee!” Wasn’t she quite bold to speak up like this and to offer to help in this way?
7. What does the response of Pharaoh’s daughter (“Walk!”) indicate about her?
8. Why does the text say, “And she called the mother of the child,” instead of this: “And she called her own mother”?
VI. Orders (verse 9)
Pharaoh’s daughter commanded the mother, “Walk this child. And nurse him to me. And I, I will give thy wage.” The woman took the child, and she did as she was told. She nursed him.
Questions
1. What is so unusual about the command given by Pharaoh’s daughter: “Walk this child. And nurse him to me. And I, I will give thy wage”?
2. How did the Egyptians know that this woman had orders from Pharaoh’s daughter to take care of the child?
3. How did the child’s mother feel about this arrangement?
4. Did other Hebrew parents manage to keep their sons alive?
VII. Adoption (verse 10)
The child ‘biggened’ (grew). She brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter. He became as her own son.
Pharaoh’s daughter called the child Draw (Moshe). She said, “For I drew him from the waters.”
Questions
1. How long did she wait to bring the child to the daughter of Pharaoh?
2. Was bringing the child to the daughter of Pharaoh hard for her?
3. Did Pharaoh’s daughter love him?
4. Was the name Draw (Moshe) a good name for him?