Calling and Purpose: Jochebed

We read so much of Moses. [803 mentions in the NIV.] Even of Aaron. [342 search results.] Some of Miriam. [14 occurrences of her name.] We read so much less about Jochebed—the mother of those three. Nevertheless, remarkable. She faithfully raises these three who all become significant leaders of her people…and who participate in the transition from slavery to wilderness to freedom.

 

As context—for Jochebed’s life and that of her family, we learn in Exodus 1 that the Israelites are deeply oppressed. The heyday of Joseph and his brothers (sons of Jacob/Israel) is long gone. That generation is all gone, but the Israelites had become “so numerous that the land was filled with them” (v. 6-7). A new Pharaoh arises and enslaves the Jewish people—brutally using them as forced labor. The Israelites still increase in numbers despite the awfulness of their situation. As a result, the king of Egypt directs that all newborn Jewish males be killed. His order was “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live” (v.22).

 

Into this holocaust, we first hear mention of Moses’ mother, Jochebed (Exodus 2). She is described as a daughter of Levi (the priestly class), the wife of Amram (also of the tribe of Levi) who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son. In this moment, she recognizes something about this child—perhaps uniqueness bordering on a sense of destiny—and takes the huge risk of hiding him for three months. Once it is no longer possible to continue to hide this growing child, she creates a waterproof basket and places him among the reeds of the Nile. Perhaps this is her nod to throwing him “into the Nile” without actually drowning him—hoping for his rescue—likely knowing that Pharaoh’s own daughter bathed nearby.

 

The baby is rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter. Guided by Jochebed’s daughter, Miriam, Jochebed receives him back to nurse him, with payment for her services. After Jochebed has weaned her son—likely about three years, she returns him to Pharaoh’s daughter who names him Moses and claims him as her son, thus preserving his life. The story makes it clear that Pharaoh’s daughter knows that Moses is a Hebrew baby.

 

According to child development experts, Jochebed would have provided care and mothering to Moses through infancy and toddlerhood—watching over and/or assisting him with his motor and coordinating growth (from crawling to walking to running to climbing, increasingly complex use of hands and feet, etc.); understanding and learning language while also growing in communication skills (from one-word expressions to entire sentences); problem-solving and managing emotions; relational interactions, expressing love and affection, and learning empathy; following directions and learning obedience; paying attention while being read to; dressing himself; use toys and tools as they were meant to be used; and growing in independence.[i] During this critical time of growth, 80% of the toddler’s brain is developing including thinking, reasoning, memory, and language.[ii] “They learn by imitating the behavior of others, especially adults and older children.”[iii]

 

In addition, “By age 3, faith development is largely unconscious and "pre-faith," focusing on building a foundation of trust, love, and safety. Children in this stage (0–3) develop a basic, emotional, and intuitive understanding of reality, often forming their first ‘pre-images’ of God based on relationships with caregivers.”[iv] “A child's earliest ‘faith’ is developed through their perception of whether the world is safe and dependable…Faith is nurtured through simple routines like bedtime prayers, singing songs, and experiencing love from parents, which shape their view of God's love.”[v]

 

Here is Moses’ (and Aaron’s and Miriam’s) mother, raising children (including two boys who were not welcome in Egypt) under considerable duress and in the context of slavery while at the same time attempting to instill in them a sense of the faith that carries her and would carry them through anything. She seems to have managed to do that, as all three, as adults, place their faith in Yahweh in spite of their fraught circumstances. Her foundation of love, trust, safety, faith combined with articulate communication skills (they are all excellent communicators) and the ability to see their potential and call out their gifts shows long after she is no longer mentioned in their stories. She must have been formidable and amazing.

 

Women are mentioned rarely in Biblical genealogies—usually as an exception. Jochebed finds pride of place in Numbers 26:59 in the genealogy of the Levites: “the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, who was born to the Levites[e] in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Moses and their sister Miriam.”

 

She is again mentioned in the litany of the faithful—not by name but as one of Moses’ parents. In the forty verses of Hebrews Chapter 11, nineteen heroes of faith are mentioned. Three are women. One of those is Jochebed: “By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict” (v. 23).

 

Somehow her influence upon Moses lasts a lifetime. The very next verse in Hebrews 11 tells us that “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (v. 24). He somehow knew and related to his Hebrew faith origins rather than the pagan culture of Egypt—even after spending most of his growing-up years in the court of Pharaoh. Perhaps those two to five years with his mother and family were enough to instill a deep sense of identity and faith. It appears so.

 

Reflect:

Are you in a position as a parent or mentor or coach or neighbor where you can have an influence for good upon the next generation? How are you using your proximity, even if limited by difficult circumstances?

How often do you notice the gifts, talents, calling, and purpose of others—and help fan those into flame?

Where can you help build a foundation of love, trust, safety, and faith for another?

If you feel unseen or excluded from the public sphere (even in the church), how can you still show up for that which God has called and purposed you to do?

If you were to be mentioned in Hebrews 11 as a person of great faith, what might it say about you?

Spend a moment praying for someone with whom you might have only had a few years of contact. Pray that your time together instilled a deep sense of identity and faith.

 

 

Important resources:

 

 

Shirley Giles Davis, author of God's Affirmations For You: A Book of Encouragement—A 12-Week Devotional Practice, the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, DIOS. DONES. TÚ.: Tu llamado y diseño único (Spanish Edition), and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with hundreds of faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and executive leaders in a diversity of fields for four decades. She currently serves as Catalyst for Equipping at her church.

 

Photo © Dr. Grace Helen Davis. 

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Additionally, the contents of these blog posts may not be used to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies without the author's express permission.

 


[i] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22625-toddler-developmental-milestones--safety

[ii] https://www.michigan.gov/mikidsmatter/parents/toddler/milestones#:~:text=During%20these%20years%2C%20your%20child's,explore%20the%20world%20around%20them.

[iii] https://www.michigan.gov/mikidsmatter/parents/toddler/milestones#:~:text=During%20these%20years%2C%20your%20child's,explore%20the%20world%20around%20them.

[iv] https://childrensministry.com/abcs-spiritual-growth/#:~:text=primal%20or%20%E2%80%9Cpre%2Dfaith%E2%80%9D,patchwork%E2%80%9D%20(12%20to%20adult)

[v] https://www.institute4learning.com/2020/06/12/the-stages-of-faith-according-to-james-w-fowler/#:~:text=Children%20at%20this%20stage%20don,causes%20the%20universe%20to%20function.

Shirley Giles Davis