The mother then took some reeds which grew near the river bank and wove them into a little basket, just the right size to hold her baby, then she coated it so carefully with pitch that no water would come in. When the basket, which is sometimes called an "ark," was ready for the purpose which she had in mind, she tenderly placed her baby in it, and hid it carefully in the bulrushes which grew in the marshes near the banks of the river. Her daughter Mir'i-am, who was now twelve years old, was put on watch nearby to see that no harm came to the child, and to tell her mother what the king's daughter had done when she saw the baby.
Mir'i-am did not have to wait long for the answer to her mother's prayer for the safety of the little boy. When Pha'raoh's daughter and a number of her maids came down to the river, guided by the LORD to the place where the child still floated on the waters in his basket, the princess saw the basket almost at once. When she lifted the cover from the ark of bulrushes and saw the beautiful child within, she was greatly touched by the sight, and said " This is one of the He'brews' children." The child began to cry, and her heart went out to it with compassion and love. While she stood telling her maids about finding the baby, and wondering what she should do with it, little Mir'i-am rushed up to her. Pretending not to know anything about the baby, she said, "Shall I go and call for thee a nurse of the He'brew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?"
The kindly offer of Mir'i-am was quickly accepted by Pha'raoh's daughter, and the little girl hurried home to tell her mother the wonderful news. Joch'e-bed was filled with joy by the opportunity of caring for her son in the home of the king who had sworn to destroy the He'brews. Not knowing that Joch'e-bed was the mother of the child found by the river, Pha'raoh's daughter agreed to pay her the customary wages for taking care of the child.
It was hard to pretend that she did not even know the child which she had born, but Joch'e-bed knew that his safety depended upon her ability to care for him without revealing the fact that he was her own son. She therefore entered the royal palace at once, and patiently acted as nurse to the child which Pha'raoh's daughter had adopted.
The E'gyp-tian princess gave the child every comfort and attention which great wealth could supply, and in many ways tried to act as a good mother to him. It was Joch'e-bed, however, who took advantage of her position as a hired nurse to bring up her son in the faith and wisdom of his own people. And yet, even when telling him of the customs and duties which were most sacred among the He'brews, she was careful never to let the child know that she was his mother.
When it came time to give the baby a name the daughter of Pha'raoh, called him Mo'ses, which means "drawn out" in the E'gyp-tian language. This name was given because the princess had literally drawn him out of the waters upon which the basket was floating when she found him.
