000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

Proper 16 [21]/Year A 77
A new pharaoh arose in Egypt who “did not know Joseph” and feared the
people Israel (1:8–10). This unnamed king acts on the basis of his ignorance
and fear of the stranger and violates the hospitality typical of ancient societies,
such as that which the Hittites extended to Abraham (Gen. 23:4–6).
Pharaoh’s ignorance led to the oppression of the Israelites and God’s curse
upon Pharaoh and Egypt. The absolutely powerful God-King (Pharaoh’s
designation) was stupid. Power makes one stupid; absolute power makes
one absolutely stupid. Pharaoh will learn with whom he is dealing.
In 1:11–22 we see Pharaoh’s tactics at work. First, he imposes harsh
conditions of “forced labor” on the people Israel, in spite of which “they
multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites”
(v. 12). In addition, the king ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all boys
born to Israelite mothers (v. 16). “But the midwives feared God; they did
not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live”
(v. 17). Because the midwives were agents of God’s blessing in bringing
these boys safely to birth, God “gave them families” (v. 21), blessing those
who blessed Israel. The king responded by ordering all his people to toss
every Israelite boy into the Nile (v. 22).
When Moses was born (2:1–2), his mother “saw that he was a fine baby,”
that he was “good,” a reverberation from Genesis 1: “and God saw that it
was good.” She hid him as long as possible, put him in a basket and “placed
it among the reeds on the bank of the river” (2:3). Pharaoh’s daughter saw
the child and sent a maid to bring it to her. The maid, Moses’ sister Miriam
(Exod. 15:20), pulled a fast one on Pharaoh’s daughter and turned the baby
over to Moses’ mother for nursing until “the child grew up” (2:10).
Moses’ mother cares for Moses until he is grown and then returns him
to Pharaoh’s daughter, who “took him as her son” (2:10). “She named him
Moses, ‘because,’ she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’” His name, mes,
is the Egyptian for “son,” one who is drawn out of a mother’s womb. 21 He
will draw his people out of Egyptian oppression.
All the critical roles in this story are played by women—the midwives,
Moses’ mother, his sister Miriam, and Pharaoh’s daughter. Their actions
make possible the rest of the narrative of the people Israel. Without them
and their actions, the rest of the story does not happen. That a woman,
Mary, is the first in the Gospel story to trust in the Holy Spirit’s strange
announcement is not a brand-new thing in the scriptural narrative. Did
Pharaoh’s daughter act knowingly? Or did she act solely out of compassion
for an abandoned child? The text throws no light on this intriguing
question. But through such compassion, YHWH can work to bring about
blessing among YHWH’s children.