A new baby-boy! How happy his mother Jochebed and father Amram would have been but for the latest law of the cruel Egyptian king! Every new-born Israelite boy was to be thrown into the River Nile. Jochebed looked at her beautiful baby. “He must not be drowned,” she said, “I shall hide him. I know that God can keep him safe.” At first all went well. But the tiny baby soon grew into a big, bouncing one and his cries grew louder. As she hushed him asleep, Jochebed prayed and thought and planned. Then she began making a cradle from the river-reeds, just like the fishermen made their boats. When it was finished, she smeared the outside with tar to keep it waterproof. While the baby slept, she put him gently into the cradle and carried him to the water’s edge, taking little sister Miriam with her. She placed the basket among the tall reeds and, leaving Miriam to keep watch, sped quickly home. Still as a mouse, Miriam crouched in her hiding-place and waited. Soon she heard chatter and laughter.
The Baby Who Survived
