Historical

Bithiah, in Hebrew Bitya (בִּתְיָה, literally daughter of God) was the daughter of a Pharaoh of Egypt. The name of her father is not in the Bible, but Rabbinic Midrash makes her the daughter of one of the Pharaohs of the Exodus. Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic (see Pharaoh of the Exodus). In the Bible the name of the Pharaoh of the Exodus is not given She was the foster mother of Moses, having drawn him from the Nile. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ In Jewish tradition, she was exiled by the Pharaoh for bringing Moses the Levite into the house of Pharaoh and claiming him as her own child. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ In the Jewish tradition a Levite ( is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. Bithiah left Egypt with Moses during the mass exodus of the children of Israel. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ Exodus ( Greek: έξοδος eksodos = "departure" is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. She married Mered the Judahite. Mered is a Biblical character who was the husband of Bithiah. See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. Her children were Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah (the father of Eshtemoa).

Edwin Long's 1886 painting of Batya finding the baby Moses

In the Bible and Midrash

In the Biblical account, the daughter of Pharaoh who rescued Moses is not named. Edwin Longsden Long RA (1829 &ndash 1891 was an English painter Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic A daughter of Pharaoh named Bithiah is mentioned in I Chronicles 4:18. The Midrash identifies the two as the same person, and says she received her name, literally daughter of Yah (= YHWH often rendered in English as LORD), because of her compassion and pity in saving the baby Moses. Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic In the Midrash (Leviticus Rabbah 1:3), God says to her that because she took in a child not her own, and called him her son (Moses can mean "child" in Egyptian), God will take her in and call her YHWH's daughter (which is what Bithiah means). Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayikra Rabbah is a homiletic Midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus ( Vayikrah in Hebrew The Midrash portrays her as a pious and devoted woman, who would bathe in the Nile to cleanse herself of the impurity of idolatrous Egypt. She is mentioned in Chron. 1, 4:18, as being the wife of Mered from the tribe of Judah, who is identified in the Midrash as being Caleb, one of the 12 spies. The Books of Chronicles ( Hebrew Divrei Hayyamim, דברי הימים Greek Paraleipomêna) are part of the Hebrew Bible (Jewish Mered is a Biblical character who was the husband of Bithiah. The Tribe of Judah ( was one of the Tribes of Israel. At its height it was the leading tribe of the Kingdom of Judah, and occupied most of the territory of the kingdom For other meanings of the word Caleb or Kalev see Caleb (disambiguation Caleb ( Hebrew; Tiberian vocalization The Midrash (Exodus Rabbah 18:3) also records that she was not affected by the 10 Plagues, and was the only female firstborn of Egypt to survive. Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic The Plagues of Egypt ( the Biblical Plagues or the Ten Plagues ( are the ten calamities imposed upon Egypt by God in the Bible

In Islamic tradition

In the Hadith, Bithiah is known as Asiyah, one of four of "the best of women. " She is also known as the Pharaoh's wife, not daughter, in Quran.

In movies

She is often portrayed as being the sister or wife of Pharaoh in adaptations of the story, in order to have Moses appear as Pharaoh's son. In the film The Ten Commandments, she is portrayed as the daughter of Ramses I and sister of the Egyptian pharaoh, Seti I, who raised Moses as her own son as her husband had died before they could have children. The Ten Commandments is a 1956 motion picture that Dramatized the Biblical story of Moses, an adopted Egyptian Menpehtyre Ramesses I (traditional English Ramesses or Ramses) was the founding Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt 's 19th dynasty. Menmaatre Seti I (also called Sethos I after the Greeks) was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt ( Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt) the son of Ramesses When Moses leads the Hebrews out of Egypt, she joins the Exodus.

In the 1956 film she is shown as a compassionate and heroic woman, who casts her lot with the people of Israel and joins the Exodus. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Exodus ( Greek: έξοδος eksodos = "departure" is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. She takes part in the very first Passover Seder. The Passover Seder Meal ( Hebrew: סֵדֶר seðɛɾ "order" "arrangement" is a Jewish ritual feast held on the first (and for some the She willingly and gladly gives up her place on her rich litter to help the weaker Israelites. When the Egyptian chariots attack, she tries to interpose herself between the charging army and the people. Her future husband Mered (see I Chronicles 4:18) dissuades her from this noble but suicidal action. Mered is a Biblical character who was the husband of Bithiah. When the Egyptian army drowns, it is her grieving reaction that the film shows (rather than the singing and dancing of the people, led by Miriam, that the book of Exodus tells about). Miriam ( but it might be derived originally from an Egyptian name myr "beloved" or mr "Love" or even Meryamun "beloved of Amun" Mered comforts her in her sorrow.

Sources

• Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1972, Keter Publishing House, Jerusalem, Israel. The Encyclopaedia Judaica is a 26-volume English-language Encyclopedia of the Jewish people and their faith Judaism.
• Jewish Encyclopedia.com

• Bithiah. (n. d. ). Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary. Retrieved January 28, 2008, from Dictionary. com website: [1]

Chicago Manual Style (CMS):

See also

Moses in rabbinic literature

External links

• Possible Family tree