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Ch. II. Whereupon the king of Egypt sent for the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this and saved the male children? And the midwives said to Pharao, The Hevrew women are not like the Egyptian; for they bring forth instantly. Before the midwives can come to them, they are delivered. And God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew mighty. And because the midwives feared God they established families for themselves. Then Pharao gave orders to all his people saying, Every male child which is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the river, but preserve every female alive.

Now there was a certain man of the tribe of Levi who had married one of the daughters of Levi and she conceived and bore a son. And when they saw that he was a beautiful child they hid him three months. But when they could not conceal him any longer, his mother provided for him a wicker basket and plaistered it with bitumenous pitch and put the child into it and placed it in the stagnant water by the side of the river. And his sister watched it at a distance to see what would become of it. And the daughter of Pharao came to bathe herself at the river and her maids were walking with her along the bank. And seeing the basket in the stagnant water she sent her maid and had it brought to her. And upon opening it she saw in the basket a child weeping. And the daughter of Pharao had compassion on it and said, This is one of the Hebrew children. Whereupon his sister said to Pharao's daughter. Shall I call for thee a nurse from among the Hebrews to suckle the child for thee? And the daughter of Pharao said. Go, Upon which the girl went and called the child's mother. And the daughter of Pharao said to her. Take care of this child for me and suckle it for me ; and I will pay thee the wages. So the woman took the child and suckled it ; and when the boy was grown up she brought him to Pharao's daughter and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, saying, I drew him out of the water.

And after a course of many years, when Moses was become great he went out to his brethren the children of Israel. And as he was observing their distress, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, who was one of his brethren the children of Israel