Daughter of Pharaoh

AI summary: The daughter of Pharaoh matters because the cross references present her as an unexpected instrument of preservation from within the very house threatening Hebrew life. She sees the child, has compassion, and brings Moses into royal protection while his own mother remains near him through the arrangement. Later remembrance in Acts and Hebrews keeps that adoption in view as part of Moses' formation. Taken together, the material presents Pharaoh's daughter as a providential rescuer whose mercy helps preserve Israel's future deliverer.¹

The princess who adopted the infant Moses (q.v.), Ex. 2:10. She is twice mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 7:21: Heb. 11:24). It would seem that she was alive and in some position of influence about the court when Moses was compelled to flee from Egypt, and thus for forty years he had in some way been under her influence. She was in all probability the sister of Rameses, and the daughter of Seti I. Josephus calls her Thermuthis. It is supposed by some that she was Nefert-ari, the wife as well as sister of Rameses. The mummy of this queen was among the treasures found at Deir-el-Bahari. ³