(a) How did Moses become the son of Pharaoh's daughter? [9 marks] (b) Explain in three ways how this prepared Moses for his future leadership roles. [6 mark...

Answer Details

(a) How Moses became the son of Pharaoh's daughter (Exodus 2:1-10)

• Pharaoh had commanded that every male Hebrew child be cast into the Nile, because the Israelites had multiplied and he feared them.
• A man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she bore a son. Seeing that the child was beautiful (a fine child), she hid him for three months.
• When she could hide him no longer, she took a basket of bulrushes, daubed it with bitumen and pitch, placed the child in it, and laid it among the reeds at the river's edge. His sister stood at a distance to watch.
• The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. She saw the basket among the reeds, sent her maid to fetch it, and when she opened it the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.
• The child's sister then asked whether she should go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse the child. Pharaoh's daughter agreed, and the girl went and called the child's own mother, who was paid to nurse him.
• When the child grew, he was brought to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, Because I drew him out of the water.

(b) Three ways this prepared Moses for his future leadership roles

1. Palace education and training. Growing up in Pharaoh's court, Moses was instructed in the wisdom, learning and administration of Egypt, equipping him to lead and organise a great people.
2. Knowledge of his own Hebrew roots. Nursed by his own mother, he learned of his people and their God, so he never lost his identity and later chose to suffer with the Israelites rather than enjoy Egypt's privileges.
3. Familiarity with authority and the court. Living close to Pharaoh gave Moses understanding of royal power and courage to stand before kings, which he later needed when demanding Israel's release.