(a) How did Moses become the son of Pharaoh's... | WAEC SSCE - Christian Religious Studies - 2009

Question 1 Report

(a) How did Moses become the son of Pharaoh's daughter? [9 marks]

(b) Explain three ways in which this prepared Moses for his future leadership roles. [6 marks]

Answer

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

Pharaoh, fearing the rapid increase of the Israelites, had ordered that every Hebrew baby boy be thrown into the Nile.
A man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman (Amram and Jochebed), and she gave birth to a son.
Seeing that the child was beautiful (goodly), she hid him for three months.
When she could no longer hide him, she made a basket (ark) of bulrushes, coated it with bitumen and pitch, placed the baby in it, and laid it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.
The baby's sister (Miriam) stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, saw the basket among the reeds, and sent her maid to fetch it.
Opening it, she saw the crying child, had compassion on him, and recognised that he was one of the Hebrew children.
The child's sister approached and offered to fetch a Hebrew nurse; Pharaoh's daughter agreed, and the girl called the baby's own mother.
Pharaoh's daughter told the mother to nurse the child for wages; when he grew, the mother brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted him as her son and named him Moses, saying, "Because I drew him out of the water."

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

Egyptian education and wisdom: growing up in the palace, Moses was instructed in all the learning, administration and skills of the Egyptians, equipping him intellectually to lead.
Experience of court and administration: life in Pharaoh's household exposed him to leadership, governance and the workings of power, preparing him to organise and govern a nation.
Dual identity with his people: though raised as an Egyptian prince, Moses was nursed by his own Hebrew mother and retained knowledge of his people and their God, giving him sympathy for the Israelites and understanding of both worlds.

Answer Details

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

Pharaoh, fearing the rapid increase of the Israelites, had ordered that every Hebrew baby boy be thrown into the Nile.
A man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman (Amram and Jochebed), and she gave birth to a son.
Seeing that the child was beautiful (goodly), she hid him for three months.
When she could no longer hide him, she made a basket (ark) of bulrushes, coated it with bitumen and pitch, placed the baby in it, and laid it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.
The baby's sister (Miriam) stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, saw the basket among the reeds, and sent her maid to fetch it.
Opening it, she saw the crying child, had compassion on him, and recognised that he was one of the Hebrew children.
The child's sister approached and offered to fetch a Hebrew nurse; Pharaoh's daughter agreed, and the girl called the baby's own mother.
Pharaoh's daughter told the mother to nurse the child for wages; when he grew, the mother brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted him as her son and named him Moses, saying, "Because I drew him out of the water."

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

Egyptian education and wisdom: growing up in the palace, Moses was instructed in all the learning, administration and skills of the Egyptians, equipping him intellectually to lead.
Experience of court and administration: life in Pharaoh's household exposed him to leadership, governance and the workings of power, preparing him to organise and govern a nation.
Dual identity with his people: though raised as an Egyptian prince, Moses was nursed by his own Hebrew mother and retained knowledge of his people and their God, giving him sympathy for the Israelites and understanding of both worlds.

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