the Egyptians as well.”
Miriam started doing more of the errands outside the house so her mother could stay hidden inside. Her parents became increasingly anxious as her mother’s abdomen became more round.
“It is very important that you do not talk to anyone about a baby being born to our house,” their father repeated to them often. “Especially the Egyptians must not know, and they have spies all over. We must all try to do still more work at the worksite so Mother is not missed.”
“But, why not tell our friends and neighbors? Can’t they know?” She felt like her parents were trying to protect her from something.
“It will prevent awkward questions later,” was all their father would say. They obeyed him carefully, but Miriam wondered. She made many trips to the river to do washing. Because of the time spent doing daily errands to help her mother, she was spending more time with other village women.
One day Miriam learned the dreadful details about the latest command of Pharaoh. At the river, two Hebrew women were stooped over the water, appearing to wash clothes, but their attention was totally focused on their conversation.
“What more can they do to us, Puah?” One deeply tanned woman complained to the other. “The workers already have to make endless bricks for Pharaoh’s monuments in this baking sun. In addition, they keep increasing the fieldwork, and yet the Egyptians are never satisfied. The cruel slave masters threaten the workers every minute with a whipping if bricks aren’t made fast enough,” she continued.
“Shiphrah, we cannot even help the women anymore with labor and delivery,” said the other women. “Pharaoh has noticed that Hebrew boy babies survive even though he commanded us Hebrew midwives to kill the newborn baby boys.”
“Of course, I, along with you my dear friend, could not ever kill any babies, Egyptian or Hebrew, Puah said. I have even attended Egyptian mothers when they give birth, and it would have been easy enough to suffocate a newborn. Just hold a hand over the baby’s mouth and nose slightly longer than necessary when clearing the airway, or turn their face under water during their first bath. Not even the mother suspects that the baby wasn’t stillborn.”
“If I couldn’t do that to even an Egyptian baby, I certainly couldn’t suffocate the children of my kinfolk. That would be just like the crocodile from the Nile lying in wait to devour the baby as soon as it takes the first breath,” Shiphrah shuddered at the thought. “No, in the eyes of the great God of Abraham, that is not what we do.”
“Well we told Pharaoh’s messengers that the Hebrew mothers give birth quickly without any help,” continued Puah. “And that is almost true, most of the time. But now we can’t be seen near a residence with a pregnant woman or the Egyptians will suspect that a birth occurred.”
“Any Egyptian has permission to spy and kill any baby boy they find,” Shiphrah moaned.
“Only the boy babies are to be killed; what are they thinking?” asked Puah.
“Oh don’t think they are being merciful by saving the girls. They want the girl babies to grow up and be used as slaves for their own evil purposes,” whispered Shiphrah.
“What can we do to save the babies?” asked Puah. “Can the mothers be smuggled to a secret hiding place until delivery and the boy babies raised safely away from Egypt?”
Miriam silently turned toward home and felt her heart sink. “Now I understand!” she exclaimed to herself. But other questions immediately came to her. “What if our new baby is a boy? Why do they hate us so much?”
Later her mother reassured her. “The God of Abraham has brought us through hard times before. He is always faithful to protect his people. We are his chosen people, and he will show us a way to survive,” she said.
Winter arrived, it was colder, and they had blankets over the windows. “So, if the baby is a girl, it is safe. But if it is a boy and the Egyptians find him, they will throw him into the river?” Aaron asked.
“Our God of the Hebrews determines if we have a boy or a girl. We will persevere,” Amram reminded them. “Even the circumcision ceremonies have been dropped, although this has been the custom since Abraham,” he added.“If the baby is a girl, we will also keep it secret to help protect those parents who have boys,” her mother added. “If no one is sure if the baby is a boy or girl, then no one is responsible to report to the authorities. Of course it is best to keep the baby as secret as possible. Spies are all over.”
“A midwife cannot be seen coming to our house to help with the delivery,” Miriam repeated.
“No, Jochebed, don’t think about that,” Amram said. He hugged his wife. “I won’t let you have the baby alone.”
A Baby Is Born, But Will He Live?
After months of fearful waiting, the worst happened! It was a moonless winter night when a healthy baby boy was born.
“As they say about the Hebrew women, they give birth easily,” her father said. “The God of our ancestors is blessing us, even in this hardship. We will find a way of keeping this son alive.”
Now Miriam’s family had a new baby brother, at least for now. Miriam helped her mother with the infant for the first months, anticipating his every need. He seldom cried, and he was not discovered by the Egyptians. Miriam grew to love her brother very much, but he was becoming more active.
“We won’t be able to hide the baby much longer,” Miriam’s mother said one day.
“Mother, I cannot bear the thought of my baby brother dying,” Miriam sighed. Her arms automatically crossed in front of her to make a rocking motion. “What can we do to save him?” pleaded Miriam.
“We will not give up and let the Egyptians destroy us,” her mother said. She clenched her fists and added, “Our God will help us find a way to save the baby.”
Miriam started thinking as she wandered past the point where the Hebrews did their washing. She ventured dangerously close to the beach that was off-limits to the Hebrews. There, she noticed an Egyptian princess bathing with her attendants. “I wonder if she is the one that collects wounded animals. If she would only care for the Hebrew babies as much as she does ducks and wild kittens.”
The partially finished palace towered beyond. It featured brightly colored columns and was covered in many fanciful designs. Lotus flowers and water lilies decorated the upper edges of the roof, which was supported by columns of drawings of many animals such as jackals, lions, and snakes. An abundance of birds such as owls, falcons, and ducks seemed so real that they could take wing and fly away. The symbols could be read by some people, but she was told they mostly expressed how great Pharaoh was as king and god. The giant eyes really troubled her; they seemed to look right at her. They symbolized the eye of Horus, one of the Egyptian gods. The Egyptians believed the eyes could see everything. If this was true, why didn’t their god see the evil caused by Pharaoh?
The God of the Hebrews also promised Abraham that the Hebrews would have their own land where they would rule and not be ruled, and he also saw everything.
What was happening to the baby boys? Her heart was crushed to think about it. Were they being devoured by crocodiles? Yet she had not heard of any being killed. Were they being sent somewhere? How could her brother be saved?
Miriam returned home. She and her mother quietly started to
