Jochebed
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Remember the following two truth’s from our
beloved Scriptures!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem, which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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“Who was יוֹכֶבֶד -
Jochebed?”
With Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Just before the study, I would like to provide one more vital quote from the book of Yahoshua - Joshua Ch 1:7-8. (JPS-1917).
“Be strong and courageous. Be careful to obey the entire Torah My servant Moshe has given you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Torah depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
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Who was יוֹכֶבֶד - Jochebed in the Torah?:
There is no
doubt, that Jochebed was one of the most outstanding mothers of the Torah. Of
course she was the mother of her baby who would become Moshe - Moses!
The story of
Jochebed is found in the book of שְׁמוֹת - Shemot - Exodus; however she is mentioned in other places in our
beloved Torah; such as Shemot Exodus 2:1-10, Exodus 6:20, and Be’midbar - Numbers
26:59.
Additional
information about individuals in our beloved Tanakh is simply wonderful, for it
provides us so much more to understand their amazing stories!
It is interesting to know that the wonderful name ‘Jochebed’ actually means יְהוָה מְפוֹאָר - ‘the LORD is glorified’. And we know that she lived out her name to bring glory to אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God). If you are struggling with how Jochebed is pronounced, here is a transliteration of her name ... יוֹכֶבֶד- Yo’che’bed, which as you can see was very easy!
For interest, her father was ‘Levi’, and she
was married to ‘Amram’. They had three children
being; ‘Aaron’, ‘Miriam’,
and little Moshe - Moses.
Due to the
hideous situation with male babies that when born were killed by those evil
ones, thus Jochebed hid her unnamed baby boy. But after a certain time, she
remarkably saved the life of her infant son. Due to her releasing and placing
him in a wicker basket in the Nile, miraculously, in due course he became the
very first leader of our ancient brethren, the ‘Israelites’, and he was mightily
used by אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim to rescue the
‘Israelites’ from Egypt!
Strangely enough,
I have been asked in the past; “why did Jochebed hide her baby?
Jochebed hid him
because he was in danger of being killed since he was a Hebrew boy who were as
I already stated were being killed by Pharaoh’s soldiers.
Let us look further back into the history of Jochebed in the Torah:
Many generations
after Joseph died, the reigning Pharaoh became absolutely paranoid and he hated
the Israelites.
The reason being,
that our people had grown into a large community, living in Goshen, thus she
became afraid that if an enemy of Egypt waged war against them, the Israelites
would side with the enemy against Egypt.
We need to
remember that over 16 generations, the Israelites had multiplied and were great
in number. They would make a great army, and that proved dangerous for Pharaoh.
Therefore the
Pharaoh asked the head Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah,
to kill all the boy babies. However, they refused to do so because they feared אֱלֹהִים
greatly! As Pharaoh’s plan did not work using Shiphrah and Puah,
he came up with another strategy.He ordered that both
Hebrew baby boys be thrown into the river. Now, all babies were in trouble.
It was during
this time that Jochebed gave birth to her baby boy. Thus to save him Jochebed
hid him, to prevent him from being killed.
Jochebed hid
Moses until he was 3 months old. When she could hide him no longer, she built a
basket, put her baby son in the basket, and then into the river, she asked her
daughter, Miriam to watch the basket.
Miriam was
watching when the Pharaoh’s daughter was having her regular bath in the river.
Having obtained the basket and saw the baby boy, Pharaoh’s daughter recognized
that the baby was a Hebrew child, but her heart broke when she saw him crying
and she decided to adopt him and she called him Moshe, as he was drawn out of
water.
Miriam approached
and asked her if she would like to get a Hebrew wet nurse. Pharaoh’s daughter
agreed, as she would be unable to do so, Miriam went and spoke to her mother,
Jochebed. Therefore Jochebed was able to raise her beloved son Moshe - Moses
and managed to teach him, when possible, about אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim.
Let us now look
at the qualities of Jochebed in the Torah:
Even though there are not a great deal of detail available about
Jochebed, however there still some things we observe about her.
We do know that
Jochebed was a strong woman of faith,
and she was courageous. Jochebed certainly had a discerning heart,
and she was the mother of great faith”
We could also
ask; ‘’What can we learn from Jochebed in the Torah?’
Amazingly,
Jochebed somehow became one of the shortest stories in all of the Tanakh, yet
her life had some truly life-changing lessons because of ‘who she was’.
Throughout
Jochebed life, she chose ‘faith’ over ‘fear’. Considering the decree that all
boy babies should be killed, imagine Jochebed’s state of mind during her
pregnancy. They were not the days of ultrasound where you could tell what
you’re having before you’re having it. Of course, we will never know if she
prayed for a girl, in order to avoid the possible anguish. However there
is one thing that was for sure, there is no doubt that Jochebed chose to trust אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim about this issue during those evil and turbulent times! We know that
both Jochebed and her husband were never afraid of Pharaoh’s evil, but we know
that Jochebed trusted אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim each and every day!
Like the Widow
of Zarephath who had to trust אֱלֹהִים
each day for food during a severe famine, however Jochebed had to do the same
thing for the preservation of her baby’s life.
There are good
lessons given by Jochebed regarding male babies for mothers.
Through the ages,
mothers across time can agree about one thing: motherhood is tough. But it is
even tougher when the odds are stacked against your children.
Did somehow, that
Jochebed discerned the calling, and purpose of her son’s life? There was a
well-known prophecy about the children of Israel, for אֱלֹהִים
had told Avraham that his children would be enslaved but אֱלֹהִים
would release them and bring them back to the land of promise. They also knew
that there would be someone chosen to lead them out of Egypt.
When Moshe -
Moses was born, Jochebed knew that he had a special purpose. By faith Moses’
parents hid him for three months after he was born, because somehow they saw he
was not an ordinary
child, and they were not afraid of the Pharaoh’s evil edict.
Because Jochebed
somehow knew this, she took the task of raising Moshe quite seriously when he
lived with the princess.
Somehow, each
child has a purpose for which they are born, and parents should ask אֱלֹהִים
to reveal that purpose in order they can partner with אֱלֹהִים
in preparing their children for that call. Thus Jochebed taught Moshe his
spiritual and cultural identity early in his life.
If Jochebed had
any doubts about her son having a special call, those doubts would have been
destroyed when אֱלֹהִים
saved his life through an Egyptian princess. Jochebed knew very well, that she
had only a short time to prepare her beloved Moshe.
She would have
only been allowed to look after Moshe until he was weaned. However, that could
well be up to the age of three years at minimum.
But the time she
had him might be longer as she was able to teach him enough to set his heart
permanently on knowledge of אֱלֹהִים
of heaven and his purpose and calling.
During this short
time, Moshe learned his Hebrew history, became patriotic to his people of
faith.
Jochebed made
very good use of the time she had with Moshe before he had to be handed over to
Pharaoh’s daughter for training in the ways of the Egyptians.
As a woman
of faith Jochebed lived out her beliefs, for centuries later, Jochebed had
some inspiring lessons for us. “Learn to let go and let אֱלֹהִים”
She was literally
and spiritually letting go and allowing אֱלֹהִים
to have his way. And thanks to Jochebed Moshe eventually became the אֱלֹהִים
appointed saviour of the Israelites from Egypt!
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PLEASE NOTE: This site was originally created, for those who desired to return to our blessed and wonderful faith. Thus be wise and work on your faith and pray at least two or three times a day (if possible) and always seek our beloved אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s guidance, for His love is always with us, especially when we seek Him, blessed be He! However this site has become very much a teaching site with hundreds of studies!
Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be
He, said the following, via several of our prophets...
“Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה- the LORD of hosts”. Mal’a’chi - Malachi 3:7. MEC).
And Remember ...
Enjoy your Sabbath Rest, Shabbat Shalom!
אֲנִי
יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, בְּחֻקּוֹתַי
לֵכוּ; וְאֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי
שִׁמְרוּ, וַעֲשׂוּ
אוֹתָם
וְאֶת-שַׁבְּתוֹתַי, קַדֵּשׁוּ; וְהָיוּ
לְאוֹת, בֵּינִי
וּבֵינֵיכֶם-לָדַעַת, כִּי
אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
“I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloheichem; walk in My statutes,
and keep Mine ordinances, and do them; and hallow My Sabbaths, and they shall
be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloheichem”.
Yechezkel - Ezekiel 20:19-20. (JPS).
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follows;
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More Life”
For אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim, Blessed be His Sanctified Name,
He
is the one who gave us our Life!”
May the שָׁלוֹם - Shalom = Peace of צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה= the LORD of hosts. be with you, and please always uphold our blessed שַׁבָּת - Shabbat, as well as the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts, and continue saying your daily תְּפִלָּה - Tefeelah’s (Prayers) and regular בְּרָכָה - Be’ra’chah’s (blessings) before food and drinks, etc!
שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
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