You have heard the quote, “Behind every great man, there is a great woman.” Moses was a great man and a great leader, but God placed seven women in his path to help him get there. Yes, he didn’t just have one woman, he had seven. In fact, Moses would not have survived past his first birthday without six of them, and the last one, his wife, saved him from God slaying him. Let’s explore the role each woman played in Moses’ life and how their heroic stories are a testament to courage and obedience.
(In the descriptions below, I add a bit of artistic flair in some cases to help bring each story to life, which may not appear in the actual text. So I encourage you to read the biblical text for yourself about these remarkable women in the Book of Exodus. I provide the Bible references for each one.)
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Shiprah and Puah
These two heroes are introduced to the Moses saga in Chapter 1 of Exodus. Pharaoh, fearing the Hebrews’ population growth, is committed to their destruction. To reduce their prospects of having military-aged males, he orders the Hebrew midwives to kill all the baby boys. However, the midwives Shiprah and Puah could not bring themselves to do so. They worked every day to bring life into the world, and now, Pharaoh wants them to take it? At the risk of their own lives, they chose to obey God rather than men and let the baby boys live. As a reward for their obedience, God grants these two women families of their own.
Based on the timeline, it seems Moses’ life was spared due to the courage of these two women. However, after the exchange between Pharaoh and these midwives, Pharaoh orders his own people to kill the baby boys by throwing them in the Nile. Moses’ life is at risk again.
Read more about these two Bible heroes in: Shiprah and Puah, Brave Women Who Defied a Pharaoh.
Jochebed
Her story appears in Exodus 2:1-10, but we don’t learn of her name until Exodus 6:20. Any mother can sympathize with her torment. Pharaoh had first ordered the midwives to kill the baby boys, but Jochebed is able to deliver Moses into the world safely (probably due to Shiprah and Puah). But then Pharaoh orders all Hebrew baby boys thrown into the Nile. As any mother would, she manages to hide her child for three months until it became clear she could no longer keep him a secret. Out of desperation, she takes him to the Nile, but does not toss him in. She fashions a waterproof basket and gently places him within the reeds. Her baby boy is now at the mercy of God and in His hands.
By placing him in the Nile, she saves her baby boy, Moses, who would later be found by Pharaoh’s daughter.
Miriam
Miriam has watched her mama hide her baby brother Moses for three months, but now her mama is out of options. In a desperate attempt to save his life, she accompanies her mom to the River Nile and watches her place him among the reeds in a basket. Did Jochebed explain to her what she was up to? Or did Miriam just walk quietly by her side? The text does not tell us, but it must have been a confusing and terror-filled experience for Miriam. Yet, despite her fears, young Miriam kept her wits about her.
She watches as Pharaoh’s maid servant takes the baby boy and gives him to the Egyptian princess. When she sees her take compassion on her baby brother, Miriam springs into action. She approaches Pharaoh’s daughter and asks her if she should find someone to nurse the child. Pharaoh’s daughter agrees, and Miriam goes and gets her mother. Pharaoh gives the baby back to Jochebed and asks her to nurse the child, and promises to pay her wages. Only God working through several women and an astute Miriam could engineer such an outcome in the midst of horror. (Exodus 2:1-10)
The Maid Servant
The woman servant attends to Pharaoh’s daughter while she bathes in the Nile. It is a day like any other day, until it isn’t. Her mistress notices something in the reeds and asks her to go investigate. As she approached the basket, the maid servant could hear muffled whimpers inside. It sounds like a baby! Could it be a Hebrew baby boy?
The text does not tell us what went through the maid servant’s mind, but you wonder if she questioned the princess’s orders. Did she recall the command given by Pharaoh? Was she afraid to disobey him? Or was she confident in the protection of Pharaoh’s daughter? In the end, we are not sure what her state of mind was, but she took part in the rescue of baby Moses by obeying the princess’s command. (Exodus 2:1-10)
Pharaoh’s Daughter
What does an Egyptian princess do on a hot day? She bathes in the Nile River, of course. But she cannot go out there alone; she takes a full entourage of faithful female servants. Pharaoh’s daughter did not know that her trip to the river would put her face-to-face with the future leader of Israel.
While bathing, she hears a strange muffled sound. She turns her gaze towards it and sees a basket among the reeds. What could that be? She leans towards one of her ladies and asks her to fetch the basket bobbing in the water. Her maid servant quickly obeys and fetches the bundle. With anticipation, the princess takes the basket from her maid and gently opens the lid. Inside, an adorable baby boy is crying. But it isn’t just any boy. She could tell it was a Hebrew baby.
Her father, Pharaoh, had commanded all Egyptians to toss Hebrew baby boys into the Nile. However, she was not just any Egyptian. She was the daughter of Pharaoh after all. No, this one would not die; he would become a prince of Egypt. He would become her son.
And in doing so, Pharaoh’s daughter rescues Moses, becoming the sixth woman mentioned in the first two chapters of Exodus and the sixth woman to rescue Moses. (Exodus 2:1-10)
Zipporah
The first six women rescued Moses in his infancy, but Zipporah would rescue Moses as an adult. Interestingly enough, she does not rescue him from Pharaoh but rather from God’s wrath.
Zipporah’s account is a story that leaves you scratching your head when you first come across it. Her whole story appears in only 3 verses. (Exodus 4:24-26). One minute, Moses is preparing to go to Egypt after having an amazing encounter with God, and the next minute, Zipporah is circumcising their adolescent (or possibly adult) son to save Moses from being killed by God. The text then fast forwards to Aaron meeting Moses when he arrives in Egypt. There is no further explanation given.
While difficult to understand at a cursory glance, there is much implied that requires a bit of unpacking. I walk you through all of it in “Zipporah: The Untold Story,” and it is a story worth reading!
One Great Leader: Seven Heroic Women
Moses would rescue Israel from Egypt by following God’s commands and would later lead them through their journey in the wilderness. He was a leader hand-picked by God, but he was also a leader who did not do it alone. In fact, he had many people along the way to help him. For example, Aaron was Moses’s spokesman when he encountered Pharaoh, and Joshua was a faithful servant whose help was indispensable. However, it was seven women who rescued his life at critical moments—from infancy through adulthood. These women were true ezers to Moses, courageous protectors and lifesavers placed strategically by God in his path. Their obedience, quick thinking, compassion, and bold faith not only spared Moses but paved the way for the deliverance of an entire nation. In the end, the story of Moses reminds us that God’s greatest plans often unfold through the quiet heroism of women who fear Him more than any earthly power. May we honor their legacy by recognizing the vital roles women continue to play in God’s redemptive work today.
To learn more about the meaning of “ezer,” please read: The Amazing Truth About God and Women
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