The Book of Jubilees

From The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament

by R.H. Charles, Oxford: Clarendon Press,

1913.

Scanned and Edited by Joshua Williams, Northwest Nazarene
College.

Chapter 47

Birth of Moses, 1-4. Adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, 5-9. Slays an Egyptian
and flees (into Midian), 10-12. (Cf. Exod. i.22; ii. 2-15.)

And in the seventh week, in the seventh year, in the forty-seventh jubilee,
thy father went forth (2303 AM) from the land of Canaan, and thou wast born
in the fourth week, in the sixth year thereof, in the (2330 AM) forty-eighth
jubilee; this was the time of tribulation on the children of Israel.

And Pharaoh, king of Egypt, issued a command regarding them that they should
cast all their male children which were born into the river.

And they cast them in for seven months until the day that thou wast born

And thy mother hid thee for three months, and they told regarding her. And
she made an ark for thee, and covered it with pitch and asphalt, and placed
it in the flags on the bank of the river, and she placed thee in it seven days,
and thy mother came by night and suckled thee, and by day Miriam, thy sister,
guarded thee from the birds.

And in those days Tharmuth, the daughter of Pharaoh, came to bathe in the
river, and she heard thy voice crying, and she told her maidens to bring thee
forth, and they brought thee unto her.

And she took thee out of the ark, and she had compassion on thee.

And thy sister said unto her: ‘Shall I go and call unto thee one of the
Hebrew women to nurse and suckle this babe for thee?’

And she said

And afterwards, when thou wast grown up, they brought thee unto the daughter
of Pharaoh, and thou didst become her son, and Amram thy father taught thee
writing, and after thou hadst completed three weeks they brought thee into the
royal court.

And thou wast three weeks of years at court until the time (2351-) when
thou didst go forth from the royal court and didst see an Egyptian smiting thy
friend who was (2372 AM) of the children of Israel, and thou didst slay him
and hide him in the sand.

And on the second day thou didst and two of the children of Israel striving
together, and thou didst say to him who was doing the wrong: ‘Why dost thou
smite thy brother?’

And he was angry and indignant, and said: ‘Who made thee a prince and a
judge over us? Thinkest thou to kill me as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday?’
And thou didst fear and flee on account of these words.