Exodus 2:5

Exodus 2:5-6 . And the daughter of Pharaoh came — Providence brings no less a person than Pharaoh’s daughter just at that juncture, guides her to the place where this poor infant lay, inclines her heart to pity it, which she dares do, when none else durst. Never did poor child cry so seasonably as this did; the babe wept — Which moved her compassion, as no doubt his beauty did.

(5) The daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself. —This would be quite in accordance with Egyptian ideas. “Women were allowed great liberty in Egypt, and moved about much as they pleased. Cleanliness was especially regarded; and the Nile water was considered healthy and fructifying (Strab. 15 p. 695). The princess would, of course, seek a part of the river which was reserved for females. Probably Jochebed know where she was accustomed to bathe. Her maidens.—As a princess, she was, of course, accompanied by a number of female attendants (na’aroth). Even ordinary Egyptian ladies seem to have been attended at the bath by four or five such persons. One of them was, however, more especially her waiting-woman (âmah), and to her the princess addressed herself.Benson CommentaryExodus 2:5-6. And the daughter of Pharaoh came — Providence brings no less a person than Pharaoh’s daughter just at that juncture, guides her to the place where this poor infant lay, inclines her heart to pity it, which she dares do, when none else durst. Never did poor child cry so seasonably as this did; the babe wept — Which moved her compassion, as no doubt his beauty did.Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary2:5-10 Come, see the place where that great man, Moses, lay, when he was a little child; it was in a bulrush basket by the river's side. Had he been left there long, he must have perished.

But Providence brings Pharaoh's daughter to the place where this poor forlorn infant lay, and inclines her heart to pity it, which she dares do, when none else durst. God's care of us in our infancy ought to be often mentioned by us to his praise. Pharaoh cruelly sought to destroy Israel, but his own daughter had pity on a Hebrew child, and not only so, but, without knowing it, preserved Israel's deliverer, and provided Moses with a good nurse, even his own mother. That he should have a Hebrew nurse, the sister of Moses brought the mother into the place of a nurse. Moses was treated as the son of Pharoah's daughter. Many who, by their birth, are obscure and poor, by surprising events of Providence, are raised high in the world, to make men know that God rules.Barnes' Notes on the BibleThe traditions which give a name to the daughter of Pharaoh are merely conjectural. Egyptian princesses held a very high and almost independent position under the ancient and middle empire, with a separate household and numerous officials. This was especially the case with the daughters of the first sovereigns of the 18th Dynasty.Many facts concur in indicating that the residence of the daughter of Pharaoh and of the family of Moses, was at Zoan, Tanis, now San, the ancient Avaris (Exodus 1:8 note), on the Tanitic branch of the river, near the sea, where crocodiles are never found, and which was probably the western boundary of the district occupied by the Israelites.

Verse 5. - The daughter of Pharaoh . Probably a daughter of Seti I. and a sister of Rameses the Great. Josephus calls her Thermuthis; Syncellus, Pharia; Artapanus, Merrhis, and some of the Jewish commentators, Bithia - the diversity showing that there was no genuine tradition on the subject. There is nothing improbable in an Egyptian princess bathing in the Nile, at a place reserved for women. (See Wilkinson, 'Manners and Customs of Ancient Egyptians,' vol. 3. p. 389.) The Nile was regarded as sacred, and its water as health-giving and fructifying (Strab. 15. p. 695). Her maidens . Egyptian ladies of high rank are represented on the monuments as attended to the bath by a number of handmaidens. As many as four are seen in one representation (Wilkinson, 1.s.c. ). Her maid is her special personal attendant, the others being merely women attached to her household. Exodus 2:5

The traditions which give a name to the daughter of Pharaoh are merely conjectural. Egyptian princesses held a very high and almost independent position under the ancient and middle empire, with a separate household and numerous officials. This was especially the case with the daughters of the first sovereigns of the 18th Dynasty. Many facts concur in indicating that the residence of the daughter of Pharaoh and of the family of Moses, was at Zoan, Tanis, now San, the ancient Avaris (Exodus 1:8 note), on the Tanitic branch of the river, near the sea, where crocodiles are never found, and which was probably the western boundary of the district occupied by the Israelites. The field of Zoan was always associated by the Hebrews with the marvels which preceded the Exodus. See Psalm 78:43. To wash - It is not customary at present for women of rank to bathe in the river, but it was a common practice in ancient Egypt. The habits of the princess, as well as her character, must have been well known to the mother of Moses, and probably decided her choice of the place.

5 . the daughter of Pharaoh ] Tradition gave her name as Tharmuth (Jubilees xlvii. 5), Thermouthis (Jos. Ant. ii. 9. 5), or Merris (Euseb. Praep. Ev . ix. 27). Rameses II is stated to have had 59 daughters (Petrie, Hist. iii. 38, 82); but neither of these names appears among the 45 that have been preserved ( ibid. p. 37 f.). came down ] presumably, from her palace: though where this was, or where indeed the entire incident took place, the narrative does not state. Perhaps Tanis (Zoan), one of the chief royal residences in the NE. of the Delta, near the mouth of the Tanitic branch of the Nile, is intended. to bathe ] Women of any position do not at present bathe in the Nile (Lane, Mod. Egyptians , ii. 36): whether the case was different formerly, we do not know. The painting, from a tomb in Thebes (Wilk.-Birch, ii. 353), referred to by Dillmann, and in the Speaker’s Comm ., represents (Griffith) not a lady in her bath, but a lady seated in her clothing on a mat, and being anointed and adorned for a party by her attendants (cf. Erman, p. 187). The Nile was regarded as sacred, and as a giver of life and fertility; but whether this led to the practice of bathing in it, is more than we know.