According to the Torah, the name “Moses” was given to the infant by Pharaoh’s daughter after she rescued him from the Nile. This event is described in Exodus 2:10, which states that she named him Moses because she drew him out of the water. The Hebrew verb used here is “mashah,” which means “to pull out” or “to draw out.” This etymology suggests that the name Moses is derived from this action of being pulled out of the water.
It is important to note that the naming of Moses was significant in the biblical narrative. The Pharaoh had ordered the killing of all Hebrew male infants, but Moses’ mother, in a desperate attempt to save him, placed him in a basket and set it adrift on the Nile. Miraculously, Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby and decided to adopt him as her own. By naming him Moses, she acknowledged the circumstances of his rescue and the fact that he had been drawn out of the water.
The significance of the name Moses extends beyond its etymology. Moses went on to become one of the most important figures in Jewish history. He was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and to receive the divine law on Mount Sinai. The name Moses became associated with his role as the deliverer and leader of his people.
Interestingly, the naming of Moses also has potential connections to ancient Egyptian language and culture. In ancient Egyptian, the word “mose” or “moses” meant “child” or “son.” This has led some scholars to speculate that Moses may have been given an Egyptian name at birth and that the name given to him by Pharaoh’s daughter was a Hebrew adaptation of that name. However, there is no conclusive evidence to support this theory, and the biblical account attributes the naming of Moses directly to Pharaoh’s daughter and her act of drawing him out of the water.
According to the Torah, the name Moses was given to the infant by Pharaoh’s daughter after she rescued him from the Nile. The name derived from the Hebrew verb “mashah,” meaning “to pull out” or “to draw out,” reflecting the circumstances of his rescue. The name Moses became associated with his role as the deliverer and leader of the Israelites. While there are potential connections to ancient Egyptian language and culture, the biblical account attributes the naming directly to Pharaoh’s daughter.