Jochebed (JAHK-uh-bed) was the mother of Moses, Aaron, and their sister Miriam. She is remembered for protecting Moses as a baby when Egypt’s king ordered the deaths of Hebrew newborn boys.
Birth year: Unknown.
Death year: Unknown.
Active during: The period of Israelite slavery in Egypt, before the departure led by Moses. A secure calendar date for her life is not known.
Family: Mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam; married to Amram.
Community: The tribe of Levi, one of the Israelite family groups.
Main passages: Exodus 2:1–10; Exodus 6:20; Numbers 26:59; Hebrews 11:23.
Her place in the family
The mother in Exodus 2 is unnamed there. Exodus 6:20 and Numbers 26:59 identify her as Jochebed. Her husband was Amram (AM-ram). Numbers describes her as born in Egypt within the family of Levi. These family records do not supply her age or lifespan.
Protecting Moses
She hid her baby for three months. When hiding him was no longer possible, she waterproofed a basket made from river plants and placed him among the reeds beside the Nile. His sister watched nearby. The king’s daughter found him and, through the sister’s offer of help, hired his own mother to nurse him.
When he was older, Jochebed brought him to the king’s daughter, who adopted him and named him Moses. The story does not say how old he was at that handover or how often his mother saw him afterward.
How Scripture remembers the parents
Hebrews 11:23 describes the parents’ protection of Moses as an act of faith. The credit there belongs to both parents. Exodus gives particular attention to the mother’s care, the sister’s initiative, and the king’s daughter’s compassion.
Dates and location
The broad setting is Egypt, associated with the Nile Delta in the north. Neither her home nor the basket’s riverbank has a secure modern identification. A map can explain the region without supplying a location the text does not give.
Different proposed dates for the exodus do not establish Jochebed’s birth or death year. The portrait is an imagined historical illustration, not a record of her face, age, clothing, or house.
Explore the Nile Delta and its modern setting.
Read further
Exodus 2:1–10, NIV; Numbers 26:59, NIV; Hebrews 11:23, NIV; BiblicalTraining: Jochebed.