VIEWING YOKHEVED (Jochebed) VIEWING YOKHEVED (Jochebed) David J. Zucker, Independent Scholar, Aurora, Colorado, USA Abstract The book of Exodus specifically names Moses’ mother Yokheved (Jochebed) in chapter six, although her courageous acts are depicted earlier in chapter two. Yokheved is mentioned in the literature from the late Second Temple period. Likewise, there are several Midrashim that refer to her. It is primarily in the mid- 19th, and then the 20th/21st centuries that Jewish writers highlight Yokheved as a valorous woman. This arti- cle considers how she is featured throughout the ages, and offers some context for those presentations. Moses’ mother Yokheved (Jochebed) is mentioned by name in the Bible and also in the literature from the late Second Temple period and a bit beyond. A number of midrashic comments are made about her, although more is written about her daughter Miriam. Naturally huge amounts of comments address the lives of her sons: her firstborn, Aaron, and then even more so, Moses. In the mid-19th, and then the 20th/21st centuries a number of Jewish writers consider her deeds and highlight Yokheved as a valorous woman. This article considers how she is viewed and under- stood (primarily in Jewish sources) throughout the ages, and offers some context for those pres- entations. BIBLICAL REFERENCES Yokheved, Moses’ mother is specifically referred to by her personal name twice in the Bible: in Exodus 6:20 and Numbers 26:59. References to her actions, although anonymized, are found in seven verses in Exodus 2. These brief references to Yokheved are found in the received Torah text. They may stem from different sources, but that is not a major focus of this article, which rather considers the Torah in its redacted form. The various biblical views of Yokheved need to be considered within the socio-historic context of the Bible itself. In biblical times, men and women were interdependent upon each other. Women had roles in economic life, as well as in educational, managerial, and religious life. Yet, despite the fact that in ancient Israel, daily life centered on the family household, women had less power and prominence than did men. Un- doubtedly there are examples of powerful women in the Hebrew Bible. Deborah is both a judge and a prophet. Miriam, Huldah, Isaiah’s unnamed wife, and Noadiah, are all termed prophets (Exod 15:20; 2 Kgs 22:14/2 Chr 34:22; Isa 8:3; Neh 6:14); Esther is a Queen, and other queens, and some description of their roles are mentioned, including Jezebel in Kings, and Athalya in the Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 14 Number 1 (2017) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2017 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no repro- duction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors. 1 VIEWING YOKHEVED (Jochebed) books of Kings and Chronicles. Nonetheless, generally compared to their male companions, women’s actions, never mind their authority/power are restrained. In the overall pattern of patri- archy of the biblical world, women are secondary figures. The Torah, and the Bible as a whole, focuses on the deeds of men. Over ninety percent of named characters in the Bible are males. As Aviva Cayam notes, “God’s directives, miracles and prom- ises are most often transmitted to men, while women’s lives form the backdrop for many biblical lessons.”1 Cayam refers to Yokheved as an example of a woman who found courage in the face of persecution. There are a limited number of biblical references to women by-their-personal-name as mothers of specific children, for example Eve (Cain, Abel), the Matriarchs (Isaac, Esau, Jacob, Reuben, Simeon etc.), Hannah (Samuel), Bathsheba (Solomon) and several of the mothers of rulers in the book of Second Chronicles (cf. 2 Chr 13:2; 15:16; 22:2 etc.) On rare occasions, there are narra- tives about mothers with children (for example in the Elijah and Elisha narratives in Kings 1 and 2) but these women are not identified by their personal names. The Bible’s presentation of Yok- heved therefore is unique in its paying close attention to certain details about her experiences. Exodus 2 Yokheved as a figure first appears early in Exodus, but she is anonymized at this point as is the case with her husband.2 “A certain man of the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman” (Exodus 2:1. Yokheved first will be identified by name in chapter 6). Although at this point she is nameless, chapter two relates a great deal about Moses’ mother. 1A certain man of the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman.2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw how beautiful he was, she hid him for three months.3 When she could hide him no longer, she got a wicker basket for him and caulked it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child into it and placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.4 And his sister stationed herself at a distance, to learn what would befall him.5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, while her maidens walked along the Nile. She spied the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to fetch it.6 When she opened it, she saw that it was a child, a boy crying. She took pity on it and said, “This must be a Hebrew child.”7 Then his sister said to Phar- aoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a Hebrew nurse to suckle the child for you?”8 And Pharaoh’s daughter answered, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it.10 When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who made him her son. She named him Moses, explaining, “I drew him out of the water.” (Exodus 2:1-10). Verse [Vs] 1. The text makes clear that parentage of the future revered leader Moses is both pa- ternally and maternally explicitly from one tribe; specifically that of the Levites. That his pro- Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Volume 14 Number 1 (2017) ISSN 1209-9392 © 2017 Women in Judaism, Inc. All material in the journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no repro- duction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors. 2 VIEWING YOKHEVED (Jochebed) genitors are not named serves to heighten tension; it creates a bit of mystery. By mentioning only one proper name in this section, that of Moses himself, and that not until verse 10, the narrative highlights the importance of his being above all else. Scholars debate whether this is an E or a J source, although there is general agreement that when Yokheved is finally named in chapter six, that this latter verse comes from the P source.3 Priests, for all priests are Levites, are keen to highlight a purity of lineage. This verse also establishes, or at least strongly infers, that Moses’ older siblings Aaron and Miriam are pureblood Levites. Technically, of course, that these un- named Levites are the parents of the soon to be conceived Moses, does not in and of itself “prove” that the same couple already had two older children Aaron and Miriam. It is for this rea- son that rabbinic Midrash, as shall be discussed below, provided an explanation that in this in- stance these two specific people had been married, divorced, and then actually re-married. Vs 2. In verse 2, the narrative describes the mother’s emotional reaction to seeing her son: she saw he was a fine baby (NRSV); beautiful (NJPS); a fine child (NEB, NIV) – ki tov hu. The Bi- ble, a laconic work, is limited in its offering these kinds of evaluative descriptions, especially when it comes to dealing with female characters. There are exceptions: in Genesis the Torah had noted Sarah’s emotional reaction to what she perceived to be Hagar’s “slight” of her (Gen 16:5), and possibly Ishmael’s “slight” of Isaac (Gen 21:9). Later in the book of Samuel, Michal’s anger and disappointment at King David’s public behavior does merit attention (2 Sam 6:16), yet these are rare observations. Consequently, explaining Yokheved’s assessment is noteworthy. Verse 2 also explains that Yokheved actively protects her son during the most early and vulnerable months of life. Further, she hides him from view. Vs 3. When he can no longer be hidden by ordinary means, it is the boy’s mother who comes up with a plan as what she might do to extend his life. She creates a kind of floating basket/carrycot. She finds appropriate materials, bitumen and pitch and then she herself waterproofs the apparatus and places her child in it. The word that Exodus uses for this container is teivah, the exact same word found in Genesis 6-9 where Noah builds something that will save his family from the rav- ages of water. She then personally sets it afloat along the banks of the Nile itself, clearly nearby a place where Egyptian royalty bathe.