Exodus 2:5 Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to retrieve it.

◄ Exodus 2:5 ►

New International Version
Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it.

New Living Translation
Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her.

English Standard Version
Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it.

Berean Standard Bible
Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to retrieve it.

King James Bible
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

New King James Version
Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.

New American Standard Bible
Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her female attendants walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave woman, and she brought it to her.

NASB 1995
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her.

NASB 1977
Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her young women walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the ark among the reeds and sent her maidservant, and she took it to her.

Amplified Bible
Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, and [she, together with] her maidens walked along the river’s bank; she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid [to get it], and she brought it to her.

Christian Standard Bible
Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe at the Nile while her servant girls walked along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds, sent her slave girl, took it,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe at the Nile while her servant girls walked along the riverbank. Seeing the basket among the reeds, she sent her slave girl to get it.

American Standard Version
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river-side; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it.

Contemporary English Version
About that time one of the king's daughters came down to take a bath in the river, while her servant women walked along the river bank. She saw the basket in the tall grass and sent one of them to pull it out of the water.

English Revised Version
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river side; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
While Pharaoh's daughter came to the Nile to take a bath, her servants walked along the bank of the river. She saw the basket among the papyrus plants and sent her slave girl to get it.

Good News Translation
The king's daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her servants walked along the bank. Suddenly she noticed the basket in the tall grass and sent a slave woman to get it.

International Standard Version
Then Pharaoh's daughter came down to the Nile River to bathe while her maids walked along the river bank. She saw the container among the reeds and sent a servant girl to get it.

Majority Standard Bible
Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to retrieve it.

NET Bible
Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself by the Nile, while her attendants were walking alongside the river, and she saw the basket among the reeds. She sent one of her attendants, took it,

New Heart English Bible
Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe at the river. Her maidens walked along by the riverside. She saw the box among the rushes, and sent her handmaid to get it.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river, and her maidens walked along by the river's side: and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

World English Bible
Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe at the river. Her maidens walked along by the riverside. She saw the basket among the reeds, and sent her servant to get it.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
And a daughter of Pharaoh comes down to bathe at the River, and her girls are walking by the side of the River, and she sees the ark in the midst of the weeds, and sends her handmaid, and she takes it,

Young's Literal Translation
And a daughter of Pharaoh cometh down to bathe at the River, and her damsels are walking by the side of the River, and she seeth the ark in the midst of the weeds, and sendeth her handmaid, and she taketh it,

Smith's Literal Translation
And the daughter of Pharaoh will come down to wash at the river; and her maids going by the side of the river: and she will see the ark in the midst of the sedge, and she will send her maid and she will take it.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And behold the daughter of Pharao came down to wash herself in the river: and her maids walked by the river's brink. And when she saw the basket in the sedges, she sent one of her maids for it: and when it was brought,

Catholic Public Domain Version
Then, behold, the daughter of Pharaoh descended to wash in the river. And her maids walked along the edge of the cove. And when she had seen the small basket among the papyruses, she sent one of her servants for it. And when it was brought,

New American Bible
Then Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe at the Nile, while her attendants walked along the bank of the Nile. Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it.

New Revised Standard Version
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maidens to fetch it.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down that she may wash in the river and her maids were walking on the side of the river, and she saw the ark in the shallows and she sent her maids and they took it.

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the river; and her maidens walked along by the river-side; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the daughter of Pharao came down to the river to bathe; and her maids walked by the river's side, and having seen the ark in the ooze, she sent her maid, and took it up.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Pharaoh's Daughter Rescues Moses
5Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to retrieve it. 6When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Acts 7:21
When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.

Hebrews 11:23
By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king’s edict.

Acts 7:19-20
He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die. / At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God. For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house.

Matthew 2:13-15
When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.” / So he got up, took the Child and His mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt, / where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Genesis 41:1-3
After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile, / when seven cows, sleek and well-fed, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. / After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river.

1 Kings 3:1
Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the LORD, as well as the wall around Jerusalem.

Isaiah 19:5-6
The waters of the Nile will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and empty. / The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither.

1 Samuel 1:20-22
So in the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.” / Then Elkanah and all his house went up to make the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, / but Hannah did not go. “After the boy is weaned,” she said to her husband, “I will take him to appear before the LORD and to stay there permanently.”

2 Kings 18:4
He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.

Genesis 6:14
Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out.

Genesis 12:10
Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

Genesis 16:7-10
Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur. / “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied. / So the angel of the LORD told her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.” ...

Genesis 21:14-19
Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. / When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. / Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I cannot bear to watch the boy die!” And as she sat nearby, she lifted up her voice and wept. ...

Genesis 24:15-20
Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. / Now the girl was very beautiful, a virgin who had not had relations with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up again. / So the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me have a little water from your jar.” ...

Genesis 29:9-10
While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. / As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, with Laban’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.

Treasury of Scripture

And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

daughter.

Acts 7:21
And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

herself.

when she.

1 Kings 17:6
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

Psalm 9:9
The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

Psalm 12:5
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.

Jump to Previous

Alongside Ark Bank Basket Bath Bathe Daughter Fetch Flags Girl Handmaid Herself Maid Maidens Midst Nile Pharaoh Pharaoh's Reeds River River's Riverside River-Side Servant-Girl Side Slave Walked Walking Wash Women

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Exodus 2

1. Moses is born, and placed in a basket in the reeds of Nile.
5. He is found, and brought up by Pharaoh's daughter;
7. who employs his mother to nurse him.
11. He kills an Egyptian.
13. He reproves a Hebrew.
15. He flees into Midian, and marries Zipporah.
22. Gershom is born.
23. God respects the Israelites' cry.

Berean Study Bible

Soon the daughter of Pharaoh
The phrase "daughter of Pharaoh" indicates a person of high status and privilege in ancient Egypt. Pharaohs were considered divine or semi-divine figures, and their families were treated with reverence. The Hebrew word for "daughter" is "bat," which signifies a direct familial relationship. This highlights the providential nature of Moses' discovery, as God orchestrates events to place Moses in a position of influence and safety. Historically, Egyptian princesses were often involved in religious and cultural activities, which may explain her presence at the Nile.

went down to the Nile to bathe
The Nile River was central to Egyptian life, both as a source of sustenance and as a religious symbol. Bathing in the Nile could have been a ritualistic act, as the river was associated with the god Hapi, who was believed to bring fertility and life. The Hebrew verb "yarad," meaning "to go down," suggests a deliberate action, indicating that this was a routine or significant event. This setting underscores the divine orchestration, as the Nile becomes the meeting place for Moses' salvation.

and her attendants were walking along the riverbank
The presence of attendants signifies the princess's high status and the normalcy of her activities. The Hebrew word "na'arot" for "attendants" can also mean young women or maidens, suggesting a retinue of servants. This detail emphasizes the structured and hierarchical nature of Egyptian society. The attendants' presence also serves a narrative function, as they become witnesses to the unfolding divine plan.

When she saw the basket among the reeds
The "basket" is described in Hebrew as "tevah," the same word used for Noah's ark, symbolizing divine protection and deliverance. The "reeds" or "suf" in Hebrew, often associated with the Red Sea (Yam Suf), foreshadow the future deliverance of the Israelites. The act of seeing, "ra'ah" in Hebrew, implies perception and understanding, suggesting that the princess's discovery is not merely coincidental but part of a larger divine narrative.

she sent her maidservant to retrieve it
The action of sending her maidservant, "shalah" in Hebrew, indicates authority and command. This act of retrieval is pivotal, as it brings Moses into the Egyptian royal household. The maidservant's obedience reflects the social order and the princess's influence. This moment marks the beginning of Moses' journey from a Hebrew child to a leader of his people, orchestrated by God's providence through seemingly ordinary events.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(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 (amah), and to her the princess addressed herself.

Pulpit Commentary

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.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

Soon the daughter
בַּת־ (baṯ-)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 1323: A daughter

of Pharaoh
פַּרְעֹה֙ (par·‘ōh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 6547: Pharaoh -- a title of Egypt kings

went down
וַתֵּ֤רֶד (wat·tê·reḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3381: To come or go down, descend

to bathe
לִרְחֹ֣ץ (lir·ḥōṣ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 7364: To wash, wash off or away, bathe

in
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the Nile,
הַיְאֹ֔ר (hay·’ōr)
Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 2975: Nile -- a channel, a fosse, canal, shaft, the Nile, the Tigris

and her attendants
וְנַעֲרֹתֶ֥יהָ (wə·na·‘ă·rō·ṯe·hā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 5291: A girl, maiden

were walking
הֹלְכֹ֖ת (hō·lə·ḵōṯ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

along
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the riverbank.
יַ֣ד (yaḏ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3027: A hand

And when she saw
וַתֵּ֤רֶא (wat·tê·re)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

the basket
הַתֵּבָה֙ (hat·tê·ḇāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8392: A box, chest

among
בְּת֣וֹךְ (bə·ṯō·wḵ)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8432: A bisection, the centre

the reeds,
הַסּ֔וּף (has·sūp̄)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5488: A reed, the papyrus

she sent
וַתִּשְׁלַ֥ח (wat·tiš·laḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

her maidservant
אֲמָתָ֖הּ (’ă·mā·ṯāh)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 519: A maidservant, female slave

to retrieve it.
וַתִּקָּחֶֽהָ‪‬ (wat·tiq·qā·ḥe·hā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

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OT Law: Exodus 2:5 Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe at (Exo. Ex)