The Pharaoh’s daughter (Hebrew: בַּת־פַּרְעֹה, lit. ‘daughter of Pharaoh’) in the story of the finding of Moses in the biblical Book of Exodus is an important, albeit minor, figure in Abrahamic religions. Though some variations of her story exist, the general consensus among Jews, Christians, and Muslims is that she is the adoptive mother of the prophet Moses.
Muslims identify her with Asiya, the Great Royal Wife of the pharaoh. In either version, she saved Moses from certain death from both the Nile river and from the Pharaoh. As she ensured the well-being of Moses throughout his early life, she played an essential role in lifting the Hebrew slaves out of bondage in Egypt, their journey to the Promised Land, and the establishment of the Ten Commandments.
The Book of Exodus (Exodus 2:5) does not give a name to Pharaoh’s daughter, or to her father; she is referred to in Hebrew as simply the Bat-Paroh (Hebrew: בת־פרעה), a Hebrew phrase that literally translates to “daughter of Pharaoh.” The Book of Jubilees (Jubilees 47:5) and Josephus both name her as Thermouthis (Greek: Θερμουθις), also transliterated as Tharmuth and Thermutis, the Greek name of Renenutet, the Egyptian snake deity
Meanwhile, some within Jewish tradition have tried to identify her with a “daughter of Pharaoh” in 1 Chronicles 4:17 named Bithiah. An example of this is found in Leviticus Rabbah (Leviticus Rabbah 1:3), which refers to her as Bit-Yah (Hebrew: בתיה, lit.
daughter of Yahweh’), also transliterated as Batyah and Bithiah, and it is written that she is given the name for her adoption of Moses, that because she had made Moses her son, Yahweh would make her his daughterAlso in the Books of Chronicles (1 Chronicles 4:18), she is called ha yehudiyyah Hebrew:, lit. ’the Jewess’), which some English translations of the Bible treat as a given name, Jehudijah
(Hebrew romanized: yehudiyyah, lit. ‘Jewess’),
notably the King James Version, but the word is actually an appelative, there to indicate that Pharaoh’s daughter was no longer a pagan However, some have criticized the idea that the “daughter of Pharaoh” in 1 Chronicles named Bithiah is the same as the one who adopted Moses since there is no textual indication that this is the case and the chronology may not be consistent with that conclusion.
