Pharaoh's Daughter

Three Egyptian princesses, daughters of Pharaohs, are mentioned in Scripture. (1.) The unnamed daughter of the Pharaoh who oppressed Israel, who discovered the infant Moses in a basket in the Nile, took pity on him, and raised him in the royal court (Ex. 2:5–10). She named him Moses (Hebrew Mosheh) from the Egyptian word for "born of" or from the Hebrew for "drawn out." Hebrews 11:24 credits Moses with refusing to be called "the son of Pharaoh's daughter" when he chose to identify with God's people. (2.) Bithiah ("daughter of Yahweh"), wife of Mered of Judah (1 Chr. 4:18), likely from the same period. (3.) A wife of Solomon (1 Kings 3:1; 7:8; 9:16, 24), who received as dowry the city of Gezer, which her father had burned and given to Solomon. This politically advantageous marriage indicates the high status Solomon enjoyed in international diplomacy.