Who Named Moses?

When Moses was born, Pharoah was kiling the sons born of the Children of Israel, so God inspired Moses mother to…

[28:7] We inspired Moses’ mother: “Nurse him, and when you fear for his life, throw him into the river without fear or grief. We will return him to you, and will make him one of the messengers.”

 وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمِّ مُوسَىٰ أَنْ أَرْضِعِيهِ فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ وَلَا تَخَافِي وَلَا تَحْزَنِي إِنَّا رَادُّوهُ إِلَيْكِ وَجَاعِلُوهُ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ

Moses was discovered by the family of Pharoah.

[28:8] Pharaoh’s family picked him up, only to have him lead the opposition and to be a source of grief for them. That is because Pharaoh, Hãmãn, and their troops were transgressors.

 فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا كَانُوا خَاطِئِينَ

And Pharoah’s wife decided to save him and adopt the baby as one of her own.

[28:9] Pharaoh’s wife said, “This can be a joyous find for me and you. Do not kill him, for he may be of some benefit for us, or we may adopt him to be our son.” They had no idea.

 وَقَالَتِ امْرَأَتُ فِرْعَوْنَ قُرَّتُ عَيْنٍ لِي وَلَكَ لَا تَقْتُلُوهُ عَسَىٰ أَنْ يَنْفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

During this time the sister of Moses was growing anxious so she sent Moses’s sister to trace his steps.

[28:10] The mind of Moses’ mother was growing so anxious that she almost gave away his identity. But we strengthened her heart, to make her a believer.

 وَأَصْبَحَ فُؤَادُ أُمِّ مُوسَىٰ فَارِغًا إِنْ كَادَتْ لَتُبْدِي بِهِ لَوْلَا أَنْ رَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قَلْبِهَا لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

[28:11] She said to his sister, “Trace his path.” She watched him from afar, while they did not perceive.

 وَقَالَتْ لِأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ فَبَصُرَتْ بِهِ عَنْ جُنُبٍ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

And it wasn’t until the women failed to be able to properly nurse him that Moses’s sister suggested..

[28:12] We forbade him from accepting all the nursing mothers. (His sister) then said, “I can show you a family that can raise him for you, and take good care of him.”

 وَحَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِ الْمَرَاضِعَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَقَالَتْ هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ أَهْلِ بَيْتٍ يَكْفُلُونَهُ لَكُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُ نَاصِحُونَ

Thus Moses was reunited with his mother.

[28:13] Thus, we restored him to his mother, in order to please her, remove her worries, and to let her know that GOD’s promise is the truth. However, most of them do not know.

 فَرَدَدْنَاهُ إِلَىٰ أُمِّهِ كَيْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُهَا وَلَا تَحْزَنَ وَلِتَعْلَمَ أَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

But who named Moses? It is not likely that the family of Pharoah would allow what they believed to be a random nursing mother to determine the name of the baby, so most likely the baby was named by the family of Pharoah or particularly the wife of Pharoah who wanted to adopt him as a son.

According to the Bible, the name “Moses” comes from the Hebrew verb, meaning “to pull out/draw out” [of water], and the infant Moses was given this name by Pharaoh’s daughter after she rescued him from the Nile (Exodus 2:10).

2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, ² and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. ⁵ 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. ⁶ She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. ⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”⁸ “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

Since the rise of Egyptology and decipherment of hieroglyphs, it was postulated that the name of Moses, with a similar pronunciation as the Hebrew Moshe, is the Egyptian word for Son, with Pharaoh names such as Thutmose and Ramesses roughly translating to “son of Thoth” and “son of Ra,” respectively. So Moses would be translated the son which was drawn or extracted out of the water.

Meaning
– Child, Rescued From Drowning In Water
– Extracted, Loan
– Hidden, Covered

Etymology
– From the Egyptian noun mes, child, or from (1) mo, water, and (2) uses, saved from drowning.
– From the Hebrew verb משה (masha), to extract from water, or the noun משה (mashe), a loan.
– From the Greek verb μυσω (muso), to hide or cover.

But Moses being extracted from water did not end with this event. We see that this was to happen again when fleeing from Pharoah and his troops.

[26:61] When both parties saw each other, Moses’ people said, “We will be caught.” [26:62] He said, “No way. My Lord is with me; He will guide me.” [26:63] We then inspired Moses: “Strike the sea with your staff,” whereupon it parted. Each part was like a great hill. [26:64] We then delivered them all. [26:65] We thus saved Moses and all those who were with him. [26:66] And we drowned the others. [26:67] This should be a sufficient proof, but most people are not believers. [26:68] Most assuredly, your Lord is the Almighty, Most Merciful.

So we see that this name was more suitable than even the wife of Pharoah could have perceived, and the only One who would be aware of such things was the One who created him and knew his future.

[20:37] “We have blessed you another time. [20:38] “When we revealed to your mother what we revealed. [20:39] “Saying: ‘Throw him into the box, then throw him into the river. The river will throw him onto the shore, to be picked up by an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his.’ I showered you with love from Me, and I had you made before My watchful eye. [20:40] “Your sister walked to them and said, ‘I can tell you about a nursing mother who can take good care of him.’ We thus returned you to your mother, that she may be happy and stop worrying. And when you killed a soul, we saved you from the grievous consequences; indeed we tested you thoroughly. You stayed years with the people of Midyan, and now you have come back in accordance with a precise plan. [20:41] “I have made you just for Me.