Exodus 2:7

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get ¹  a nursing woman ²  for you from the Hebrews, so that she may nurse ³  the child for you?”

Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, "Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?"

Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. "Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?" she asked.

Then his sister was before her: "Do you want me to go and get a nursing mother from the Hebrews so she can nurse the baby for you?"

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, May I go and get you one of the Hebrew women to give him the breast?

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, "Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?"

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, "Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?"

Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get ¹  a nursing woman ²  for you from the Hebrews, so that she may nurse ³  the child for you?”

¹ sn The text uses קָרָא (qara’), meaning “to call” or “summon.” Pharaoh himself will “summon” Moses many times in the plague narratives. Here the word is used for the daughter summoning the child’s mother to take care of him. The narratives in the first part of the book of Exodus include a good deal of foreshadowing of events that occur in later sections of the book (see M. Fishbane, Biblical Text and Texture).

² tn The object of the verb “get/summon” is “a woman.” But מֵינֶקֶת (meneqet, “nursing”), the Hiphil participle of the verb יָנַק (yanaq, “to suck”), is in apposition to it, clarifying what kind of woman should be found – a woman, a nursing one. Of course Moses’ mother was ready for the task.

³ tn The form וְתֵינִק (vÿteniq) is the Hiphil imperfect/jussive, third feminine singular, of the same root as the word for “nursing.” It is here subordinated to the preceding imperfect (“shall I go”) and perfect with vav (ו) consecutive (“and summon”) to express the purpose: “in order that she may.”

sn No respectable Egyptian woman of this period would have undertaken the task of nursing a foreigner’s baby, and so the suggestion by Miriam was proper and necessary. Since she was standing a small distance away from the events, she was able to come forward when the discovery was made.