The paternity of Jochebed and her blood relation to Amram her husband was another question needing research, as well as when she might fit into the timeline.
Exo 2.1 And a man went from the house of Levi and took a daughter of Levi. (Masoretic) Exo 2.1 And there was a certain man of the tribe of Levi who took to wife one of the daughters of Levi. (Septuagint) Exo 6.20 Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years. (Masoretic text) Exo 6.20 And Ambram took to wife Jochabed the daughter of his father's brother, and she bore to him both Aaron and Moses, and Mariam their sister and the years of the life of Ambram were a hundred and thirty-two years. (Septuagint) Num 26.59(1) And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore Aaron and Moses to Amram, and their sister Miriam. (Masoretic text) Num 26.59 And the name of his (Ambram) wife was Jochabed daughter of Levi, who bore these to Levi in Egypt, and she bore to Ambram, Aaron and Moses and Mairiam their sister. (Septuagint)
Jochebed in the line of Levi The first description of Jochebed in Scripture is simply as a daughter of Levi. This could be a reference similar to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, being called a daughter of Aaron. It could mean that Jochebed, along with other women, was simply a descendent of Levi, as opposed to being the birth daughter of Levi. While Exodus 6.20 in the Masoretic text leads to the conclusion that Amram married his aunt, checking the verse out in the Septuagint leads to a different conclusion. Numbers 26.59 in both the Masoretic text and the Septuagint tends to support the Septuagint translation of Exodus 6.20. In evaluating the information in these verses, it is important to remember that YHWH's precepts never change. A behavior that was unacceptable to Him in the Mosaic Law would have been just as unacceptable to Him 100 years earlier. In the Mosaic Law, YHWH specifically forbids having sexual relations with one's father's sister. "You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister: she is your father's relative." (Leviticus 18.12) It is very unlikely that Jochebed would have been Amram's aunt and and the mother of YHWH's deliverer of Israel.
Exo 6.20 Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years. (Masoretic text) Exo 6.20 And Ambram took to wife Jochabed the daughter of his father's brother, and she bore to him both Aaron and Moses, and Mariam their sister and the years of the life of Ambram were a hundred and thirty-two years. (Septuagint)
Now, looking at Scripture, just as the Septuagint preserved a fragment in Exodus 12.40-41 clarifying that the 430 years referred to the time between Abram entering the land of Canaan and the Exodus, so too does the Septuagint preserve a fragment clarifying Amram's blood relation to Jochebed. Jochebed was the daughter of Amram's father's brother, and not his father's sister. I believe this is an example of a copyist error in the later Masoretic text, but when it happened cannot be known. Amram and Jochebed were first cousins. Their marriage was what is called "a parallel cousin"(2) marriage. In the Ancient Near East, parallel cousin marriages meant a man marrying his father's brother's daughter or his mother's sister's daughter. A cross cousin marriage was marrying his father's sister's daughter or his mother's brother's daughter. The most desirable cousin marriage was marrying one's father's brother's daughter.(3) Abram and Sarai(4), Esau and Ishmael's daughter Mahalath, Isaac and Rebekah (his first cousin once removed) are all examples of parallel cousin marriages. Jacob marrying his mother's brother's daughters was an example of a cross cousin marriage. Therefore, according to theSeptuagint, Jochebed was the daugther of Izhar, Hebron, or Uzziel, the brothers of Kohath, Amram's father.
Num 26.59 And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore Aaron and Moses to Amram, and their sister Miriam. (Masoretic text) Num 26.59 And the name of his (Ambram) wife was Jochabed daughter of Levi, who bore these to Levi in Egypt, and she bore to Ambram, Aaron and Moses and Mairiam their sister. (Septuagint)
Once again, the Septuagint differs from the Masoretic text, this time in Numbers 26.59. The major difference is in the phrase "who was born to Levi in Egypt" or "who bore these to Levi in Egypt." The Septuagint implies that in baring her children to her husband Amram, Jochebed was also bearing them to Levi, the progeniter of their line. The Masoretic text imples that Jochebed herself was born in Egypt to Levi as his birth daughter. However, what may be involved here is the concept of 'lineal extension.''(5),(6) This is a Hebraic concept that a later descendent was in the loins of the ancestor(7) and thus the ancestor's child. Here the verse only skips one generation. This would be consistant with the idea that Jochebed was of the daughters of Levi, as Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist, was of the daughters of Aaron, as opposed to Jochebed being a birth daughter of Levi. Jochebed in the Chronology Now that Jochebed is Amram's first cousin and not his aunt, the question arises of where to place her in the Chronology. Scripture gives no life year information for Jochebed at all. However, the births of Moses and Aaron are life year dates related to Jochebed. Therefore, estimating Jochebed's age at Moses' birth would also allow calculation of her birth year and placement in the Chronology. Women can bear children naturally for only a limited time, say 12 years old to 50 years old. Since I think the miracle(8) surrounding Moses' birth was his not being killed by the Egyptians and then being found by Pharaoh's daughter, and not the age of his mother (as it was with Sarah),therefore, it's likely that Jochebed was within the normal child-bearing age range when she bore Moses. Amram was 60 years old when Moses was born, per the fourth generation hypothesis. I suspect Jochebed was nearer the end of her child- bearing days when Moses was born. He was her last child. Scripture establishes that Aaron was three years older than Moses but gives no life year information for their sister Miriam. Miriam had to be old enough to be set to watch what happened to Moses in the basket floating on the Nile and to be bold enough to approach Pharoah's daughter. Ten years old seems a reasonable age for Miriam to do these things. Plugging different ages for Jochebed in relation to the birth of her children and the age of her husband into the Chronology led to the conclusion that a probable age for Jochebed at Moses' birth was 45 years old. Fifty years is pushing it for child-bearing. If she was 45 years old, then she was 15 years younger than Amram, which is a reasonable estimation. This means that Jochebed was born in T305 Can and Miriam was born in T340 Can. Scripture does give a death date for Miriam in Numbers, but not for Jochebed. Jewish tradition does not give a life year length for Jochebed. So, when Jochebed died is unknown, although it seems likely that she died in Egypt before the Exodus, just as Amram did.
| Chart 3: The Years in Egypt | ||||
| ICB | Life Yr | Event | Generation # | Ref |
| T170 Can | T085 Jac | Levi born of Leah (16 Nisan) | 1st generation | G29.34 |
| T205 Can | T120 Jac | Isaac dies at 180yo; Joseph at 30yo stands before Pharoah | Gen 35.28 | |
| T215 Can | T130 Jac | Jacob (130yo)meets Pharoah: Joseph (40) | Gen 47.9 | |
| T230 Can | T145 Jac | Kohath born to Levi (60) | 2nd generation | Estimate |
| T232 Can | T147 Jac | Jacob (147) dies: Joseph (57yo): Levi (62) | Gen 47.28 | |
| T285 Can | T115 Levi | Joseph (110) dies | Gen 50.22 | |
| T290 Can | T120 Levi | Amram born to Kohath (60) | 3rd generation | Estimate |
| T305 Can | T135 Levi | Jochebed born to one of Kohath's brothers | Estimae | |
| T307 Can | T137 Levi | Levi dies at 137yo | Exo 6.16 | |
| T340 Can | T050 Amr | Miriam born to Amram (47 yo) by Jochebed (30yo) | Estimate | |
| T347 Can | T000 Aaron | Aaron born to Amram (57yo) by Jochebed (42yo) | Calculation | |
| T350 Can | T060 Amr | Moses born to Amram (60yo) by Jochebed (45yo) | 4th generation | Calculation |
| T363 Can | T023 Amr | Kohath dies at 133 yo | Exo 6.18 | |
| T390 Can | T040 Moses | Moses flees to Midian | Exo 2.15 | |
| T427 Can | T077 Moses | Amram dies at 137 yo | Exo 6.20 | |
| T430 Can | T080 Mos | The Exodus; Moses (80), Aaron (83) | Exo 7.7 | |
The Chronology now covers the 430 years from Abram to the Exodus. Granted, many links during the Egypt years are estimations, but the Chronology does work as a framework for the events in Egypt before the Exodus. But the Story in Scripture does not stop with the Exodus. So, on to the next essay. FOOTNOTES (1) This verse seems to be a later insert into the narrative, similarly to the geneaology of Aaron and Moses found in Exodus 12. I discuss it in the essay on Insertions. Return (2) Voinov, Vitaly. “Observations on Old Testament Kinship Relations and Terminiology,” p 3. http://www.academia.edu/1986302/OBSERVATIONS_ON_OLD_TESTAMENT_KINSHIP_RELATIONS_ AND_TERMINOLOGY, retrieved 11/07/2017 Return (3) Voinov, ibid. Return (4) Doede, D.M. "A Question of Two Harans," Return (5) Voinov, op.cit., p. 4 Return (6) Scripture uses two identifications for Jehu I, a king of Israel. In 1 Kings 19.16, and 2 Kings 9.20, he is identified as Jehu son of Nimshi. However, in 2 Kings 9.2 and 9.14, he is called Jehu ben Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi. So, Scripture identifies Jehu as descended from Nimshî, his grandfather, rather than simply from his father Jehoshaphat. This is an example of 'lineal extension.' Return (7) Hebrews 7.9-10: One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, | for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. Return (8) I realize Jewish tradition holds that Jochebed was 130 years old when Moses was born, but I just don't think so. That's based on the misunderstanding that she was Levi's daughter and not Amram's first cousin http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles08699-jochebed Return Return to blog post Return to ICB Menu
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