The Works of Philo Judaeus, Vol. 3

As she was always despondent and lamenting, on this particular day she was so overcome by the weight of her anxiety that, though it was her custom to stay indoors and never cross the threshold of her house, she went forth with her handmaidens to the river where the infant was lying. There, as she was about to indulge in a bath and purification in the thickest part of the marsh, she beheld the child and commanded her handmaidens to bring him to her. After she surveyed him from head to foot, admired his elegant form and healthy, vigorous appearance, and saw that he was crying, she had compassion on him—her soul moved by maternal affection as if he had been her own child.

When she learned that the infant belonged to one of the Hebrews who was afraid of the king’s decree, she conceived the idea of raising him herself. She took counsel, thinking it unsafe to bring him directly into the palace. While she was still hesitating, the infant's sister, who was watching, conjectured her hesitation from what she beheld. She ran up and asked the princess if she would like the child to be nursed by one of the Hebrew women who had recently given birth. When the princess agreed, the maiden fetched her own mother (and the infant's), pretending she was a stranger. She cheerfully promised to take the child and bring him up, pretending to be...