Bithiah: The Princess Who Chose Mercy
May 19, 2026
Bithiah: The Princess Who Chose Mercy
Most people have never heard her name. But without her, there is no Moses. Without Moses, there is no Exodus. Without the Exodus, the entire redemptive story of Scripture looks very different. Her name was Bithiah, and she was the daughter of Pharaoh himself.
Exodus 2:5-10 tells us that when Bithiah came down to the river to bathe, she saw a basket floating among the reeds. Inside was a Hebrew baby boy — one of the very children her father had ordered killed. She knew exactly what she was looking at. And she chose mercy anyway.
That choice cost her something. To take a Hebrew child into Pharaoh’s own palace, to raise him as her son, was an act of breathtaking courage. She didn’t know who this child would become. She didn’t know about the burning bush, the plagues, the parting of the sea. She simply saw a baby who needed saving, and she opened her arms.
God notices that kind of courage.
In 1 Chronicles 4:18, this Egyptian princess is listed by a Hebrew name — Bithiah, meaning “daughter of God.” Jewish tradition holds that God Himself gave her this name as a mark of honour, because she had claimed as her son the one who would one day claim God’s people as His own. The outsider became family. The Egyptian became a daughter of the living God.
Friend, God is still doing that today. He is still reaching across every boundary we imagine — nationality, history, background, sin — and drawing people into His family by grace. And He is still looking for people like Bithiah, who will act with courage and compassion even when it costs them something, trusting that He is at work in what they cannot yet see.
You may not know the full story of why God has placed someone in your path today. But you can choose mercy. You can open your arms.
That choice may change everything.
Amen.