assurance that Moses is in good hands for the foreseeable future. Three daughters bring the son through death to life. At the same time, the story serves to defuse the threat for all other Hebrew sons. The princess’s calm compassion toward the child and her commitment to long-term noncompliance with her father’s brutal decree constitute a public demonstration of the bankruptcy of his policy. Inasmuch as the tradition never hints that this policy was carried forward, the princess’s response may have