The transition of a Hebrew child from his biological mother's embrace to the heart of the Egyptian royal palace marks a dramatic turning point in biblical history. Once weaned, the child is returned to the palace [ביאור שטיינזלץ, חומש קה״ת]. His physical development was unusually rapid, which conveniently helped conceal his true age and evade Pharaoh's deadly decree [העמק דבר]. This relocation was guided by Divine providence. By growing up in the royal court, he absorbed wisdom, courage, and the manners of nobility. Yet, because his earliest, formative years were spent safely in his mother's care, his deep loyalty to his people and homeland remained permanently etched in his heart [מלבי״ם, חומש קה״ת].
The Egyptian princess officially adopts him as her own son. The primary approach among commentators is that by saving him from death and raising him, she becomes his mother in every sense, reflecting the principle that one who raises an orphan is considered to have given birth to them [אבן עזרא, העמק דבר, בכור שור]. To solidify her absolute claim over the child, she even paid an increased wage to his wet nurse [פני דוד, שפתי כהן]. Surrounded by immense love in the palace, the child would playfully handle Pharaoh's crown—a subtle foreshadowing of his future [רבנו בחיי, ברכת אשר].
The child is then given his eternal name, Moses. A fascinating debate surrounds the identity of the person who named him and the language used. The primary approach among commentators is that the Egyptian princess chose the name. Given her background, she likely gave him an Egyptian name meaning "son," "child," or "saved from water," which the Torah either translated into Hebrew or adapted as a clever wordplay based on its sound [אבן עזרא, שד״ל, העמק דבר, מלבי״ם, קאסוטו]. Others suggest that the princess had learned Hebrew, or specifically asked the child's biological mother how to express the concept of rescue in the Holy Tongue [חזקוני, דעת זקנים, אלשיך]. Conversely, another perspective argues that proper names are never translated across languages. According to this view, it was actually his Hebrew mother who named him, explaining to the princess that the name honors the fact that she drew the boy from the river [אברבנאל, ביאור יש״ר].
The root of the name conveys the act of pulling or extracting [רשב״ם], specifically a careful and delicate removal, akin to lifting a strand of hair from milk [רש״י, מזרחי, שפתי חכמים]. However, this presents a grammatical anomaly: since the child was the one rescued, his name should logically be in the passive form, meaning "the one drawn out." Instead, the name takes an active form. While some explain that proper names are not strictly bound by grammatical rules [אבן עזרא, ביאור יש״ר] or that the princess simply lacked precise knowledge of Hebrew grammar [הטור הארוך], a deeper consensus emerges. The active name was bestowed through Divine inspiration, carrying a prophetic destiny. He was named to reflect his future role as one who would actively draw others out of distress, ultimately leading the Israelites out of their Egyptian exile [ספורנו, הטור הארוך, חזקוני]. The princess desired a name that would perpetually remind him of his survival, hoping it would cultivate a compassionate heart and inspire him to become a champion for the oppressed [רש ר הירש]. Additionally, the active phrasing subtly hints at a later event where he would draw water for the nation [ריב״א, הדר זקנים].
Finally, the public declaration of the reason behind his name reveals both a spiritual dynamic and brilliant political maneuvering. Historically, the matriarchs of the nation would state the spiritual reason for a name before actually conferring it. Here, the name precedes the explanation, indicating that the princess grasped only the physical reality of the rescue, while God was orchestrating the miraculous future [אור החיים]. Furthermore, her public announcement that she drew him from the water was a calculated defense strategy. By framing the event this way, she implied that the child had already been cast into the river, thus technically fulfilling her father's decree. She presented herself merely as someone who pulled out a drowning infant, effectively masking her deliberate intention to save a Hebrew boy and shielding him from the fatal wrath of the king and his advisors [אור החיים, אדרת אליהו, הדר זקנים].