מדרש על שמות 2:5

And his sister stood from afar... - Why did Miriam stand from afar? Rabbi Amram said in the name of Rav: Because Miriam prophesied and said "In the future, Mother will give birth to a child that will be the savior of the Jewish people." When Moshe was born, the entire house was filled with light. [Miriam's] father arose and kissed her on the head. He [Amram] said to her [Miriam]: "My daughter, your prophecy has been fulfilled". That is what is said (Exodus 15:20) "And Miriam the Prophetess, the brother of Aharon, took the tambourine..." Was she only the brother of Aharon and not the brother of Moshe? Rather, she had stated that prophecy while she was the sister of Aharon and not (yet) the sister of Moshe. When they put him (Moshe) in the river, her mother arose and hit her on the head and said to her daughter: "My daughter, where is your prophecy!?" And this is why the verse says "And his sister stood by from afar", for she wanted to know what would be the results of her prophecy. And the Rabbis say the entire verse was said with the Divine Spirit. "And she stood" similar to (Samuel I 3:10) "And G-D came and stood". "His Sister" similar to (Proverbs 7:4) "Say to wisdom, she is your sister". "From afar" similar to (Jeremiah 31:2) "From afar G-D is seen to me". "To know what will happen to him" similar to (Samuel I 2:3) "For G-D is all knowing".

"And his sister stood back" - Why did Miriam stand back? Rabbi Amram said in the name of Rav: "Because Miriam had prophesied: 'In the future, my mother will give birth to a son who will save Israel'. When Moses was born, the whole house was filled with light; her father rose and kissed her on the head. He said to her: 'My daughter! Your prophecy has come to pass' - as it is written [Exodus 15:20]: 'And Miriam the prophetess, sister of Aaron, took up the timbrel.' [Why was she called] 'Sister of Aaron,' and not 'sister of Moses'?! Because when she issued her prophecy, she was [only] the sister of Aaron - Moses had not been born yet. When she cast him into the Nile, her mother rose and struck her on the head. She said: 'My daughter! What has become of your prophecy?!' This is why it is written 'his sister stood back etc.': in order to know would become of her prophecy. And our rabbis taught: This entire verse speaks [not of Miriam, but] of the Holy Spirit. 'And she stood...' refers to 'The LORD came and stood...' [I Samuel 3:10]; '[His] sister' refers to 'Say to Wisdom: "You are my sister"' [Proberbs 7:4]. 'Back' refers to 'The Lord appeared to me from far back' [Jeremiah 31:3]. 'In order to know what would happen to him' refers to 'For the LORD is a God of knowledge.' [I Samuel 2:3]".

(Ex. 2, 5) And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river. Said R. Jochanan in the name of R. Simon b. Jochai: "From this it may be inferred that she came down to cleanse herself from the idols of her father's house, and so also do we find [that the word 'washing' is applied for idols.] (Is. 4, 4) When the Lord shall have washed away the filth from the daughters of Zion." (Ex. 2, 5) And her maidens walked along by the side of the river. Said R. Jachanan: "The word halicha (walk), is used in connection with death, and so also does the passage read, (Gen. 25, 32) Behold I am going (holech) to die." (Gen. 2, 5) And when she saw the box among the flags; i.e., as soon as her maidens noticed that she desired to save Moses they said to her: "Our princess, the custom of the universe is that if a frail king issues a decree even though the decree is not observed by the rest of the world, nevertheless the king's sons and household obey it and thou art transgressing the decree of thy father, [which caused the throwing of the children in the river]." Thereupon the angel, Gabriel, came and smote them upon the ground [thus the above meaning, going to death, is derived]. (lb.) She sent Amatha and fetched it. R. Juda and R. Nechemiah differ in the explanation of Amatha. One said it means her hand, while the other contends that it means her maid. The one that explains it to mean hand bases his opinion upon the text (amatha, means arm), but the one that explains it to mean maid bases his opinion that for hand the text should have used Yada (hand), [which could not be misunderstood]. But how can you interpret Amatha maid? Have we not said above that Gabriel came and smote them upon the ground? One of the maidens was left, for it is not customary to leave a princess without a maiden. Again, the one who interprets Amatha hand, why did not the text used rather Yada? By using Amatha it informs us that her arm became stretched out, for the master said: "So also we find that it happened with the arm of Pharaoh's daughter! and thus also it happened with the teeth of the wicked [Og] as it is written (Ps. 38) The teeth of the wicked Shibarta, and Resh Lakish said: Do not read Shibarta (hast Thou broken) but read it Shirbabta (that became remified)."

[Another interpretation (of Exod. 6:2): SO GOD SPOKE UNTO MOSES]. This text is related (to Eccl. 7:7): FOR OPPRESSION (rt.: 'SQ) MAKES A WISE ONE FOOLISH,… When the wise person occupies himself (rt.: 'SQ) with a lot of everyday affairs (rt.: 'SQ),⁶The interpreter feels free to treat as equivalent the Hebrew letters sin and samekh, both of which produce an English s sound. they distract him from wisdom.⁷Tanh., Exod. 2:5; Exod. R. 6:2. (Ibid., cont.:) AND A GIFT WILL DESTROY THE HEART. Whatever is called a gift (MTNH) destroys <the Torah> from one's heart, because it is stated (in Numb. 21:19): FROM A GIFT (MTNH) <CAME> GOD'S HERITAGE (of Torah).⁸The usual interpretation of this text from Numb. 21:19 would be translated, “From Mattanah (MTNH) to Nahaliel”; but by reinterpreting the unvoweled words, Tanhuma (Buber) understands them to mean that Israel received the heritage of Torah as a gift. Thus (as explained in Exod. R. 6:2) the receiving of any other so-called gift would be contrary to the nature of Torah. Another interpretation (of Eccl. 7:7): FOR OPPRESSION (rt.: 'SQ) MAKES A WISE ONE FOOLISH. <In regard to> being busy (rt.: 'SQ), when the wise person occupies himself (rt.: 'SQ) in community affairs, they make him forgetful of wisdom.⁹Centuries earlier, Philo, De Specialibus Legibus, III, 1–6, had expressed similar sentiments. R. Joshua ben Levi said: I learned sixty halakhot from R. Judah ben Pedayah on the plowing of a grave; but, because I engaged (rt.: 'SQ) in community affairs, I forgot all of them. Ergo (in Eccl. 7:7); FOR OPPRESSION (rt.: 'SQ) MAKES <A WISE ONE> FOOLISH,…