A new king, or Pharaoh, came to power in Egypt. Over 430 years, the Israelites had become his slaves—yet God helped their numbers grow. He was afraid there were too many of them. He ordered that every boy born to them must be thrown into the Nile River.One mother hid her baby for three months. Then she put him in papyrus basket sealed with tar and pitch so it would float. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.