It must be assumed that his sister joined the princess and her servants in the excitement of finding the baby, for she did not have to call to her. She simply said or “asked her” (Good News Translation). Since the sister was last mentioned in verse 4, it will be helpful in many languages to say “the baby’s [older] sister.” In certain languages it will also be necessary again to identify Pharaoh’s daughter, as the Hebrew has done, and translate “Then the baby’s sister said to the king’s daughter” (see Revised Standard Version). Shall I go may also be expressed as “Do you want me to go….”

The nurse intended here was a “wet-nurse” (New English Bible) for the purpose of breast-feeding the child. This was an immediate need which the princess would have recognized. It should not be difficult for most translators to find a suitable term for “wet-nurse.” In some languages this person is referred to as “milk mother.” Hebrew women should not be changed to “Israelite women” (as noted in the comment on 1.15).

Go in Revised Standard Version should not be understood as a stern command. Rather it was a natural response of agreement to the girl’s suggestion. It may be rendered as “Please do” (Good News Translation), “Yes” The New Jerusalem Bible [New Jerusalem Bible], or “Yes, do so” (New American Bible). The child’s mother refers to the baby’s own mother, but of course she was also the girl’s mother.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .