A midwife is a woman who assists in delivering babies. This was true in Bible times as well. Her duties likely involved severing the umbilical cord, cleaning and salting the newborn, and swaddling the baby in cloths. Speaking metaphorically, God had these words for Jerusalem: “As for your birth, your umbilical cord wasn’t cut on the day you were born, and you weren’t washed clean with water. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths” (Ezek. 16:4).
Seeing the growing population of Hebrews—especially Hebrew males—as a threat, “the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ‘When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live’” (Ex. 1:15-16).
Significantly, even before God gave the command “Do not murder” (20:13), the midwives apparently knew intuitively that killing infants was wrong. Shiphrah and Puah “feared God” (1:17) and did not obey Pharaoh. When Pharaoh asked them why they continued to allow the boys to live, they told him that Hebrew women give birth quickly, so they had difficulty getting to the babies to end their lives. God honored these two courageous women. First, He “gave them families” of their own (v. 21). Perhaps as a general rule, midwives were childless. Second, he blessed the Hebrews. God’s people continued to grow in number, so the people the midwives favored, God favored also.
A midwife is mentioned in Genesis 35:17 and in 38:28, and midwives likely also were present in the events recorded in Ruth 4:14-17 and 1 Samuel 4:19-20.
Copyright © 2017 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in this article have been taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.