Today, we will be kicking off our series on overlooked and undervalued women of the Bible by learning about two midwives named Shiphrah and Puah. The text we will be focusing on today comes from Exodus 1:11-22.
To provide you all with some context, the chapter begins with a review of the lineage of Jacob. Many are familiar with Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Joseph’s life was filled with a number of challenges that would have caused many to lose hope and stop believing, but he never did. He went from the pit to the palace and was ultimately appointed to one of the highest ranking positions in government, as second in command to Pharaoh.
Joseph’s position granted him favor in the sight of God and man, thus he was able to rule in the land successfully for many years. His entire bloodline and the Israelite people were blessed because of him. In verse 6, we are told that Joseph and his brothers die. In their wake, the Israelites became so fruitful that they “increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them” (verse 7). However, when a new Pharaoh comes into power, he comes to see the Israelite people as a threat; assuming that they will use their strength in numbers to partner with enemy armies to fight against Egypt and leave the country (v.8). So he comes up with a solution: oppression through forced labor.
Pharaoh not only wanted to vanquish this demographic group, but also to control their population growth. So you can imagine how infuriated he was when their numbers continued to grow despite living under oppressive rulership. Drastic measures were now needed.
Exodus 1:11-22
11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
Let’s focus on verses 15-18 for a moment.
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
First of all, can you imagine the boldness and guts it must have taken for these women to stand in opposition to a decree from Pharaoh! Such blatant disobedience was punishable by death. And yet, these two women were willing to risk it all because they knew that God did not agree nor approve of that directive. This was civil disobedience at its finest!
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority).
God had strategically placed Shiphrah and Puah in the middle of this hellfire so that when the time came, they would be the ones to stand up and do what was right.
This story makes me think of the Jewish Holocaust. We all know the story–under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, countless Jewish men, women and children suffered severe mental, physical and emotional abuse as well as death. Jews were viewed as a stain on society; rendered an inferior race, verified by the nonsensical science of eugenics. One man’s hatred led to one of the worst evils in European history.
Last year, when I was still an educator, I chose to start the year teaching “Night” by Elie Wiesel with my 9th grade students. Interestingly, God led me to that book in particular. My teaching that entire year was probably the best it has ever been, because I was being led completely by the Holy Spirit. It was a slow start, but as we got deeper into the book, I saw the students’ interest pique. We spent lots of time discussing belief systems and how they are formed–so they could understand how something as terrible as the Holocaust could ever happen. How it didn’t appear to be hatred and bigotry at first. The first essay & debate for the unit centered around the question: Is cruelty just a part of human nature? The responses were very intriguing!
What my students were picking up on was the unfortunate fact that when it comes down to it, most humans would accept the death of innocents if it meant that they themselves would be saved. We see this very clearly during the Holocaust. Despite being aware of the horrors Jews were facing, far too many made the conscious decision to turn a blind eye, justifying their passivity as some sort of quasi-heroism for their own families. It revealed the true nature of humanity–one inclined to cruelty.
Which makes the defiance of Shiphrah and Puah that more meaningful. It would be easy for them to justify going along with the orders. I mean, who were they to go against Pharaoh? They held no titles and had no army or backing to run to for protection. What they did have was their conviction as believers. Verse 17 states it very clearly: “The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do.” Proverbs 1:7 tells us the fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. The fear of the Lord led them to make the wise decision of sparing the lives of innocent Israelite children. And when called before Pharaoh to answer for that decision, God rewards them for their wisdom and obedience by sparing their lives AND blessing them with families of their own.
If they had not made that decision, Moses–one of the most prominent figures in the Old Testament who was specifically chosen by God to lead the Israelites from captivity to the Promised Land– would have been killed.
That’s MAJOR!
My hope is that going forward, you never forget to think about and remember the actions of Shiphrah and Puah whenever Moses is mentioned. These were two ordinary women who stood bravely in the face of danger, knowing with full confidence that faithfulness to God was greater than any threat from man.
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