Introduction

Around the fourth generation of Israelites in Egypt, a new Pharaoh takes over and begins to oppress the Israelites. In his fear of them, he orders two Hebrew midwives to kill the male babies when they attend the births. Those two midwives are named Puah and Shiphrah. We aren't told much about them, but their refusal to obey Pharaoh not only saved the lives of many Israelite men, but the nation as a whole since it is possible that they are either directly or indirectly responsible for Moses being saved.

Origins and Name Meanings

The name Shiphrah means "fair" in Hebrew and the name Puah means "splendid".[1][2]

We are told that they are Hebrew, so likely they were Israelites (note, not all Hebrews are Israelites). However we are not given any information on what tribe they belonged to or who their parents were. Of note, they aren't described in reference to husbands either; they exist in and of themselves in the narrative.

Questions

About the Passage

1. Were they the only midwives?
   • Were they leaders among midwives?
   • Were they supposed to instruct other midwives to kill the male babies or was the order only for them?
   • If they told other midwives, does that mean there were other women saving the male babies too?
   • Did Pharaoh meet with all the midwives and these are just the only two who refused to obey?
2. Why were they tending to both Israelite and Egyptian women if there was animosity between the groups?
3. Were they actually serving both groups of women or did they only postulate that Hebrew women birthed children faster (it was an excuse after all)?
4. How old were they?
5. Were they married?
6. Did they have children before the order from Pharoah?
7. What kind of "house" were they blessed with?
   • House = home?
   • House = lineage/tribe/bloodline
8. Was it ok for them to lie to Pharaoh to save lives?
9. Were they scared?
10. Did they conspire together or just happen to both do the right thing?
11. Did their family (parents, husbands, etc.) know what they were doing?
12. Did they have to save any of their close family (e.g., a nephew)?
13. How long had they been midwives before Pharaoh's order?
14. How long did his decree last?
15. How long did it take Pharoah to notice Puah and Shiphrah weren't killing the male babies?
16. Why did Pharaoh only want to kill male babies?
17. Was it normal to be called in to meet Pharoah for a special request?
    • Did this make them nervous?
    • Were they excited for the first invitaion (before they knew why they were summoned)?
18. It says they feared God, but which god did they fear?
    • Is this an indication that the Israelites never forgot YHWH?
    • Did they think the Egyptian gods would be angered?
    • Did they worship YHWH or the Egyptian god?

If I could meet them

I wonder what it was like to be a working woman during that time period. As, such I would probably ask them a host of questions about their experiences. My other questions would be about what they did with the babies...

• Did they hide them or simply claim they didn't get there in time?
• Was Pharaoh's plan to pass off the births as stillbirths, thus making the moms unware of the betrayal and putting a limit on the age in which a male baby could be killed?
• Did they have a plan for when Pharaoh caught on that they weren't following his order?
• Was it their idea to hide babies in the Nile?
• Were they aware of Moses?
• Did they know about his adoption?
• What was their reaciton?
• How long did this go on and how did it effect their life?
• Did it effect how they saw their profession in society?
• Were they afraid they were putting themselves or their own family at risk?
• What did their prayers look like?
• Did they only pray for the mothers and sons, or did they pray for the fathers and sisters and even Pharaoh?

Phototheology

Phototheology is a way of learning the Bible taught by Ivor Myers.[3] I am employing this technique in my weekly Woman of God study journal. The following three pormpts are the ones I drew from the card deck while studying Puah & Shiphrah.

In Which "New Heaven, New Earth" Cycle is the Text Significant?

The events of Puah and Shiphrah's story take place during the beginning of the establishment of "The Promised Land." The Promised Land is meant to be like a new Eden, with the Temple being the connection to the "new" Heaven. We could say the creation of this new Heaven and Earth begins with the saving of the Hebrew babies, which leads to Moses' ability to lead the Israelites out of Egypt into the Promised Land. Thus, Shiphrah and Puah's story is the beginning of the cycle. Interestingly, the cycle that begins with Messiah is also marked with a ruler attempting to kill all the male children and the chosen one escaping death. Another passage that comes to mind Isaiah 4:1. In this prophecy about a much later cycle, Israiah predicts an imbalance in the number of men and women (with there being more women than men)

This suggests that not only is there turmoil before restoration, but a specific part of this turmoil is the attempt to destory men.

An interesting note, however, is that even though death was only pronounced on male children, it is women who prevent their deaths. Perhaps the Israelite men had no need to stand up since Puah and Shiphrah took matters into their own hand before fathers could notice a pattern. Nonetheless, there is no indication that a husband or father or brother led them to defy Pharaoh or assisted in their plans.

Compare (or Contrast) This Cycle With the Adamic Cycle

How Does This Story Relate to Gentleness

The general meaning of gentleness is brings to mind softness, mercy, and compassion, for me. These are exactly the traits I would expect in a midwife. Though, since they were defying Pharaoh's commands, I suspect there was a lot more toughness at their core (and maybe exhibited externally as well depending on what had to be done to hide/save the babies).

I recently listend to a sermon on gentleness that actually relates to this well. In the sermon, the pastor discussed the fact that the origin of the word "gentle" means "of the same kind" or "of the same family."[4][5] Puah and Shiphrah looked out for the children "of the same kind" as themselves. Moses, chose to be "of the same kind" as God's people. Ultimately, we are called to be one as the Body of Christ. While Shiphrah and Puah were protecting their own people, their actions were a statement against the division that Pharaoh tried to create.

Journal Pages

Journal pages on Puah & Shiphrah.

References & Footnotes

1. "Strongs H6326. פּוּעָה". Blue Letter Bible; visited February 2025
2. "Strongs H8236. שִׁפְרָה". Blue Letter Bible; visited February 2025
3. Pastor Ivor Myers' Phototheology Game Deck
4. "Gentle". Online Etymology Dictionary; visited February 2025
5. Pastor Ivor Myers. "Gentile Gentle Giants". YouTube. February 15, 2025; visited Febraury 2025