Puah
Hebrew midwife
One of the two Hebrew midwives ordered by Pharaoh to kill newborn Hebrew boys, who did not carry out the order and was rewarded with a household of her own.
1 passage
Midwives Defy Pharaoh and Are Rewarded
15The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, the women who helped mothers when babies were born. One was named Shiphrah and the other Puah.
And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
A midwife is a woman who helps when a baby is being born. "Hebrew" was a name for the people of Israel.
16He said, "When you help the Hebrew women have their babies, watch them on the birth stools. If the baby is a boy, kill him. If the baby is a girl, let her live."
And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
The King James says "upon the stools." That was a special low seat mothers sat on while the baby was born.
17But the midwives feared God. They did not do what the king of Egypt told them. They let the baby boys live.
But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
"Feared God" does not mean they were scared of God. It means they loved him and did what he wanted.
18So the king of Egypt sent for the midwives. He asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the baby boys live?"
And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are strong, and their babies are born before we get there."
And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
The King James calls the women "lively." That old word means strong and quick.
20So God was good to the midwives. And there were more and more of the people, and they grew very strong.
Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
The King James says God "made them houses." A house here means a family, not a building.
Every passage here is the King James text. Nothing on this page retells the story; it only puts the pieces in order.