Shiphrah and Puah - extraordinary midwives - Exodus 1

(With thanks to Trevor Dennis who strongly inspired these thoughts!)

The little story of Shiphrah and Puah in Exodus 1 is an amazing little incident. Here are the Israelites in Egypt, long after the time of Joseph. You remember the Joseph story. He ended up in Egypt as Potiphar’s slave, having been sold off into slavery. Falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, who was annoyed because he wouldn’t have an affair with her, he ended up in gaol, where he gained something of a reputation as a dream-interpreter. News got round and, when the Pharaoh had some strange dreams, Joseph got called upon. Cutting a long story short, he ended up as prime minister, overseeing the preparations for the famine that he had foretold.

And it was during that famine that his family, searching for food, ended up moving to and settling in Egypt. At that time the Egyptians were more than happy to welcome the family of the one who had saved them from starvation – and Joseph and his family were re-united. For the time being it was a happy-ever-after story.

But now we have moved on a considerable period. Joseph and his contribution to the Egyptian economy has long since been forgotten. All that’s bothering this Pharaoh is the increasing number of Israelites. He’s scared that one day they’ll plan an uprising – and take over. It’s actually not very likely. They’re kept in a pretty subservient position. But this Pharaoh’s not one for taking chances. He’s scared all these Israelite baby boys will grow up to be strapping soldiers.

And so he takes a pre-emptive strike. He calls in the midwives. Now, we perhaps have to say that this story, as we have it, is a mix of the plausible and the implausible. It seems unlikely that there would have been only two midwives, and so the two specified in this story symbolise all then carrying out this profession. It also seems unlikely that Pharaoh would have given a personal audience to them, no matter how concerned he was about this issue. Surely he would have instructed one of his minions. Another thing that’s not clear is whether these midwives worked just amongst the Israelites, or amongst the Egyptians as well. But none of these elements really matter. We need to remember that this account emerges from a story-telling society and should be seen as a story told, rather than a chronicled history.

But that, in no way, diminishes the truth, nor the impact of the story, which is packed with a powerful punch. Perhaps the first amazing thing in this story is that their names are recorded, Shiphrah and Puah. In the Bible women basically take a subservient role to men. That’s not the Bible’s fault. It’s reflective of the kind of society whose story is being told. But one of the things it does mean is that relatively few women are named. This is a tiny incident in the Biblical scheme of things. It only takes a very few verses. It’s quite remarkable that we’re given the names of these two women.

Anyhow, they are given the task of dealing with this problem. What they are to do is pretty horrific. They are to ensure that any baby boys don’t survive. Baby girls are O.K. Now, actually this probably wouldn’t have been quite as horrific to the original hearers of the story as it is to us. It would not be unknown to do that to a baby. The surprise would be getting rid of a boy.

So Shiphrah and Puah are sent off to do Pharaoh’s dirty work. But they don’t want to do it. It’s against God. It’s against what they are trained for. It’s against all their instincts. It’s against everything. And so, they don’t do it. But Pharaoh has his secret police out, and he gets to know that what he’s commanded is not happening. And so he summons the midwives again and asks them to explain themselves. And what they do effectively is – they tell him a joke. They tell Pharaoh that they can’t do this because, though they get there as fast as they can whenever they hear that one of the Israelite women is going to deliver, they are always too late. These Israelite women always have their babies so quickly than it’s done and dusted by the time we get there. It’s nonsense, of course. Every midwife would know that. Every woman would know that. But old Pharaoh is not too sure. He doesn’t know much about women having babies – and it sounds plausible. Also, he quite likes the idea that the Israelite women are different from the Egyptian women. That appeals to his racism. He accepts the story, and dismisses the midwives.

Pharaoh, of course, finds another way of dealing with the problem – but that’s not our concern here. What does concern us is the amazing faith and courage of Shiphrah and Puah. In an age when the Pharaoh was regarded as divine, they were prepared to defy him, with all the attendant risks, because they were convinced that the opposite was what ought to be. Their loyalty was to God and they do not back away from deceiving Pharaoh. Their story certainly challenges us about loyalty and commitment and risk and the whole question as to whether we are ready to do those things to which God calls us without counting the cost.