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{{For|the Puah Institute|Puah Institute}} {{For|the Puah Institute|Puah Institute}}
] c. 1900]] ] c. 1900]]
'''Shiphrah''' ({{lang-he|שִׁפְרָה}} ''{{transl|he|šiᵽrâ}}'') and '''Puah''' (Hebrew: "wig") (etymology uncertain)<ref name="Mckenzie1995">{{cite book|author=John L. Mckenzie|title=The Dictionary Of The Bible|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aE7EyQ_HQAMC&pg=PA707|date=1 October 1995|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0-684-81913-6|page=707}}</ref> were two midwives who helped briefly prevent a ]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Limmer |first1=Seth M. |last2=Pesner |first2=Jonah Dov |title=Moral Resistance and Spiritual Authority: Our Jewish Obligation to Social Justice |date=2019 |publisher=CCAR Press |isbn=9780881233193 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=RfZ5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT147&dq=Shiphrah+Puah+genocide#v=onepage&q=Shiphrah%20Puah%20genocide&f=false |accessdate=11 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> of Hebrew children by the Egyptians, according to ] 1:15–21. According to the Exodus narrative, they were instructed by the King of Egypt, or Pharaoh, to kill all male babies, but they refused to do so. When challenged by the Pharaoh, they explained that Hebrew women's labour was short-lived because they were 'lively'<ref>Exod. 1:19 NKJV</ref> or 'vigorous',<ref>Exod. 1: 19 NIV</ref> and therefore the babies had been born (and protected) before the midwives arrived. God "dealt well with the midwives" and "made them houses".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0201.htm|title=Exodus 1 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre|website=www.mechon-mamre.org|accessdate=14 November 2017}}</ref> '''Shiphrah''' ({{langx|he|שִׁפְרָה}} ''{{transliteration|he|Šīp̄ərā}}'') and '''Puah''' ({{langx|he|פּוּעָה}} ''{{transliteration|he|Pūʿā}}'') were two ] who briefly prevented a ]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Limmer |first1=Seth M. |last2=Pesner |first2=Jonah Dov |title=Moral Resistance and Spiritual Authority: Our Jewish Obligation to Social Justice |date=2019 |publisher=CCAR Press |isbn=9780881233193 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RfZ5DwAAQBAJ&q=Shiphrah+Puah+genocide&pg=PT147 |accessdate=11 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> of children by the Egyptians, according to ] 1:15–21. According to the Exodus narrative, they were commanded by the ], to kill all male Hebrew babies, but they refused to do so. When challenged by the Pharaoh, they told him that Hebrew women's labour was short-lived because they were 'lively'<ref>Exod. 1:19 NKJV</ref> or 'vigorous',<ref>Exod. 1: 19 NIV</ref> and therefore the babies had been born (and protected) before the midwives arrived. God "dealt well with the midwives" and "made them houses".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0201.htm|title=Exodus 1 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre|website=www.mechon-mamre.org|accessdate=14 November 2017}}</ref>


==Exodus 1:15–1:21==
==Midrashic interpretations==
{{blockquote|15 The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,
saying, 16 “When you deliver the Hebrew women, look at the birthstool: if it is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, fearing God, did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, letting the boys live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women: they are vigorous. Before the midwife can come to them, they have given birth.” 20 And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and increased greatly. 21 And established households for the midwives, because they feared God.<ref>{{cite web |title=Exodus 1:15 |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.1.15? |website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref>}}


==Interpretations==
⚫ The 11th century Jewish rabbi ]'s Talmud commentary on the passage from Exodus identifies Shiphrah with ], the mother of Moses, and Puah with ], Moses' sister, making the two midwives mother and daughter respectively.<ref>See for example ]'s Gur Aryeh: Sifrei Chachamim ('Books of the Wise').</ref>


⚫ The Talmud identifies Shiphrah with ], the mother of Moses, and Puah with ], Moses' sister, making the two midwives mother and daughter respectively.<ref>See for example ]'s Gur Aryeh: Sifrei Chachamim ('Books of the Wise').</ref>
⚫ Commentators have interpreted Exodus 1:20–21 in various ways.<ref>Magonet, Jonathan (1992) ''Bible Lives'' (London: SCM), 7–8.</ref> Some scholars argue that the two halves of each verse are parallel, so that it is the Israelites ('who multiplied and grew greatly') for whom God 'made houses'. This fits with the reference in Exodus 1:1 to the children of Israel coming down to Egypt, each with his "house". However, as ] notes,<ref name="auto">Magonet, Jonathan (1992) ''Bible Lives'' (London: SCM), 8.</ref> the more common view is that the houses are for the midwives - "houses" here being understood as 'dynasties'. Rabbinic thought has understood these as the houses of kehunah (priesthood), leviyah (assistants to the priests), and royalty – the latter interpreted as coming from Miriam.<ref>See for example Talmud Tractate ] 11b; and ] 1:17.</ref>


==="The midwives feared God"===
⚫ ] said that the refusal of Shiphrah and her colleague ] to follow the Pharaoh's genocidal instructions "may be the first known incident of ] in history" (''Voices of Wisdom'', {{ISBN|0-394-40159-X}}). Jonathan Magonet agrees, calling them "the earliest, and in some ways the most powerful, examples, of resistance to an evil regime".<ref name="auto"/>

⚫ The Torah has no word for ]. The closest related concept found in the Torah is what it calls "the ]" (Exod. 1:17). The midwives apparently believed that God's moral demands outweighed Pharaoh's legal demands.<ref>Kushner, Harold, ed. of the d'rash commentary. "Exodus." Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary. New York: The Jewish Publication Society, 2001.</ref> For this reason, author ] said that the midwives' refusal to follow the Pharaoh's genocidal instructions "may be the first known incident of ] in history."<ref>''Voices of Wisdom'', {{ISBN|0-394-40159-X}}</ref> Theologian ] agrees, calling them "the earliest, and in some ways the most powerful, examples, of resistance to an evil regime".<ref name="auto"/>

The "fear of God" theme is reversed a few verses later when Pharaoh commands the Egyptian people to carry out the genocide (Exod. 1:22). The Egyptians apparently feared Pharaoh more than they feared God, and therefore, participated in the crime. Rabbi ] compared the Shiphrah and Puah's defection with the ], many of whom had been religious. Those who aided the Nazis, on the other hand, feared the Nazis' power more than they feared (or even believed in) God's judgment.<ref>Telushkin, Joseph. ''A Code of Jewish Ethics: Volume 1 - You Shall Be Holy''. New York: Bell Tower, 2006. p. 488.</ref>

==="Made houses"===

⚫ Commentators have interpreted Exodus 1:20–21 in various ways.<ref>Magonet, Jonathan (1992) ''Bible Lives'' (London: SCM), 7–8.</ref> Some scholars argue that the two halves of each verse are parallel, so that it is the Israelites ('who multiplied and grew greatly') for whom God 'made houses'. This fits with the reference in Exodus 1:1 to the children of Israel coming down to Egypt, each with his "house". However, Magonet notes<ref name="auto">Magonet, Jonathan (1992) ''Bible Lives'' (London: SCM), 8.</ref> that the more common view is that the houses are for the midwives - "houses" here being understood as 'dynasties'. Rabbinic thought has understood these as the houses of kehunah (priesthood), leviyah (assistants to the priests), and royalty – the latter interpreted as coming from Miriam.<ref>See for example Talmud Tractate ] 11b; and ] 1:17.</ref>


==Names== ==Names==
The name Shiphrah is found in a list of ] in ] during the reign of ]. This list is on Brooklyn 35.1446, a papyrus scroll kept in the ]. The name is written šp-ra and means "to be fair" or "beautiful". The name may be related to or even the same as the Aramaic Sapphira and (up to slight morphological adaptations) as Siphrah, the name of the Hebrew midwife. The name of the second midwife, ], is a ] name which means "lass" or "little girl".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Albright |first1=W. F. |title=Northwest-Semitic Names in a List of Egyptian Slaves from the Eighteenth Century B. C. |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=1954 |volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=223, 229 |doi=10.2307/595513 |issn=0003-0279|jstor=595513 }}</ref> The name Šp-ra is found in a list of ] in ] during the reign of ] (around 1745 BCE<ref>{{cite book |last1=van Heel |first1=Koenraad Donker |title=Mrs. Tsenhor |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-977-416-634-1 |page=114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eBgnDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA114}}</ref>). This list is on ], in the ]. The museum states that "Scholars assume that this is a hieroglyphic transliteration of the Hebrew name Shiphra."<ref>{{cite web |title=Portion of a Historical Text |url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/3369 }}</ref> The name means "to be fair" or "beautiful", and may be related to, or even the same as, the Aramaic Sapphira and (up to slight morphological adaptations) as Shiphrah, the name of the Hebrew midwife. The name of the second midwife, Puah, is a ] name which means "lass" or "little girl".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Albright |first1=W. F. |title=Northwest-Semitic Names in a List of Egyptian Slaves from the Eighteenth Century B. C. |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=1954 |volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=223, 229 |doi=10.2307/595513 |issn=0003-0279|jstor=595513 }}</ref>


==See also== ==External links==
*] ;Original text of Exodus Chapter 1
* at Mechon-Mamre.org
* at Mechon-Mamre.org
* with ]'s commentary at Chabad.org


==References== ==References==
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Latest revision as of 15:38, 25 October 2024

Midwives who appear in the Book of Exodus For the Puah Institute, see Puah Institute.
Pharaoh and the Midwives, James Tissot c. 1900

Shiphrah (Hebrew: שִׁפְרָה Šīp̄ərā) and Puah (Hebrew: פּוּעָה Pūʿā) were two midwives who briefly prevented a genocide of children by the Egyptians, according to Exodus 1:15–21. According to the Exodus narrative, they were commanded by the King of Egypt, or Pharaoh, to kill all male Hebrew babies, but they refused to do so. When challenged by the Pharaoh, they told him that Hebrew women's labour was short-lived because they were 'lively' or 'vigorous', and therefore the babies had been born (and protected) before the midwives arrived. God "dealt well with the midwives" and "made them houses".

Exodus 1:15–1:21

15 The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, saying, 16 “When you deliver the Hebrew women, look at the birthstool: if it is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, fearing God, did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, letting the boys live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women: they are vigorous. Before the midwife can come to them, they have given birth.” 20 And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and increased greatly. 21 And established households for the midwives, because they feared God.

Interpretations

The Talmud identifies Shiphrah with Jochebed, the mother of Moses, and Puah with Miriam, Moses' sister, making the two midwives mother and daughter respectively.

"The midwives feared God"

The Torah has no word for religion. The closest related concept found in the Torah is what it calls "the fear of God" (Exod. 1:17). The midwives apparently believed that God's moral demands outweighed Pharaoh's legal demands. For this reason, author Francine Klagsbrun said that the midwives' refusal to follow the Pharaoh's genocidal instructions "may be the first known incident of civil disobedience in history." Theologian Jonathan Magonet agrees, calling them "the earliest, and in some ways the most powerful, examples, of resistance to an evil regime".

The "fear of God" theme is reversed a few verses later when Pharaoh commands the Egyptian people to carry out the genocide (Exod. 1:22). The Egyptians apparently feared Pharaoh more than they feared God, and therefore, participated in the crime. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin compared the Shiphrah and Puah's defection with the rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust, many of whom had been religious. Those who aided the Nazis, on the other hand, feared the Nazis' power more than they feared (or even believed in) God's judgment.

"Made houses"

Commentators have interpreted Exodus 1:20–21 in various ways. Some scholars argue that the two halves of each verse are parallel, so that it is the Israelites ('who multiplied and grew greatly') for whom God 'made houses'. This fits with the reference in Exodus 1:1 to the children of Israel coming down to Egypt, each with his "house". However, Magonet notes that the more common view is that the houses are for the midwives - "houses" here being understood as 'dynasties'. Rabbinic thought has understood these as the houses of kehunah (priesthood), leviyah (assistants to the priests), and royalty – the latter interpreted as coming from Miriam.

Names

The name Šp-ra is found in a list of slaves in Egypt during the reign of Sobekhotep III (around 1745 BCE). This list is on Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446, in the Brooklyn Museum. The museum states that "Scholars assume that this is a hieroglyphic transliteration of the Hebrew name Shiphra." The name means "to be fair" or "beautiful", and may be related to, or even the same as, the Aramaic Sapphira and (up to slight morphological adaptations) as Shiphrah, the name of the Hebrew midwife. The name of the second midwife, Puah, is a Canaanite name which means "lass" or "little girl".

External links

Original text of Exodus Chapter 1

References

  1. Limmer, Seth M.; Pesner, Jonah Dov (2019). Moral Resistance and Spiritual Authority: Our Jewish Obligation to Social Justice. CCAR Press. ISBN 9780881233193. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  2. Exod. 1:19 NKJV
  3. Exod. 1: 19 NIV
  4. "Exodus 1 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre". www.mechon-mamre.org. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  5. "Exodus 1:15". www.sefaria.org.
  6. See for example Judah Loew ben Bezalel's Gur Aryeh: Sifrei Chachamim ('Books of the Wise').
  7. Kushner, Harold, ed. of the d'rash commentary. "Exodus." Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary. New York: The Jewish Publication Society, 2001.
  8. Voices of Wisdom, ISBN 0-394-40159-X
  9. ^ Magonet, Jonathan (1992) Bible Lives (London: SCM), 8.
  10. Telushkin, Joseph. A Code of Jewish Ethics: Volume 1 - You Shall Be Holy. New York: Bell Tower, 2006. p. 488.
  11. Magonet, Jonathan (1992) Bible Lives (London: SCM), 7–8.
  12. See for example Talmud Tractate Sotah 11b; and Exodus Rabbah 1:17.
  13. van Heel, Koenraad Donker (2014). Mrs. Tsenhor. Oxford University Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-977-416-634-1.
  14. "Portion of a Historical Text".
  15. Albright, W. F. (1954). "Northwest-Semitic Names in a List of Egyptian Slaves from the Eighteenth Century B. C.". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 74 (4): 223, 229. doi:10.2307/595513. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 595513.
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