Shiphrah and Puah
Shiphrah and Puah were the Hebrew midwives whom Pharaoh commanded to kill every male child born to the Israelite women. In the Bible's first recorded act of civil disobedience, they 'feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.' Summoned to explain themselves, they told Pharaoh the Hebrew women were vigorous and delivered before the midwives could arrive. Scripture records that God dealt well with the midwives and 'made them houses' - established families of their own - because they feared Him. Their quiet defiance preserved the generation into which Moses was born, and it is striking that the Bible names these two working women while leaving the mighty Pharaoh they defied anonymous.
Biography
- Occupation
- Midwives
- Era
- Egyptian Bondage
- Nationality
- Hebrew
Did You Know?
Shiphrah and Puah's defiance of Pharaoh is widely considered the first recorded act of civil disobedience in world literature.
The Bible names the two midwives but never names the Pharaoh they defied - a deliberate reversal of how history usually remembers kings and servants.
A papyrus from ancient Egypt lists a slave woman named Shiphrah, confirming the name's authenticity for that exact time and place.
Key Chapters
Key Passages
The Midwives Defy Pharaoh
Exodus 1:15-21
Their fear of God outweighed their fear of the king - and God's blessing on their houses stands as Scripture's verdict on whose command mattered more.
15nd 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: