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Exodus 1:15-16
Pharaoh shifts tactics by commanding two midwives to destroy Hebrew baby boys, while allowing girls to live.
Meaning in context
The king of Egypt addresses the midwives connected with the Hebrews and names two individuals, Shiphrah and Puah, moving the story from anonymous policy to personal agents.
He gives a conditional directive: if the newborn is male, the child is to be killed; if female, she is to be allowed to live. The timing is tied to the moment the child’s sex is recognized during the birth process.
Section 5 of 7
Secret order to kill newborn sons
Pharaoh shifts tactics by commanding two midwives to destroy Hebrew baby boys, while allowing girls to live.
Movement
From slavery to covenant presence
Artifact
Deliverance route and tabernacle pattern
Biblical Timeline
Exodus & Settlement
Exodus context: 1500 BC - 1000 BC
Biblical Timeline
Exodus & Settlement
Exodus context
Exodus & Settlement / 1500 BC - 1000 BC
Exodus context is set in the exodus and settlement period, where Moses, the exodus, wilderness, covenant instruction, conquest, and judges.
Scripture Text
Thesis
Pharaoh shifts tactics by commanding two midwives to destroy Hebrew baby boys, while allowing girls to live.
Plain Meaning
The king of Egypt addresses the midwives connected with the Hebrews and names two individuals, Shiphrah and Puah, moving the story from anonymous policy to personal agents.
He gives a conditional directive: if the newborn is male, the child is to be killed; if female, she is to be allowed to live. The timing is tied to the moment the child’s sex is recognized during the birth process.
Literary Context
This unit follows the report of Israel’s growth and the new king’s fear-driven escalation into forced labor earlier in the chapter. The narrative now slows with named characters and direct royal speech, setting up the coming conflict between state policy and the actions of the midwives.
Historical Context
The scene presumes a centralized court able to issue orders affecting a resident minority population. Midwives were a practical point of leverage because births occurred in domestic settings and could be monitored indirectly. The label “Hebrew” marks an identifiable social group within Egypt, likely concentrated in specific settlements and viewed as distinct.
Theological Significance
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