Question 1

What does the passage say motivated the midwives’ actions, and what specific action did they take?

Accepted Answer

The stated motive is that the midwives “feared God” (v.17). The text connects that inner posture directly to an outward choice: they did not do what the king of Egypt commanded. The command in view is the killing of Hebrew baby boys, and the passage states the opposite outcome—“they kept the baby boys alive.” The narrative doesn’t present their resistance as accidental; it frames it as a deliberate refusal grounded in their fear of God, which in this context functions as a higher loyalty than Pharaoh’s order.

Question 2

How does Pharaoh’s question in verse 18 frame the midwives’ behavior?

Accepted Answer

Pharaoh’s wording assumes the midwives had agency and opportunity: he asks why they “have done this thing” and “saved the male children alive.” That framing treats the situation not as a misunderstanding or a logistical failure but as a choice that needs explanation. It also implies that Pharaoh believes his command was clear and that the midwives were expected to carry it out. The interrogation shows royal oversight and the expectation of compliance, which sharpens the conflict between state policy and the midwives’ actions.

Question 3

Summarize the midwives’ explanation in verse 19. What contrast do they draw?

Accepted Answer

They explain the living boys by contrasting Hebrew and Egyptian women. The claim is that Hebrew women are “vigorous” and give birth before a midwife arrives, so the midwives are not present in time to do what the king demanded. The explanation shifts the focus away from the midwives’ intentions and toward timing and difference in childbirth experience. In narrative terms, it provides Pharaoh with a socially plausible reason for why the policy is not producing the expected results, without explicitly admitting refusal.

Question 4

According to verses 20–21, what outcomes does the narrator connect to these events?

Accepted Answer

Two sets of outcomes are reported. First, God “dealt well with the midwives” (v.20), though the passage doesn’t specify the form of that good treatment. Second, Israel’s growth continues: “the people multiplied and grew very mighty” (v.20), directly contradicting Pharaoh’s attempt to reduce them. Verse 21 adds a further result explicitly tied to the midwives’ fear of God: God “gave them families.” Whether this means children or broader household establishment, the narrator presents it as a fitting outcome connected to their God-fearing stance.

Question 5

What does “fear of God” seem to mean in this passage, based on the actions described?

Accepted Answer

In this context, “fear of God” is not described as an emotion alone; it is shown through behavior. The passage explains the midwives’ refusal to obey Pharaoh by stating they feared God (v.17) and then repeats the connection when describing God giving them families “because” they feared God (v.21). So the phrase functions as a marker of reverence and loyalty that governs choices, even when those choices bring risk under royal scrutiny. The text defines the term largely by its outcome: protecting life rather than complying with a death order.

Question 6

How does this episode function within the wider conflict of Exodus 1?

Accepted Answer

This unit shows one step in Pharaoh’s escalating strategy to control Israel: forced labor has not stopped growth, and targeted killing is attempted next. The midwives episode demonstrates that the killing policy fails at an early point because key agents refuse to participate, and because Israel continues to multiply anyway (v.20). It also sets up the next escalation in Exodus 1:22, where Pharaoh broadens the command beyond midwives to the whole population. In the narrative flow, the scene highlights both human resistance and divine overruling as pressures that thwart oppression.

Exodus 1:17-21

Scripture