Midwife

A midwife is a woman who attends a woman in labor and assists with the delivery. The role corresponds to that of the modern professional midwife.

Biblical Texts

In the New Korean Revised Version, the word "midwife" appears in Genesis and Exodus.

• Genesis 35:16–19: Rachel suffers hard labor while giving birth to Benjamin. The midwife tells her, "Fear not; thou shalt have this son also." Rachel dies from this delivery on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.
• Genesis 38:27–30: Tamar gives birth to twins. When one child puts out his hand first, the midwife ties a scarlet thread on it to mark him as the firstborn. But when he draws back his hand, his brother comes out first and is named Perez, while the child with the thread is named Zerah.
• Exodus 1:15–21: The king of Egypt, Pharaoh, orders the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah to kill the male children born to Hebrew women. The midwives fear God, refuse to obey the order, and let the boys live. When the king questions them, the midwives answer that the Hebrew women are lively and give birth before the midwife arrives. God deals well with the midwives and makes their households prosper.

Background

The Hebrew word translated "midwife," meyalledet, derives from the verb yalad, "to bear" or "to give birth," and denotes one who helps another give birth. In ancient Israel, childbirth took place at home, with women assisting one another. First Samuel 4:20 likewise describes women standing beside a woman in labor and saying, "Fear not; for thou hast born a son." Ezekiel 16:4 reflects how newborns were cared for at the time: the umbilical cord was cut, and the infant was washed with water, salted, and wrapped in swaddling clothes.

The word rendered "stools" in Exodus 1:16 literally means "two stones" in Hebrew. Many interpreters take it to refer to birthing stones or a birthing stool used during delivery, though its exact meaning is disputed.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

Of the biblical accounts involving midwives, Exodus 1 carries the greatest weight. The text does not name Pharaoh, yet it records the names of the two midwives. Their fear of God thwarts the king's plan to stop Israel's growth, and the narrative leads into the birth of Moses in chapter 2, forming the prelude to the Exodus.

The word "midwife" does not appear in the New Testament. Hebrews 11:23, however, records that Moses' parents "were not afraid of the king's commandment," recalling the faith that defied Pharaoh's order during the same period. Herod's killing of the male children of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16) is often read alongside Pharaoh's decree. The midwives' choice to obey God rather than the king is also cited in connection with Acts 5:29: "We ought to obey God rather than men."

Interpretation and Issues

• The midwives' origin: The Hebrew expression can be read either as "the midwives who were Hebrew women" or as "the midwives to the Hebrew women." For this reason, there is reportedly a tradition, represented by the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, that understood them to be Egyptian women. Korean Bibles and the Korean church generally read them as Hebrew women.
• The midwives' answer: Whether the midwives' reply to Pharaoh should be regarded as a lie, and if so, what God rewarded, is a long-standing question. Augustine reportedly held that God rewarded not their lie but their mercy. Some view the reply as a justified deception to protect life, while others regard it as a truthful account of the actual circumstances. The text says only that the midwives were blessed "because the midwives feared God."
• Later traditions: Jewish rabbinic tradition includes an interpretation identifying Shiphrah and Puah with Moses' mother, Jochebed, and his sister Miriam, but this identification is not found in the biblical text. The story that a midwife was present at the birth of Jesus comes from the Protevangelium of James, an apocryphal work dating from around the second century. The canonical Gospels do not mention a midwife; Luke 2:7 states only that Mary wrapped the child in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.

In the Korean Church

The account of the midwives in Exodus 1 is frequently used in sermons on living in the fear of God, keeping a faithful conscience in the face of unjust commands, and respecting life. It is also cited in discussions of abortion.