Exodus 1:18
in Exodus 1So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive?
KJV
And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
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This verse in Exodus 1
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
But the midwives feared God
on Exodus 1:17-18
The fear of God is set directly against the command of a king, and the midwives act on the first. Gill and Clarke both point out that Genesis 9:6 had already put the shedding of man's blood under sentence long before Sinai, so the women had a standard in hand to obey. The king then summons them to ask why, which means an order carrying the whole power of Egypt behind it had been quietly refused by two women whose names the text keeps.
This site's exposition
summoned the midwives
The king calls the midwives to account and asks them twice why the boys are alive. His plan depended on killing done quietly at the birth, and the midwives' refusal had brought it to nothing. Their answer comes in verse 19, where Adam Clarke treats it as a plain statement of fact about women hardened by labor in the fields.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
On the midwives' lie, by which they deceived Pharaoh and kept him from killing the Israelite males when they were born: The midwives said that Hebrew women did not give birth as Egyptian women did. It is usual to ask whether such lies have been approved by divine authority. Scripture says that God favored the midwives. It is unclear whether God, in his mercy, pardoned the lie or judged that the lie itself deserved a reward. For the midwives did one thing by letting the infant boys live and another by lying to Pharaoh. In letting them live they performed a work of mercy; but they used that lie for their own ends, to keep Pharaoh from harming the infants. This act could be the occasion not for praise but for pardon. It does not seem to me that the authority to lie has been given to those of whom it is said, "And a lie has not been found in their mouths." For if the lives of certain people, being far below the level of the saints' lives, include these sins of lying, these people are living in accord with their natural abilities, especially if they do not yet know that they should expect heavenly gifts but busy themselves with earthly things. As for those who live in such a way that their conversation, as the apostle says, is in heaven, I do not think that they should regulate the style of their speech, insofar as it affects speaking the truth and avoiding falsehood, on the example of the midwives. But we should consider this question more carefully, on account of the other examples that are found in Scripture.
Many lies indeed seem to be for someone's safety or advantage, spoken not in malice but in kindness: such was that of those midwives in Exodus, who gave a false report to Pharaoh, to the end that the infants of the children of Israel might not be slain. But even these are praised not for the fact but for the disposition shown; since those who only lie in this way will attain in time to a freedom from all lying.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the king called for the midwives,.... Perceiving, by the increase of the Israelites, that they did not obey his commands: and said unto them, why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive? not only did not kill them, but did everything for them that was necessary for their future preservation and health; see Eze 16:4.
They gave a reason for it, which, it seems, God's gracious promise furnished them with--that they came too late to do it, for generally the children were born before they came,
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֤א | vaiyikra' | and he summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לַֽמְיַלְּדֹ֔ת | lamyaledot | <to> the midwives | H3205 → | 496 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָהֶ֔ן | lahen | to <the> them | ||
| מַדּ֥וּעַ | madua' | why? | H4069 → | 72 times |
| עֲשִׂיתֶ֖ן | ʾasiten | have you done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַדָּבָ֣ר | hadavar | the thing | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וַתְּחַיֶּ֖יןָ | vatechaiyeina | and have you let live? | H2421 → | 282 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיְלָדִֽים׃ | hayladim | the [male] children | H3206 → | 89 times |
וַיִּקְרָ֤אand he summoned
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
מִצְרַ֙יִם֙Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לַֽמְיַלְּדֹ֔ת<to> the midwives
lamyaledotH3205 →496 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לָהֶ֔ןto <the> them
lahen
מַדּ֥וּעַwhy?
madua'H4069 →72 times
עֲשִׂיתֶ֖ןhave you done
ʾasitenH6213 →2628 times
הַדָּבָ֣רthe thing
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וַתְּחַיֶּ֖יןָand have you let live?
vatechaiyeinaH2421 →282 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַיְלָדִֽים׃the [male] children
hayladimH3206 →89 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ecclesiastes 8:4For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
it leads to
- Romans 13:1–4
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- Job 9:12
If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’
- Proverbs 20:2
The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.
- Daniel 4:35
All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain…
- Romans 13:1–4
Through
2 Samuel 13:28Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid.…
it leads to
- Judges 19:6
So they sat down and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Please agree to stay overnight and let your heart be merry.”
- Judges 19:9
When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close. Please spend the night. See,…
- Judges 19:22
While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who…
- Nahum 1:10
For they will be entangled as with thorns and consumed like the drink of a drunkard—like stubble that is fully dry.
- Judges 19:6
Where this verse is studied
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About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON EXODUS 1; Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 5.7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.