The Hebrew Midwives, Morality, and Civil Disobedience

Civil disobedience is one of the ideas that I assumed was relatively new. The past is a different country, and people often acted and thought very differently from today. But sometimes when reading you come across an event that seems strikingly modern and relevant for our times, or you see an incident that you were aware of in a completely different light. The Hebrew midwives and their disobedience of Pharaoh’s order to kill male Israelite children is the most recent example of that; I had known about it, but I didn’t realize until very recently what an obvious example of civil disobedience in literature it was.

Over the past week I have been reading Carol Meyers’s excellent commentary on the Book of Exodus. It is an insightful book, and makes you think about the events described in the text. She points out how the words and structure are carefully chosen to emphasize certain meanings, describes the world of the Near East three thousand years, and explains various concepts that her readers are unfamiliar with.

In Exodus 15:1, the king of Egypt (who “does not know Joseph” and remains unnamed) commands the Hebrew midwives, two of which are named Shiphrah and Purah, to kill Hebrew babies if they are boys. Meyers points out that the first Israelites named in Exodus are women, and they are given the dignity of names, as opposed to the nameless pharaoh. The pharaoh is attempting to get the midwives to commit terrible acts for him, and divide the Israelites among themselves; if he can get the midwives to murder the babies, the rest of the people will likely blame them, and the likelihood of a unified Hebrew resistance will be greatly diminished. Midwifery also seems to be a women’s profession, and the pharaoh expects that these women (who are, after all, probably slaves themselves, and can be threatened with dire punishments) will obey his command.

But, in perhaps the first recorded instance of civil disobedience in literature, they do not. The text states that “the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.” These Israelite midwives are the first to resist the pharaoh’s commands, and the Exodus narrative portrays this as the right thing to do, a courageous act, and in accordance with God’s will. Additionally, these women are professional midwives, and so their job is to safely bring babies into the world. I imagine they would have been especially horrified by a command that was so completely opposed to everything they worked for, and that would have strengthened their resolve to resist.

The pharaoh finds out that the Hebrew midwives are not killing newborn boys (this would be very difficult to hide in any case) so he summons them into his presence and demands to know why his orders have not been carried out. The Hebrew midwives are standing on the edge of a knife; the pharaoh is likely furious and used to having his every command obeyed, and ready to order them punished or killed if they do not have a good answer.

How do the midwives respond? They follow in one of the Bible’s oldest traditions; they dissemble to the pharaoh and say what he wants to hear. The midwives tell him that “the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” The language they use to describe the Hebrew women giving birth is not flattering and indirectly compares them to animals, so in this way they denigrate Hebrews as a way of deflecting suspicion. The pharaoh’s own prejudices against the Hebrews are used to help them.

There are other stories in the Bible that resemble this one. As Meyers says, “They exonerate themselves by deception; a theme that appears frequently in the Hebrew Bible; the needs of a subordinate group or individual are achieved against the will of a more powerful figure by wiliness rather than force” (pg. 37–39). Other examples of this include Jacob’s disguise of himself as Esau to receive Isaac’s blessing and Esther’s petition to the Persian king to stop Haman’s slaughter of the Jewish people. In all these cases, stealth and wits are not considered dishonorable or unchivalrous, but a way to achieve your goals when outright force would be crushed by a superior power. Cunning and cleverness are good traits to have — one might argue they are necessary for an oppressed people.

Some later interpreters of the Bible were bothered by the fact that the midwives lied, and that they lied to a ruler. King James I of England was apparently offended by the fact that they disobeyed a royal command, even one that was immoral. But frankly, I do not understand the problem. By lying to the pharaoh and covering up their civil disobedience, the Hebrew midwives were protecting Hebrew children and lessening the pharaoh’s anger against them. Sure, they could have stood up, boldly proclaimed that they disobeyed the pharaoh, and denounced his order as immoral, but that would have resulted in their deaths, and likely the deaths of a great many Hebrews. In this case, discretion is the better part of valor, and it enables them to continue their civil disobedience of saving lives and helping women give birth.

The episode concludes with the midwives being rewarded: “So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.” God is pleased with the midwives, and rewards them for their courage and integrity by giving them families. In an agriculture-based, pre-industrial society like ancient Israel, families were vitally important, far more so than they are today. They were the basis around which society was organized, and most of them were largely self-sustaining. A person without a family had no heirs to carry on their name, and was vulnerable to exploitation or injustice, since they had no one to stand up for them or avenge their deaths. In this sense, civil disobedience has consequences; the Israelite boys survive and grow up, strengthening their people, the Hebrew midwives maintain their moral integrity and their compassion, gaining the respect and thanks of their people, and God rewards them by giving them families and children. The reward is tangible and in this world as opposed to a reward in heaven, which fits with the Torah’s emphasis on life in this world, not the next.

Looking back, I’m impressed that the author or authors of Exodus were able to convey so much in so few words. In a few sentences, the narrative presents a grave injustice being ordered by a ruler, shows how a marginalized group of women quietly disobeyed that order and saved many lives, demonstrates how the women escaped punishment through guile, and ends with a description of the good that resulted from their courageous actions. This passage exhorts you to work to combat injustice and disobey wrongful orders, even if you do it quietly. In fact, quiet disobedience may be the most powerful and courageous way to help make a better world.

The example of Shiphrah, Purah, and the other Hebrew midwives deserves to be better known. Perhaps the story isn’t that well known because those holding power were concerned about the lessons of resistance and injustice that it teaches?