God gives the midwives families

Because the Hebrew midwives feared God, he blessed them with families.

Dictionaries

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised

Midwife

Midwife [piel part of yālaḏ—‘to bear, bring forth’; thus, ‘one who causes or helps to bring forth’]. Midwives are mentioned briefly in Gen. 35:17, where the midwife assures Rachel that her son would be born safely, and in 38:27–30, where, to determine the firstborn, the midwives tie a scarlet cord

The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition

Midwife

MIDWIFE (Heb. m^eyalleḏeṯ, ‘one who helps to bear’). The midwife helped at childbirth by taking the new-born child, cutting its umbilical cord, washing the babe with water, salting and wrapping it (Ezk. 16:4); news of the birth was then brought to the father (Je. 20:15).In Hebrew tradition, midwives

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible

Midwife

MidwifeA woman who assists at childbirth (Gen. 35:17; 38:28). It is unclear whether midwives (Heb. mĕyalleḏeṯ) constituted a professional class.See Nurse.

Eerdmans Bible Dictionary

Midwife

Midwife (Heb. m^eyaleḏeṯ).† A woman who assists at childbirth (Gen. 35:17; 38:27–30). It is unclear whether midwives constituted a professional class. See Birth.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary

Midwife

Midwife—The two midwives mentioned in Ex. 1:15 were probably the superintendents of the whole class.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

MIDWIFE

MIDWIFE<mid’-wif> (מְיַלֶּדֶת‎ [meyalledheth]): Those who in patriarchal times attended mothers at childbirth are so named in Gen 35:17; 38:28; Ex 1:15–22. Such attendants were probably then (1 Sam 4:20), as they usually are now, the older female relatives and friends of the mother. The duties

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Midwife

MIDWIFE Woman who assists in the delivery of a baby (Exod. 1:15–21). The duties of the midwife likely included cutting the umbilical cord, washing and salting the infant, and wrapping the child in cloths (Ezek. 16:4). The civil disobedience of the Hebrew midwives Siphrah and Puah confounded Pharaoh’s

The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Volume 4, M–P

Midwife

midwife. A woman who helps in childbirth (Heb. mĕyalledet, piel ptc. of yālad H3528, “to give birth”). A midwife may often have been an older relative or friend of the family. Some of her duties included cutting the umbilical cord, washing the baby with water, rubbing it with salt, and wrapping it

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volumes 1–5

Midwife

MIDWIFE, midʹwīf (מְיַלֶּדֶת‎, m^eyalledheth): Those who in patriarchal times attended mothers at childbirth are so named in Gen 35:17; 38:28; Ex 1:15–22. Such attendants were probably then (1 S 4:20), as they usually are now, the older female relatives and friends of the mother. The duties which they

The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volumes 1–5

MIDWIFE

MIDWIFE [מְיַלֶּדֶת‎ meyalledheth]. A woman trained to assist mothers in childbirth. Three narratives in the OT feature midwives: Benjamin’s birth to RACHEL (Gen 35:17), the birth of the twins Perez and Zerah to TAMAR (Gen 38:28), and the defiance of SHIPHRAH and PUAH, midwives who protect the male Hebrew

Key passages

Ex 1:20–21

And God did the midwives good, and the Israelite people became many and were very numerous. And so because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

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