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God gives the midwives families
Because the Hebrew midwives feared God, he blessed them with families.
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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. meyalleḏeṯ, ‘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. meyaleḏeṯ).† 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, 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 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.

See also
Participants
God
Puah (midwife)
Shiphrah
Setting
Egypt (nation)
Topics & Themes
Midwife