1:15,16
The king now starts giving edicts to the Hebrew midwives. It is strange that two are named, surely there must have been more than two. Various explanations are possible. Maybe these were two midwives in charge of all the Hebrew midwives, for the king would not have wanted to meet a whole gaggle of midwives. Or maybe there were the two whose names were remembered or recorded. Anyway, they were ordered to kill all the male babies that were born. So we have a form of abortion here, and it is the males who are singled out. Today sex-selection abortion tends to work against females.
1:17
“The midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them.” In the covid pandemic there was a lot of talk about obeying the authorities, following Paul’s words in Romans 13:1. Here we have a commended example of disobedience. And why did they disobey? Because they feared God. Paul’s words do not mean an unquestioning obedience to government in all circumstances. As a general point, every verse should be understood in the light of all Scripture, not in isolation. Secondly when governments command evil or go beyond their realm of competence we have no obligation to obey them.
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