Exodus 1:15 records the moment Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, first addresses the Hebrew midwives by name in order to give them a terrible command. The verse itself is short, but it introduces the two women who will quietly defy an empire and protect the people of Israel. It is spoken by the king of Egypt to the midwives Shiphrah and Puah.
The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah…
Exodus 1:15 (WEB)
What Exodus 1:15 Means
The verse begins with a king addressing his subjects, which signals power and authority. Egypt’s ruler is not making a casual request. He is opening a conversation that will lead to a plan to destroy the Israelite baby boys. The verse does not yet reveal his command, which comes in the following verse, but it marks the point where royal power turns directly toward two specific women.
Naming the midwives matters. Most of the people in the Exodus story are described in groups, such as the Egyptians or the Israelites. Here the text names Shiphrah and Puah, which gives them individual identity. Their names tell the reader that these women are not background figures but central actors whose choices will shape what happens next.
The verse promises nothing directly to the reader. It shows the beginning of a threat and sets the stage for a story in which God’s purposes move forward through ordinary people who refuse to obey an unjust order.
The Context of Exodus 1:15
Exodus is traditionally attributed to Moses and tells how God rescued the descendants of Jacob from slavery in Egypt and brought them toward the land he promised. The first chapter sets the scene by describing how the Israelites multiplied despite harsh labor. Verses 12 through 14 show the Egyptians responding to this growth with increasing cruelty, which makes Pharaoh’s turn toward the midwives feel like a deliberate escalation.
Just after verse 15, Pharaoh gives his order to kill the Hebrew boys at birth, and the midwives respond by fearing God rather than the king. Read in this light, verse 15 is the hinge of the chapter. It shows how a government plan to control a population is about to meet resistance rooted in a higher loyalty.
Key Phrases in Exodus 1:15
Exodus 1:17
But the midwives feared God, and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive.
(WEB)
This verse follows directly after the king’s command and shows the midwives’ response. It reveals the reason for their courage, which helps explain why the opening of the story in verse 15 matters so much.
Acts 5:29
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
(WEB)
In this verse the apostles respond to religious authorities who forbid them to preach, saying they must obey God rather than people. The principle echoes the midwives’ stand and shows how the same question of loyalty appears across Scripture.
A Short Prayer From Exodus 1:15
Lord, you see the pressure that people in power can place on ordinary lives, and you see the courage it takes to refuse an unjust command. Give me the wisdom to recognize when I am being asked to act against what I know is right. Help me to fear you more than I fear the people who seem to control my circumstances. Keep me faithful in the small moments where my obedience matters most, and remind me that you are at work even when the story seems to belong to others. Amen.
