Exodus 1:18 records Pharaoh confronting the Hebrew midwives after they refused his order to kill newborn Hebrew boys. He asks them directly why they let the boys live, which shows that his command was being quietly disobeyed. The verse is spoken by the king of Egypt to two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who had been ordered to carry out a policy of infanticide against the Israelites.
The king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and have saved the boys alive?”
Exodus 1:18 (WEB)
What Exodus 1:18 Means
The phrase “called for the midwives” tells you that Pharaoh was not happy. He summoned them to account for their actions, much as a ruler might call a servant to explain a failure. The question “Why have you done this thing?” is not a request for information, since he already knows what they did. It is an accusation, a demand for an explanation that he expects to hear and perhaps to punish.
The second half of the question, “and have saved the boys alive?”, names the exact act of defiance. The midwives had let the male infants live, which was precisely what the king had forbidden. The verse does not promise that defiance will end well for the midwives. In the verses that follow, however, God’s response to them is one of blessing, so the text as a whole shows that resisting an unjust command can be honored by God even when it brings risk.
The Context of Exodus 1:18
Exodus is traditionally attributed to Moses and tells the story of Israel’s departure from Egypt. Chapter 1 sets the scene: the Hebrew people have multiplied greatly, and a new king who does not remember Joseph has grown fearful of them. He first tries to control them through forced labor, and when that fails to slow their growth, he turns to the midwives. The first readers would have known this sequence as the start of a long oppression that the rest of the book resolves.
Just before verse 18, the narrator tells us that the midwives “feared God” and refused the king’s order. Verse 19 then gives their answer, a clever excuse that the Hebrew women give birth too quickly for the midwives to arrive. Read this way, verse 18 is the hinge where Pharaoh’s suspicion meets the midwives’ courage and cunning, and the reader sees that the story turns on who truly holds authority, the king or God.
Key Phrases in Exodus 1:18
Acts 5:29
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
(WEB)
Peter and the apostles speak these words when the high priest forbids them to preach. Like the midwives, they face an authority that demands obedience against conscience, and they choose to obey God rather than human command. The parallel shows a pattern in Scripture of God’s people refusing unjust orders while remaining respectful toward those in authority.
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
(WEB)
This verse says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, which helps explain why the midwives acted as they did. Their reverence for God gave them a settled sense of what mattered most, and it shaped their wisdom in the face of Pharaoh’s threat. Reading it alongside Exodus 1:18 shows that the courage of the midwives grew from their awe before God rather than from mere bravery.
A Short Prayer From Exodus 1:18
Lord, you see the people who are pressured to do what is wrong and who are called to account for doing right. Give me the courage of the midwives when I face someone with power over me who demands that I act against my conscience. Help me to fear you more than I fear the anger of others, and let my words be honest and wise. Protect those who are vulnerable in my life, and let my choices preserve life wherever I can. Amen.
