English Standard Version
Exodus 1:16
16"When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live."
Exodus 1:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
- New International Version (NIV)“When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.”
Context of Exodus 1:16
14and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. 15Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, "When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live." 17But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this, and let the male children live?"
Read all of Exodus 1Exodus 1:16 word by word
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר בְּיַלֶּדְכֶן֙ אֶת־הָֽעִבְרִיּ֔וֹת וּרְאִיתֶ֖ן עַל־הָאָבְנָ֑יִם אִם־בֵּ֥ן הוּא֙ וַהֲמִתֶּ֣ן אֹת֔וֹ וְאִם־בַּ֥ת הִ֖יא וָחָֽיָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- When ye do the office of a midwifeיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- to the Hebrew womenעִבְרִי‛ibrîy · HebrewH5680
- and seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- upon the stoolsאֹבֶן'ôben · wheelH70
- a sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- then ye shall killמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- a daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- then she shall liveחָיַיchâyay · to liveH2425
Cross-references for Exodus 1:16
- Exodus 1:22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live."
- Matthew 21:38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.'
- Revelation 12:4His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
Commentaries on Exodus 1:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Upon the stools - האבנים על al haobnayim . This is a difficult word, and occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible but in Jeremiah 18:3, where we translate it the potter's wheels. As אכי signifies a stone, the obnayim has been supposed to signify a stone trough, in which they received and washed the infant as soon as born. Jarchi, in his book of Hebrew roots, gives a very different interpretation of it; he derives it from בן ben, a son, or בנים banim…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Upon the stools - Literally, “two stones.” The word denotes a special seat, such as is represented on monuments of the 18th Dynasty, and is still used by Egyptian midwives.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-22Verses 15-22 The Egyptians tried to destroy Israel by the murder of their children. The enmity that is in the seed of the serpent, against the Seed of the woman, makes men forget all pity. It is plain that the Hebrews were now under an uncommon blessing. And we see that the services done for God's Israel are often repaid in kind. Pharaoh gave orders to drown all the male children of the Hebrews. The enemy who, by Pharaoh, attempted to destroy the church…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live: This command called for killing only the male children. It would not remove the Hebrews as a source of forced labor. When the girls grew up, they could marry male slaves from other ethnic groups. In this way, the Hebrews would lose their unity as a people. At the same time, Egypt would still keep a large supply of slaves.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. if it be a son, then ye shall kill him--Opinions are divided, however, what was the method of destruction which the king did recommend. Some think that the "stools" were low seats on which these obstetric practitioners sat by the bedside of the Hebrew women; and that, as they might easily discover the sex, so, whenever a boy appeared, they were to strangle it, unknown to its parents; while others are of opinion that the "stools" were stone troughs, by…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 1:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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