Exodus 1:16

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.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)"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."
• 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 they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. 15Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; 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.” 17But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. 18So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?”

Exodus 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 1:22So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
• Matthew 21:38But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’
• Revelation 12:4His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.

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

• Homicide
• Infanticide
• Israel
• Midwifery
• Oppression
• Servant
• Usurpation

In the dictionaries

• Arise
• Bitter
• Exodus
• Hard
• Lie
• Pharaoh
• Puah
• Wisely
• Birth-Stool
• Daughter

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