Story · 2 · Miriam

The midwives' clever excuse

Ordered to kill Hebrew boys, two midwives refuse. Called to account, they tell Pharaoh that Hebrew women give birth before the midwife can arrive.

Civil disobedience with a straight face.

Dig deeper

Their defiance crosses lines of class and ethnicity. It's the first of a chain of women's acts that make the exodus possible.

Bible reference: Exodus 1:15–21

Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 29

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