Shiphrah and Puah

Shiphrah (Hebrew: שִׁפְרָה Šip̄rā) and Puah (Hebrew: פּוּעָה Pūʿā) were two midwives who briefly prevented a genocide of children by the Egyptians, according to Exodus 1:15–21. According to the Exodus narrative, they were commanded by the King of Egypt, or Pharaoh, to kill all male Hebrew babies, but they refused to do so. When challenged by the Pharaoh, they told him Hebrew women's labour was short-lived because they were 'lively' or 'vigorous', and the babies had been born (and protected) before the midwives arrived. God "dealt well with the midwives" and "made them houses".