Puah
Encyclopedia
Puah is a name given to two persons in the Bible
:
's Talmud commentary on the passage from Exodus identifies Shiphrah with Jochebed
, the mother of Moses, and Puah with Miriam, Moses' sister, making the two midwives mother and daughter respectively. However, in Midrash Tadshe
(on Exodus 1:15), it is assumed that Puah, as well as Shiphrah, was a proselyte, and that she was not identical with Miriam.
The name Puah may be interpreted as an expression of crying out (Isaiah 42:14, for example, translates the Hebrew pa'ah as 'cry out' or 'groan').
Commentators have interpreted Exodus 1:20-21 in various ways. Some scholars argue that the two halves of each verse are parallel, so that it is the Israelites ('who multiplied and grew greatly') for whom God 'made houses'. This fits with the reference in Exodus 1:1 to the chldren of Israel coming down to Egypt, each with his 'house'. However, as Jonathan Magonet
notes, the more common view is that the houses are for the midwives - 'houses' here being understood as 'dynasties'. Rabbinic thought has understood these as the houses of kehunah (priesthood), leviyah (assistants to the priests), and royalty - the latter interpreted as coming from Miriam.
in history" (Voices of Wisdom, ISBN 0-394-40159-X). Jonathan Magonet agrees, calling them 'the earliest, and in some ways the most powerful, examples, of resistance to an evil regime'.
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
:
- One of the two midwives who feared God, and helped prevent the genocideGenocideGenocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
of Hebrew male children by the Egyptians, according to Exodus 1:15-21. Her colleague was ShiphrahShiphrahShiphrah was one of two midwives who helped prevent the genocide of Hebrew children by the Egyptians, according to Exodus 1:15-21.The name is found in a list of slaves in Egypt during the reign of Sobekhotep III. This list is on Brooklyn 35.1446, a papyrus scroll kept in the Brooklyn Museum. The...
.
- The son of Dodo and a descendant of IssacharIssacharIssachar/Yissachar was, according to the Book of Genesis, a son of Jacob and Leah , and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Issachar; however some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...
. He had a son named Tola, who rose to become a Biblical judge. (JudgesBook of JudgesThe Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
10:1)
Puah and Shiphrah
The 11th century Jewish rabbi RashiRashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
's Talmud commentary on the passage from Exodus identifies Shiphrah with Jochebed
Jochebed
According to the Torah, Jochebed was a daughter of Levi and mother of Aaron, Miriam and Moses. She was the wife of Amram, as well as his aunt. No details are given concerning her life. According to Jewish legend, Jochebed is buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs, in Tiberias.-Birth of Moses:The...
, the mother of Moses, and Puah with Miriam, Moses' sister, making the two midwives mother and daughter respectively. However, in Midrash Tadshe
Midrash Tadshe
Midrash Tadshe is a small midrash which begins with an interpretation of Gen. i. 11:The name of the author occurs twice , and the midrash closes with the words "'ad kan me-dibre R. Pineḥas ben Ya'ir." No other authors are named...
(on Exodus 1:15), it is assumed that Puah, as well as Shiphrah, was a proselyte, and that she was not identical with Miriam.
The name Puah may be interpreted as an expression of crying out (Isaiah 42:14, for example, translates the Hebrew pa'ah as 'cry out' or 'groan').
Commentators have interpreted Exodus 1:20-21 in various ways. Some scholars argue that the two halves of each verse are parallel, so that it is the Israelites ('who multiplied and grew greatly') for whom God 'made houses'. This fits with the reference in Exodus 1:1 to the chldren of Israel coming down to Egypt, each with his 'house'. However, as Jonathan Magonet
Jonathan Magonet
Rabbi Jonathan Magonet is a British Jewish theologian, Vice-President of the World Union of Progressive Judaism, and a biblical scholar. He is highly active in Christian-Jewish dialogue, and in dialogue between Jews and Muslims...
notes, the more common view is that the houses are for the midwives - 'houses' here being understood as 'dynasties'. Rabbinic thought has understood these as the houses of kehunah (priesthood), leviyah (assistants to the priests), and royalty - the latter interpreted as coming from Miriam.
Modern interpretations
Francine Klagsbrun said that the refusal of Shiphrah and Puah to follow the Pharaoh's genocidal instructions "may be the first known incident of civil disobedienceCivil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
in history" (Voices of Wisdom, ISBN 0-394-40159-X). Jonathan Magonet agrees, calling them 'the earliest, and in some ways the most powerful, examples, of resistance to an evil regime'.