In Exodus 1, creation language is used abundantly. Exodus 1:7 - “fruitful”, “multiplied”, “swarming”, & “fill the land” (Gen. 1:28). In Exodus 1:8-11, a serpent figure responds to the abundant life by wanting to act “shrewdly” (Gen. 3:1). But, the oppression and slavery didn’t work, the Hebrews continued to “be fruitful and multiply and to fill the land.” In Exodus 1:15, an unnamed Pharaoh speaks to two named midwives (Shiphrah & Puah). He says to kill the sons, “but if it is a daughter, then she shall live” (Exod. 1:16, NASB95); and verse 22 doubles down on this language. Why not kill the daughters? Pharaoh views the women as having no power. He is not afraid of the women, because he under-estimates them. Why does the text twice record this unnecessary line about the daughters? Because God is about to introduce the entire Exodus story by showing Moses go through his own personal Exodus arc. But, God chooses to save Moses through partnering with 7 women. We are shown those seven women in three sets of two, then the seventh is one of seven daughters (God doesn’t want us to miss what He is doing here - this is like walking around the walls of Jericho once per day for 7 days, then 7 times on the 7th day). So, let’s talk about the seven women who rescued Moses.
Shiphrah & puah - Exodus 1:15-22
Shiphrah and Puah chose to not listen to Pharaoh, but to instead let the boys live. They did this because they feared God, not Pharaoh. Do we fear governing authorities/ bosses/ etc, or do we fear God more?
In Exodus 1:18-19, when questioned about the boys living, they responded by saying that the Hebrew women are “lively”/ “vigorous.” Pharaoh had said that the daughters (women) could live, then they tell Pharaoh that the women live (the word often translated as “vigorous”, in verse 19, is the same word that Pharaoh had been using, and it is the very name of Eve, the mother of all women). Pharaoh had been “shrewd” against them, and they are “shrewd” to him.
In Exodus 1:20-21, these midwives should have been killed, but God is good to them, because they feared Him.
Jochebed & Miriam - Exodus 2:1-10
Remember, Pharaoh was not afraid of the daughters (Exod. 1:16, 22). So, we meet a “daughter of Levi”, and her daughter (Exod. 2:1).
Jochebed (her name is mentioned in Exod. 6:20) sees her son (Moses) and sees that he is “good” (the word often translated as “beautiful” is the word translated “good” in Genesis 1-3). In Genesis 1, God created everything and saw that it was good. In Genesis 3, Eve saw the tree as being good for food (Gen. 3:6), so she took the fruit and gave it to her husband. In Exodus 2, Jochebed (like God & Eve) saw what was good, she even “took” the child (Exod. 2:9). But, unlike Eve, Jochebed eventually gave the good thing over to God, while Eve took it for herself.
Jochebed (and her husband - Hebrews 11:23 - who is intentionally not mentioned in the Exodus account to draw more attention to God telling this story through these 7 women deliverers), did what she could do to protect Moses by hiding (aka burying) him for a time period of 3 (months in this case, but reminds me of someone else who was buried for a period of 3 days). They did what they could do to preserve life, but they succeeded by God’s power. We ought to do what we can do to preserve life, but we will only succeed by God’s power.
They made an “ark” to save Moses from a watery death. This is an intentional link to Genesis 6, where Noah made an ark to preserve life from a watery death. That image (also used in many other places throughout the Bible) of passing through water into life as part of our exodus from sin and into life, is picked up in 1 Peter 3:20-21 to apply that image to our baptism. We pass through the watery grave of baptism into new life in the promised land of life, through the resurrection of Jesus.
Pharaoh’s Daughter & Her Maid-servant - Exodus 2:5-10
Remember that Pharaoh is not afraid of the “daughters” (Exod. 1:16, 22). So, now we meet HIS own daughter & her maid-servant. Pharaoh’s own daughter thwarts his plan! She does this knowingly (she knew Moses was a Hebrew) and directly (she drew him out of the water, when they were supposed to throw Hebrew boys into the water). She does this because she had pity on the Hebrew son, and she even ends up paying Jochebed to raise her (giving money from the royal treasury to the slaves, so that they are paid to raise their own forbidden sons). Pharaoh’s underestimation of women has reached his own house and it has been his downfall.
So far, we’ve seen 3 sets of 2 women (Shiphrah & Puah, Jochebed & Miriam, and Pharaoh’s daugher & her maid-servant), and they are all from different social statuses, races, ages, etc. A community of women have defeated the plans of the individual Pharaoh. Because the LORD is behind them.
Zipporah - Exodus 2:16-22; 4:24-26
So, after all of the actions to preserve life (including hiding a body to save a life), the first thing that Moses does is to kill a life & hide that body whose life he ended. Moses acts more like Pharaoh, than like these faithful women.
Moses assumes that Pharaoh will want to kill him for what he did, but once more Pharaoh will be thwarted by the daughters whom he did not fear. Moses flees into the wilderness, where he meets seven women/ daughters (Exod. 2:16). The narrator is trying to make sure that we look for the 7 women by concluding with having the 7th woman be from a group of 7 women (God does this with several things, like walking around the walls of Jericho, etc.). On top of that, the first and last women have the same name! Shiphrah & Zipporah look very different in English, but they are almost identical in Hebrew, and they ARE identical in the Greek text. If you somehow reached this point of Exodus and missed that the story was being told through the emphasis on these seven women, then finding the same name makes you look back and finally notice what is going on. God wants to introduce the story of the Exodus by telling in through the lens of the 7 women who rescued Moses.
In Exodus 2:16-22, Moses finds refuge with this family and marries one of Jethro’s seven daughters (Zipporah). This marriage story (at a well) mirrors those of Rebekah (Gen. 24) & Rachel (Gen. 29). Moses’ son’s name (“Gershom” = “a stranger there”) mirrors the promise to Abram about his descendants being “immigrants in a foreign land” (Gen. 15:13) & the story of Hagar (Gen. 16 - “Hagar” = “Immigrant” - She was an oppressed immigrant slave of Abraham’s, who came from Egypt).
In Exodus 3-4, we read the story of the burning bush (on Mount Horeb/ Sinai) and the commissioning of Moses. We also see his five excuses that he used to try to get out of doing what God had called him to do. Not once did we read about any of these seven women hesitating or making excuses for why they couldn’t do what God wanted, but Moses does everything he can to get out of doing God’s work. Nevertheless, Moses eventually leaves to go back to Egypt (with his wife and sons - Exod. 4:20).
Then we get the wild story of Exodus 4:24-26. Go read it… What just happened?! - God (for some unstated reason) is mad at Moses and goes to kill him. Zipporah (for some unstated reason) knows that God is going to kill Moses. Zipporah (for some unstated reason) knows about the Hebrew custom of circumcision (despite Moses not having them follow it with their sons). So, Zipporah takes decisive action and saves Moses.
Zipporah saves Moses (for some unstated reason) by “touching” (many translations say “threw”, but the word is “touch”) the foreskin of their firstborn son to “his feet.” - The word “touch” is the same word used in Exodus 12:22 in the Passover story, when they were saved from God killing the firstborn by “touching” the blood to the door-frame. - This is a (pre-passover) passover story, where Zipporah takes the role of the deliverer. In the Passover story, God will be both the one killing & delivering. In this story, Zipporah is placed in God’s role as deliverer. But, really God is both the one killing & delivering in this story too, because God partners with the women to deliver Moses, just as He will later partner with Moses to save Israel. And, much later, there will be another Passover story, about the blood of another firstborn Son, who saves many from death.
Conclusion
At the beginning of the Exodus story (of bringing life from death), we get a preview of that story with Moses going through his own personal Exodus (passing through water, Sinai instructions, Passover moment, etc.). But, God chooses to tell this story through the lens of seven women who partnered with God to rescue life. These women act, in their position of powerlessness, with courage and wisdom, because they fear the LORD and value life.
All of this is consistent with the way that God chooses to act in ways that the world views as “weak” & “foolish”, in order to shame those that are “strong” & “wise” (see 1 Corinthians 1-3). In fact, Exodus is not the only book that God chooses to begin by telling it through the story of women: Genesis (Eve), Joshua (Rahab), Judges (Achsah), Ruth (Ruth, Naomi, & Orpah), 1 Samuel (Hannah & Penninah), Esther (Vashti), Matthew/ Luke (Mary), etc.
The “Pharaoh’s” of this life may not value life, nor fear the powerless. But, those who partner with God (no matter how powerless they may be), and act out of their value for life and their fear of the LORD, can bring life to many. God makes the weak, strong, and he brings down the proud. Join with the community of God’s people (who come from a variety of positions in society, races, ages, genders, etc.), and work by God’s strength to overcome the “Pharaoh’s” that you face.
[You can listen to our congregation discuss this topic in a Bible study on “The Women of the Bible”]
[You can learn more about the 7 women who rescued Moses via this podcast and/ or this article, both by The Bible Project.]