Heartbeat

Before Moses and Aaron, there were Shiphrah and Puah, two midwives who stood up to the most powerful leader in the world at the time (Exodus 1). Pharaoh isn’t named. The author draws the contrast between the powerful and the powerless: a powerful tyrant against the poor oppressed, one elite man against two marginalized women.

Without Shiphrah and Puah, there would have been no Exodus. Moses would have been killed at birth. The Israelites would have continued in slavery. These midwives stood up to power, injustice and slavery. In contrast to Pharaoh, they brought new, miraculous life into the world. They were original abolitionists. They helped create new futures.