The Righteous Women and the Redemption from Egypt: Talmudic Interpretations of Exodus 1:15 (Sotah 11b)
Part of a series, in honor of the upcoming holiday of Passover. Previous installments here and here.
The Talmudic passage in Sotah 11b presents a striking interpretation of the role of righteous women (נשים צדקניות) in the redemption of the Israelites from Egypt. Expanding on the biblical account, the sages emphasize the proactive efforts of Jewish women to sustain and protect their families despite the oppression of slavery. Through a series of miraculous episodes, these women not only ensured the survival of their children but also contributed directly to the redemption itself.
The passage details divine interventions that supported their efforts—from miraculous provisions of food to supernatural protection for newborns hidden from Pharaoh’s decree. Drawing on verses from Psalms, Song of Songs, Ezekiel, and Deuteronomy, the Talmud weaves a narrative of resilience, divine care, and the ultimate recognition of God at the Red Sea by the very children who had survived under miraculous circumstances.
This discussion also revisits the identity of the Hebrew midwives mentioned in Exodus 1:15, debating whether they were Yocheved and Miriam (mother and daughter) or Yocheved and Elisheva (mother-in-law and daughter-in-law). Their names, Shifrah and Puah, are given symbolic meanings related to childbirth and prophetic vision.
Outline
Righteous Israelite Women and the Divine Care for Israelite Children in the Exodus Story
Divine Provision for the Israelite Women: Miraculous Fish in the River
Nurturing Their Husbands and Encouraging Marital Sex
Marital Sex in Egypt and Its Reward (Psalms 68:14): Interpretation of "Lying Among the Sheepfolds"
Israelite Women Giving Birth in Egypt (Song of Songs 8:5): Giving Birth in Secret
Angelic Care for Newborns in Egypt: Divine Midwifery (Ezekiel 16:4)
Miraculous Sustenance (Deuteronomy 32:13)
Protection from Egyptian Murder (Psalms 129:3)
Sprouting from the Ground Like Grass (Ezekiel 16:7)
Returning Home Like Flocks of Sheep (Ezekiel 16:7)
Recognition of God at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:2)
Identity of the Hebrew Midwives (Exodus 1:15): Jochebed, Miriam, and/or Elisheba
The Meanings of Shiphrah and Puah
Appendix - Beneath the Apple Tree: A Midrashic and Aggadic Portrait of Women's Hidden Role in the Redemption from Egypt
Narrative Structure and Rhythm
Biblical Intertextuality and Verse Rewriting
Theological Themes and Subversions
Women as the Engine of Redemption
Sexuality and the Divine Plan
Miracles and the Feminine World
Mythic Imagery and Symbolism
Literary Tone and Style
The Passage
Righteous Israelite Women and the Divine Care for Israelite Children in the Exodus Story
Rav Avira states that the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt due to the merit of the righteous women of that generation (elaborated upon in the following sections).
דרש רב עוירא:
בשכר נשים צדקניות שהיו באותו הדור
נגאלו ישראל ממצרים.
Rav Avira taught:
In the merit of the righteous women that were in that generation,
the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt.
Divine Provision for the Israelite Women: Miraculous Fish in the River
When the Israelite women went to draw water, God caused small fish to enter their pitchers (כדיהן), filling them half with water and half with fish.
They would set to boil (שופתות) two pots—one with hot water and one with fish.
בשעה שהולכות לשאוב מים,
הקדוש ברוך הוא מזמן להם דגים קטנים בכדיהן,
ושואבות
מחצה מים
ומחצה דגים,
ובאות ושופתות שתי קדירות --
אחת של חמין
ואחת של דגים.
He tells of their righteous actions: At the time when these women would go to the river to draw water,
the Holy One, Blessed be He, would materialize for them small fish that would enter into their pitchers,
and they would therefore draw pitchers that were
half filled with water
and half filled with fish.
And they would then come and place two pots on the fire,
one pot of hot water for washing their husbands
and one pot of fish with which to feed them.
Nurturing Their Husbands and Encouraging Marital Sex
The Israelite women in Egypt would bring food to their husbands in the fields (where they were laboring as slaves).
They bathed them and smeared them with oil.1
They provided their husbands with food (the fish from the previous section) to eat and drink (to sustain them).
They then engaged in sexual relations (נזקקות) with them "between the sheepfolds".2
ומוליכות אצל בעליהן לשדה,
ומרחיצות אותן,
וסכות אותן,
ומאכילות אותן,
ומשקות אותן,
ונזקקות להן בין שפתים,
שנאמר: ״אם תשכבון בין שפתים וגו׳״
And they would then take what they prepared to their husbands, to the field, and would
bathe their husbands
and anoint them with oil
and feed them the fish
and give them to drink
and bond with them in sexual intercourse between the sheepfolds, i.e., between the borders and fences of the fields,
as it is stated: “When you lie among the sheepfolds, the wings of the dove are covered with silver, and her pinions with the shimmer of gold” (Psalms 68:14)
Marital Sex in Egypt and Its Reward (Psalms 68:14): Interpretation of "Lying Among the Sheepfolds"
The Talmud interprets the biblical phrase in Psalms “when you lie among the sheepfolds” (quoted in the previous section) as a reference to the Jewish people’s marital sex in Egypt (as described in the previous section).
Because of this behavior, the Jewish people were deemed worthy of receiving the “plunder” (ביזת) of Egypt upon their exodus:
This is inferred from the continuation of the Psalm: “The wings (כנפי) of the dove are coated (נחפה) with silver, and her wings (אברותיה) with the shimmer (ירקרק) of gold”.3
בשכר ״תשכבון בין שפתים״ זכו ישראל לביזת מצרים,
שנאמר:
״כנפי יונה נחפה בכסף
ואברותיה בירקרק חרוץ״.
as a reward for “when you lie among the sheepfolds,” the Jewish people merited to receive the plunder of Egypt,
as it is stated in the continuation of the verse, as a reference to the Jewish people:
“The wings of the dove are covered with silver,
and her pinions with the shimmer of gold” (Psalms 68:14).
Israelite Women Giving Birth in Egypt (Song of Songs 8:5): Giving Birth in Secret
The Talmud then describes how Israelite women in Egypt, upon becoming pregnant, would return home but later give birth in the fields under apple trees.4
This practice is linked to Song of Songs 8:5, which is interpreted as a reference to their childbirth: “Under the apple (תפוח) tree I awakened you; there your mother was in travail with you; there was she in travail and brought you forth.”
וכיון שמתעברות
באות לבתיהם,
וכיון שמגיע זמן מולדיהן,
הולכות ויולדות בשדה תחת התפוח,
שנאמר: ״תחת התפוח עוררתיך וגו׳״.
And when these women would become pregnant,
they would come back to their homes,
and when the time for them to give birth would arrive
they would go and give birth in the field under the apple tree,
as it is stated: “Under the apple tree I awakened you; there your mother was in travail with you; there was she in travail and brought you forth” (Song of Songs 8:5).
Angelic Care for Newborns in Egypt: Divine Midwifery (Ezekiel 16:4)
God then sent “from the heavens above (שמי מרום) one” (i.e. an angel) to cleanse (מנקיר) and prepare (משפיר) the newborns of Israel, similar to how a midwife (חיה) tends to (משפרת) a child.5
This is inferred from Ezekiel 16:4, which describes a newborn neglected—its navel6 uncut (לא כרת), unwashed (לא רחצת למשעי), unsalted, and unswaddled.7
והקדוש ברוך הוא שולח משמי מרום מי שמנקיר ומשפיר אותן,
כחיה זו שמשפרת את הולד,
שנאמר:
״ומולדותיך
ביום הולדת אותך
לא כרת שרך
ובמים לא רחצת למשעי וגו׳״.
And the Holy One, Blessed be He, would send from the heavens above an angel who would clean and prepare the newborns,
just as a midwife prepares the newborn,
as it is stated:
“And as for your birth,
on the day you were born,
your navel was not cut
nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not salted at all, nor swaddled at all” (Ezekiel 16:4).
This indicates that there were no midwives to take care of the Jews born in Egypt.
Miraculous Sustenance (Deuteronomy 32:13)
The angel provided sustenance by causing two stones (עגולין) to produce nourishment—one flowing with oil and the other with honey—fulfilling the verse in Deuteronomy 32:13 about being fed with honey from a rock (סלע) and oil from a flinty rock.
ומלקט להן שני עגולין --
אחד של שמן,
ואחד של דבש,
שנאמר: ״וינקהו דבש מסלע ושמן וגו׳״.
And then, the angel would gather for them two round stones from the field and the babies would nurse from that which would flow out of them.
One of the stones flowed with oil
and one of the stones flowed with honey,
as it is stated: “And He would suckle them with honey from a crag and oil from a flinty rock” (Deuteronomy 32:13).
Protection from Egyptian Murder (Psalms 129:3)
When the Egyptians sought to kill these babies, a miracle caused them to be absorbed (נבלעין) into the ground (קרקע).
The Egyptians then plowed over them, as reflected in Psalms 129:3.
וכיון שמכירין בהן מצרים, באין להורגן,
ונעשה להם נס, ונבלעין בקרקע,
ומביאין שוורים, וחורשין על גבן,
שנאמר: ״על גבי חרשו חרשים וגו׳״.
And once the Egyptians would notice them, realizing that they were Jewish babies, they would come to kill them.
But a miracle would occur for them and they would be absorbed by the earth.
And the Egyptians would then bring oxen and would plow upon them,
as it is stated: “The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows” (Psalms 129:3).
Sprouting from the Ground Like Grass (Ezekiel 16:7)
After the danger passed, the children sprouted (מבצבצין) from the ground like the “grass (עשב) of the field”,8 as described in Ezekiel 16:7.
לאחר שהולכין, היו מבצבצין ויוצאין כעשב השדה,
שנאמר: ״רבבה כצמח השדה נתתיך״.
After the Egyptians would leave, the babies would emerge and exit the ground like grass of the field,
as it is stated: “I caused you to increase even as the growth of the field” (Ezekiel 16:7).
Returning Home Like Flocks of Sheep (Ezekiel 16:7)
Once mature, the children returned to their homes in groups (עדרים), reinterpreting Ezekiel 16:7 via wordplay to mean they came back in flocks (עדרים), rather than with beauty (עדיים).
וכיון שמתגדלין, באין עדרים עדרים לבתיהן,
שנאמר:
״ותרבי
ותגדלי
ותבאי בעדי עדיים״,
אל תקרי ״בעדי עדיים״,
אלא ״בעדרי עדרים״.
And once the babies would grow, they would come like many flocks of sheep to their homes,
as it is stated in the continuation of the verse:
“And you did increase
and grow up
and you came with excellent beauty [ba’adi adayim]” (Ezekiel 16:7).
Do not read the verse as: “Ba’adi adayim,” “with excellent beauty.”
Rather, read it as: Be’edrei adarim, meaning: As many flocks.
Recognition of God at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:2)
When God was revealed (נגלה) at the splitting of the Red Sea, these children (having previously experienced divine miracles) were the first to recognize Him and proclaim, "This is my God, and I will glorify Him (אנוהו)" (Exodus 15:2).
וכשנגלה הקדוש ברוך הוא על הים,
הם הכירוהו תחלה,
שנאמר: ״זה אלי, ואנוהו״.
And when the Holy One, Blessed be He, revealed Himself at the Red Sea,
these children recognized Him first,
as it is stated: “This is my God, and I will glorify Him” (Exodus 15:2).
They recognized Him from the previous time that He revealed Himself to them in their infancy, enabling them to say: “This is my God.”
Identity of the Hebrew Midwives (Exodus 1:15): Jochebed, Miriam, and/or Elisheba
Rav and Shmuel debate the identity of the midwives mentioned in Exodus 1:15:
One opinion holds that they were a mother and daughter—Jochebed and Miriam—while the other maintains they were a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law—Jochebed and Elisheba.
״ויאמר מלך מצרים למילדות העבריות וגו׳״.
רב ושמואל:
חד אמר: אשה ובתה,
וחד אמר: כלה וחמותה.
מאן דאמר אשה ובתה — יוכבד ומרים,
ומאן דאמר כלה וחמותה — יוכבד ואלישבע.
The verse states: “And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah” (Exodus 1:15).
Rav and Shmuel disagree as to the proper interpretation of this verse:
One says that these midwives were a woman and her daughter,
and one says that they were a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law.
According to the one who says that they were a woman and her daughter, the women were Jochebed, the mother of Moses and Aaron, and her daughter, Miriam.
And according to the one who says that they were a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law, the verse is referring to Jochebed and her daughter-in-law Elisheba, the wife of Aaron.
The Meanings of Shiphrah and Puah
A baraita supports the view that they were a mother and daughter.
It identifies Shiphrah as Jochebed, explaining that she was called Shiphrah either because she “beautified” (מְשַׁפֶּרֶת) newborns or because the Jewish people were “fruitful and increase” (שֶׁפָּרוּ וְרָבּוּ) during her time.
The baraita further identifies Puah as Miriam.
She was called Puah either because she soothed newborns with comforting sounds9 while assisting in childbirth, or because she “spoke” (פוֹעָה) channeling the Holy Spirit (רוח הקודש), prophesying that her mother would give birth to the future savior of the Jewish people.10
תניא כמאן דאמר אשה ובתה,
דתניא:
שפרה זו יוכבד,
ולמה נקרא שמה שפרה?
שמשפרת את הולד.
דבר אחר:
״שפרה״ — שפרו ורבו ישראל בימיה.
״פועה״ — זו מרים.
ולמה נקרא שמה ״פועה״?
שהיתה פועה ומוציאה את הולד.
דבר אחר:
״פועה״ —
שהיתה פועה ברוח הקודש
ואומרת: עתידה אמי שתלד בן שמושיע את ישראל.
It is taught in a baraita according to the one who says that they were a woman and her daughter,
because it is taught in a baraita:
With regard to Shiphrah, who is referred to in the verse, this is really a reference to Jochebed.
And why was she called Shiphrah?
Because she would prepare [mishapperet] the newborn.
Alternatively:
she is referred to as Shiphrah because the Jewish people increased and multiplied [shepparu verabbu] in her days, due to her assistance.
The baraita continues: With regard to Puah, who is referred to in the verse, this is really a reference to Miriam.
And why was she called Puah?
Because she would make a comforting sound [po’a] as she would remove the child from the womb of the mother.
Alternatively:
the word Puah is related to one of the verbs that describe speaking,
as she would speak [po’a] through divine inspiration
and say: In the future, my mother will give birth to a son who will save the Jewish people.
Appendix - Beneath the Apple Tree: A Midrashic and Aggadic Portrait of Women's Hidden Role in the Redemption from Egypt
This remarkable aggadic passage from Sotah 11b exemplifies many hallmarks of rabbinic storytelling: midrashic interweaving of biblical verses, mythopoeic imagination, poetic imagery, and theological messaging—all centered on the redemptive role of righteous women during the darkest moments of Israelite slavery.11
Let's analyze it through a few literary lenses:
Narrative Structure and Rhythm
The passage unfolds in a series of chronologically linked vignettes that follow the lifecycle of Israelite reproduction under Egyptian oppression:
Women drawing water
Feeding and caring for their husbands
Conception and birth in the field
Divine midwifery and miraculous sustenance
Threat of death and miraculous concealment
Growth and homecoming
Recognition of God at the sea
This sequence mirrors a heroic epic structure, but instead of focusing on a single protagonist, it centers on a collective character—the righteous women and their children—as the unseen, unsung heroes of the Exodus.
The rhythm is repetitive and cumulative, giving the story a liturgical cadence, suitable for oral retelling. Each episode builds on the previous one, with recurring divine interventions creating a sense of providential momentum leading toward redemption.
Biblical Intertextuality and Verse Rewriting
The passage is laced with creative reinterpretations of biblical verses:
Al tiqrei ("do not read X, but read Y") re-readings via wordplay, a classic midrashic technique: "Ba’adi adayim" → "Be’edrei adarim" – turning aesthetic beauty into flocks of returning children.
Psalms 68:14 ("When you lie among the sheepfolds") becomes not pastoral but erotic.
Deut. 32:13 ("He would suckle them with honey from a crag") becomes literalized: stones producing milk and honey.
This exegetical creativity gives a mythic backstory to verses not originally connected to the Exodus, reframing them as encrypted glimpses of women's hidden heroism.
Theological Themes and Subversions
Women as the Engine of Redemption
The opening line asserts a bold theological claim: “In the merit of the righteous women… the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt.” This frames the entire aggadah as a counter-narrative to male-centered Exodus tales. The women are spiritual protagonists, and their acts of caregiving, erotic initiative, and maternal risk are all redeeming behaviors.
Sexuality and the Divine Plan
The passage does not shy away from portraying sexuality positively. The phrase "נזקקות להן בין שפתים" evokes intimacy. In this depiction, female desire and action are not merely allowed but sanctified as instruments of national salvation.
Miracles and the Feminine World
The miracles described—fish in water jugs, stones producing honey and oil, divine midwifery, children absorbed and reborn from the earth—are rooted in the natural and maternal spheres. They contrast sharply with the grand, violent miracles of the Exodus (plagues, splitting of the sea), creating a counter-miracle tradition centered in women’s quiet but transformative faith.
Mythic Imagery and Symbolism
The passage reads like a myth of national origin:
The apple tree (תחת התפוח) becomes a symbol of natural, Edenic birth.
Children emerging from the ground like grass evokes resurrection or rebirth from the land—Israel as literally "born from the soil of Egypt."
Flocks returning home conjures images of pastoral renewal and abundance.
Recognition of God at the sea becomes a form of anamnesis—a primal memory carried from infancy.
The cumulative effect is to mythologize the Exodus not as a story of escape, but as a story of emergence—biological, communal, and spiritual.
Literary Tone and Style
The tone is tender and reverent, especially in descriptions of the women’s care for their husbands and their children.
There’s an underlying heroic ethos, but it’s domestic and relational rather than military.
Divine presence is intimate rather than awesome: God becomes midwife, provider, and protector.
Conclusion
From a literary perspective, this passage is a midrashic symphony that transforms scattered biblical verses into a cohesive, mythic narrative of hidden redemption. It reframes the Exodus not just as God’s intervention, but as the fruit of women’s moral courage, erotic agency, and maternal sacrifice—elevated through poetic imagery, exegetical ingenuity, and narrative tenderness.
It invites us to see the invisible heroes—those who cook, bathe, love, give birth, and protect—in mythic terms. And in doing so, it subtly reorients the narrative of national redemption around the rhythms of the body, the home, and the field.
סכות - ensuring their well-being despite the harsh conditions.
בין שפתים - i.e. in secluded places in the fields.
חרוץ. The entire verse is interpreted as an extended metaphor for the plunder of Egypt.
I.e. due to Egyptian oppression, Israelite women gave birth in secret, avoiding Pharaoh’s decree to kill newborn males. The apple tree symbolizes a hidden, protected place for childbirth.
ולד - “walid”.
שרך - i.e. umbilical cord.
Highlighting the absence of midwives. This supports the tradition that no human midwives were present for Jewish births in Egypt, and divine intervention filled the role.
עשב השדה. This idiom appears often in biblical and talmudic literature, compare the passage quoted in my piece “Pt3 Prayer, Poetry, and Ethics: A Journey Through Seventeen Talmudic Prayers and Ethical Teachings (Berakhot 16b-17a; Eruvin 54a)“, section “The Impermanence of Wealth and Life: A Reflection on the Futility of Hoarding and the Uncertainty of Death“, lines #5-6:
בני האדם דומים לעשבי השדה
הללו נוצצין, והללו נובלין.
People are similar to grass of the field (עשבי השדה),
in that these blossom (נוצצין), i.e., grow, and their actions are blessed, and these wither (נובלין) and die.
And see my note there for biblical parallels.
פוֹעָה - “po’ah” - presumably onomatopoeia / imitiative.
I.e. Moses. The Talmud expands on this prophecy of Miriam’s later in the sugya, in Sotah.12b.23-13a.1 (=Megillah.14a.14-15).
Notably, many unusual, literary words are used in this extended passage (aside from the biblical quotes):
שופתות (possibly an allusion to the biblical word שפתים, used in the next paragraph)
נזקקות (This term euphemistically describes marital intimacy; notably, it’s usually used in reference to animals mating.)
שמי מרום ("The high heavens" represents an elevated poetic register not found elsewhere)
מנקיר
משפיר
עגולין
נבלעין (This dramatic verb recalls other biblical instances of earth swallowing - Korah's rebellion, but inverts the meaning—instead of punishment, here it represents salvation and concealment.)
מבצבצין (This vivid, onomatopoeic term depicts children "sprouting forth" from the ground. )
עשב השדה (see my previous footnote on that term.)