¹⁵ Two Hebrew ·nurses [midwives] named Shiphrah and Puah were told by the king [^Cnot the Pharaoh of 1:8; perhaps fifteenth or thirteenth century bc—if the latter, probably Rameses], ¹⁶ “When you ·are helping the Hebrew women give birth to their babies [act as midwives for the Hebrew women], ·watch [observe them on the birthstool; or look at the stones; ^Ca euphemism for testicles]! If the baby is a girl, let her live, but if it is a boy, kill him!” ¹⁷ But the ·nurses [midwives] feared God, so they did not do as the king [^Lof Egypt] told them; they let all the boy babies live.