Exodus 1 · Verse 21

Exodus 1:21

And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
Exodus 1:21, King James Version

Exodus 1:21 in other translations

BSBAnd because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.
WEBBecause the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
ASVAnd it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them households.
YLTand it cometh to pass, because the midwives have feared God, that He maketh for them households;
DARBYAnd it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
BBEAnd because the women who took care of the Hebrew mothers had the fear of God, he gave them families.
WebsterAnd it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

What does Exodus 1:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 1:20-21

20-21. God dealt well with the midwives--This represents God as rewarding them for telling a lie. This difficulty is wholly removed by a more correct translation. To "make" or "build up a house" in Hebrew idiom, means to have a numerous progeny. The passage then should be rendered thus: "God protected the midwives, and the people waxed very mighty; and because the midwives feared, the Hebrews grew and prospered."

Read the full comment on Exodus 1:20-21 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 He made them houses - Dr. Shuckford thinks that there is something wrong both in the punctuation and translation of this place, and reads the passage thus, adding the 21st to the 20th verse: "And they multiplied and waxed mighty; and this happened (ויהי vayehi) because the midwives feared God; and he (Pharaoh) made (להם lahem, masc.). them (the Israelites) houses; and commanded all his people, saying, Every son that is born, etc." The doctor supposes that previously to this time the Israelites had no fixed dwellings, but lived in tents, and therefore had a better opportunity of concealing their children; but now Pharaoh built them houses, and obliged them to dwell in them, and caused the Egyptians to watch over them, that all the male children might be destroyed, which could not have been easily effected had the Israelites continued to live in their usual scattered manner in tents. That the houses in question were not made for the midwives, but for the Israelites in general, the Hebrew text seems pretty plainly to indicate, for the pronoun להם lahem, to them, is the masculine gender; had the midwives been meant, the feminine pronoun להן lahen would have been used. Others contend that by making them houses, not only the midwives are intended, but also that the words mark an increase of their families, and that the objection taken from the masculine pronoun is of no weight, because these pronouns are often interchanged; see 1Kgs 22:17, where להם lahem is written, and in the parallel place, 2Chr 18:16, להן lahen is used. So בהם bahem, in 1Chr 10:7, is written בהן bahen, 1Sam 31:7, and in several other places. There is no doubt that God did bless the midwives, his approbation of their conduct is strictly marked; and there can be no doubt of his prospering the Israelites, for it is particularly said that the people multiplied and waxed very mighty. But the words most probably refer to the Israelites, whose houses or families were built up by an extraordinary in crease of children, notwithstanding the cruel policy of the Egyptian king. Vain is the counsel of man when opposed to the determinations of God! All the means used for the destruction of this people became in his hand instruments of their prosperity and increase. How true is the saying, If God be for us, who can be against us?

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 1:15-22

The Egyptians tried to destroy Israel by the murder of their children. The enmity that is in the seed of the serpent, against the Seed of the woman, makes men forget all pity. It is plain that the Hebrews were now under an uncommon blessing. And we see that the services done for God's Israel are often repaid in kind. Pharaoh gave orders to drown all the male children of the Hebrews. The enemy who, by Pharaoh…

Read the full comment on Exodus 1:15-22 →

Exodus 1:21 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיְהִ֕יvay.Hiand it wasH1961
כִּֽי\־ki-thatH3588
יָֽרְא֥וּya.re.'Uthey fearedH3372
הַֽמְיַלְּדֹ֖תham.ya.le.Dotthe midwivesH3205
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָאֱלֹהִ֑יםha.'E.lo.Him<the> GodH430
וַיַּ֥עַשׂvai.Ya.'asand he appointedH6213
לָהֶ֖םla.Hemfor <the> them
בָּתִּֽים\׃ba.TimhouseholdsH1004

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 1:21

  • 1 Kings 11:38

    And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

  • 1 Samuel 2:35

    And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

  • Psalms 37:3

    Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

  • Ecclesiastes 8:12

    Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

  • 2 Samuel 7:27-29

    For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

  • 1 Kings 2:24

    Now therefore, as the Lord liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

  • 1 Samuel 25:28

    I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

  • Psalms 127:1

    A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

  • 2 Samuel 7:11-13

    And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

  • Proverbs 24:3

    Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:

  • Psalms 127:3

    Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

  • Jeremiah 35:2

    Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
made them.
1Sa 2:35; 25:28; 2Sa 7:11-13,27-29; 1Ki 2:24; 11:38; Ps 37:3
Ps 127:1,3; Pr 24:3; Ec 8:12; Jer 35:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Exodus 1:20

    Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

  • Exodus 1:21

    And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

  • Exodus 1:22

    And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Read all of Exodus 1

Exodus 1:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y por haber las parteras temido á Dios, él les hizo casas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il arriva, parce que les sages-femmes craignirent Dieu, qu’il leur fit des maisons.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und es geschah, weil die Hebammen Gott fürchteten, so machte er ihnen Häuser.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et quia timuerunt obstetrices Deum, ædificavit eis domos.