Midwife
Midwife [Heb. meyalledet]. A woman who assists other women in childbirth.
The word appears in three passages: Genesis 35:17, where the midwife reassured Rachel that she would deliver the child even on her deathbed; Genesis 38:28, where the midwife assisting Tamar bound a scarlet thread to the hand of the firstborn who put out his hand first; and Exodus 1:15-21, where two Hebrew midwives instructed by the pharaoh to kill all the Hebrew male newborns disobeyed the command out of fear of God, and therefore were blessed by God. These two women were likely overseers of Hebrew midwives.