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# midwife

«midwife» in Mova's judaism dictionary: **A trained nurse or health worker who helps women while…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a midwife, midwives)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A trained nurse or health worker who helps women while they are pregnant, while they give birth and just afterwards. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/#m1)

2) (figurative) A person who helps something new to come into being. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: The Hebrew midwives of Egypt, Shiphrah and Puah, are told by Pharaoh to kill Hebrew baby boys. Midwives also help at the births of Perez and Zerah. Interpretation: The rabbis praise the midwives for fearing God and refusing the order. Some commentators say they were Jochebed and Miriam. In the primary lessons: In everyday life a midwife visits a pregnant mum, helps the baby be born and checks the new baby. In stories, especially in history, the village midwife delivered babies at home. Phrases: community midwife, the midwife delivered the baby.

### examples

- And the midwives said unto Pharaoh: 'Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwife come unto them.' (Torah EXO.1.19, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/#x1)
- And it came to pass, when she travailed, that one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying: 'This came out first.' (Torah GEN.38.28, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/#x2)
- The midwife helped my baby brother be born. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/#x3)
- Mum saw the midwife every few weeks before the birth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/#x4)
- The midwife weighed the newborn baby. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/#x5)
- My aunt is a midwife at the hospital. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/#x6)
- In the old village, the midwife came to people's homes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/#x7)
- The midwife listened to the baby's heartbeat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/#x8)
- Men can be midwives too. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/#x9)

### note

Irregular plural: midwives (f to v), like wife/wives. «Mid-» here once meant «with», so midwife = «with the woman». Both men and women can be midwives.

### In the corpora

- [But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men-children alive.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/EXO.18/)
- [And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/EXO.21/)
- [And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that He made them houses.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/EXO.22/)
- [Midwives and doctors check on mum and baby all the way through.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/18-were-having-a-baby/5/)
- [A midwife is a nurse trained to care for women and babies during pregnancy, birth and the first days after.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/18-were-having-a-baby/16/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «midwife» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/midwife/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.