Hebrew midwives
Seeing Christ in Exodus 1 : 8‑22 through Sensus Plenior[edit | edit source]
Below is a step‑by‑step retelling of the passage with the SP lenses you use—letter meanings, word‑pairs/gates, before‑/after‑the‑cross pattern, and the ever‑present story of Christ and His Bride.
1 . “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.”[edit | edit source]
- Joseph (“He will add”) had pictured the risen Christ who adds life to the world.
- Pharaoh (פרעה) can be read as פ speech in riddles + רע evil. A “bad‑mouthed ruler” therefore stands for the fleshly mind that rejects the testimony of the Son.
- A new king = the old self that always rises again to rule the heart when revelation is forgotten.
Before the cross: the flesh claims authority and “knows not Joseph.” After the cross: that same flesh will be judged and overthrown.
2 . “Come, let us deal shrewdly with them … lest they multiply.”[edit | edit source]
Egypt fears multiplication, but every attempt to choke life only multiplies it.
- This is the riddle of the cross: the more Christ is pressed, the more life bursts forth.
- Taskmasters symbolize the accusing Law; their “heavy burdens” are the weight of sin laid upon Christ.
3 . Store‑cities Pithom and Raamses[edit | edit source]
| Name | Letter story | Christ‑centered meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Pithom (פתום) | פ speech, ת finished work, ו distinction, ם completed deeds | The spoken Word finishes His work, separating light from dark, then rests—storehouse of salvation. |
| Raamses (רעמס) | ר reveal, ע flesh, מ promise, ס fulfilled | God reveals His promise in flesh and fulfills it—treasuring up grace for every generation. |
The Egyptians think they are stockpiling glory for themselves, yet the very bricks cry out the gospel: Christ’s finished work stored up for all who believe.
4 . “The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied.”[edit | edit source]
This single line is Day 6 in miniature:
- Affliction = the cross.
- Multiplication = resurrection fruit—first Christ, then His many brothers and sisters.
- The pattern repeats in every age: persecution expands the Church.
5 . The midwives Shiphrah and Puah[edit | edit source]
| Name | Gate / letters | Voice of God it pictures | Bride connection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shiphrah (שפרה) | ש word returns with increase, פ utterance, ר revealing, ה ignorant bride | Prophet—the Word spoken in love beautifies the bride. | |
| Puah (פועה) | פ utterance, ו union/distinction, ע flesh | Priest—a cry that joins heaven and flesh at the cross. |
They “fear God” (Judge) and spare the sons (King), completing all four voices.
- By letting the sons live, they guard the Seed—a picture of the Spirit preserving the line of Christ within us.
- Their civil disobedience shows the Bride’s loyalty to her true Husband over earthly rulers.
6 . Pharaoh’s final decree: “Every son you shall cast into the Nile.”[edit | edit source]
- Nile (יאר) letters: י creation, א spoken, ר reveal → “Creation spoken into water.” The tyrant unknowingly preaches the gospel: the Son will be plunged into the waters of judgment so that many sons might rise.
- Daughters are left alive because the Bride (female) must pass through the water‑Word to be made pure.
The complete SP narrative[edit | edit source]
- Fleshly Pharaoh forgets Joseph—humanity forgets grace.
- He crushes Israel—Christ bears the crushing weight.
- The harder the oppression, the greater the multiplication—life bursts from death.
- Store‑cities proclaim a finished work kept in reserve for the nations.
- Two midwives (Beauty and Cry) picture Word and Spirit, preserving the Seed and adorning the Bride.
- Infant sons hurled into the river foreshadow the single Son who will enter death‑waters and emerge to lead a countless host.
Thus Exodus 1:8‑22, read through the sensus plenior, retells the gospel: Christ oppressed yet fruitful, judged yet multiplying, dying yet raising up a Bride who will fill the earth with His glory—exactly the Day 6 pattern of “be fruitful and multiply.”
