6672. Verses 15-21. And the king of Egypt said to the midwives of the Hebrew women, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah; and he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him; and if it be a daughter, then she shall live. And the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt spoke to them, and they kept the boys alive. And the king of Egypt called the midwives, and said to them, Wherefore do ye this word, and keep the boys alive? And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are living, and they have brought forth before the midwife comes unto them. And God did well to the midwives; and the people was multiplied and became very numerous. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that He made them houses. “And the king of Egypt said to the midwives of the Hebrew women,” signifies influx from the separated memory-knowledges into the natural, where the true memory-knowledges of the church are; “of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah,” signifies the quality and state of the natural where memory-knowledges are; “and he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools,” signifies a discernment of the truth and good flowing in from the internal into memory-knowledges; “if it be a son, then ye shall kill him,” signifies if it is truth, that they should destroy it in any way they could; “and if it be a daughter, then she shall live,” signifies that they should not do so if it is good; “and the midwives feared God,” signifies that true memory-knowledges were guarded because by the Divine; “and did not as the king of Egypt spoke to them,” signifies that it was not done as they who were in falsities intended; “and they kept the boys alive,” signifies that truths being of good were preserved; “and the king of Egypt called the midwives,” signifies that they who were in falsities conspired against those who were in true memory-knowledges in the natural; “and said unto them, Wherefore do ye this word, and keep the boys alive?” signifies anger because truths were not destroyed; “and the midwives said unto Pharaoh,” signifies a discernment of these true memory-knowledges in the natural; “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women,” signifies that the memory-knowledges of the church are not like the memory-knowledges opposed to them; “for they are living,” signifies that spiritual life is in them; “and they have brought forth before the midwife comes unto them,” signifies that the natural has no knowledge before they have life; “and God did well to the midwives,” signifies that the natural was blessed by the Divine; “and the people was multiplied and became very numerous,” signifies that truths therein were brought forth continually, and so increased; “and it came to pass, because the midwives feared God,” signifies because true memory-knowledges were guarded by the Divine; “that He made them houses,” signifies that they were disposed into the heavenly form.