Midras Keluaran 1:22: Aggadat Bereshit, Shemot Rabbah, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition) & Midrash Tehillim

Chapter 1 of the Torah [1] "And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth" (Genesis 6:5). Scriptures say: "For there is a time for every experience, including the doom; for a man’s calamity [ Still another term for death; cf. “the time of calamity” for “the hour of death,” 9.12. ] overwhelms him. "(Ecclesiastes 8:6). Because the wicked man angered the Lord, saying, "The Lord swore that He would not bring a flood upon the world again, so we can do whatever we want." And how do we know that the Lord swore not to bring a flood upon the world? It is said, "For this is like the waters of Noah to me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth" (Isaiah 54:9). And it is as if He sees the wicked who angers Him and wonders why He swore, saying, "What have I done to swear that I will not bring a flood upon the world?" And so Isaiah says, "And truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey" (Isaiah 59:15), and "And the Lord saw" (Isaiah 59:15), for there is no righteous man in the world who prays before Him to appease Him because of them. And it is evil in His eyes that there is no justice (Isaiah 59:15), to judge their deeds. The Lord said to the wicked, "You say that I swore not to bring a flood upon the world again. Punishments are in store for scoffers And blows for the backs of dullards." (Proverbs 19:29), blows that are tumultuous and tumultuous, for if I swore not to bring a flood of water, I will bring a flood of fire and brimstone and stones, as it is said, "And the Lord caused to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire" (Genesis 19:24). And when the Amorites came upon Joshua, He brought upon them a flood of stones, as it is said, "And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died" (Joshua 10:11). Pharaoh, the wicked one, consulted with his advisors and said, "We can find nothing that God has sworn to except a flood of water, in which we can sink them and they will die, as it says 'Every son that is born you shall cast into the river' (Exodus 1:22)." God replied, "You should know that I have the power to judge you in this way, as it is written, 'Then Pharaoh and his army were destroyed in the Red Sea' (Psalm 136:15)." When Sisera came to attack Israel, they judged him only with fire and water, as it says, "From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera" (Judges 5:20) and "The river Kishon swept them away" (Judges 5:21). Similarly, when Sennacherib came to Jerusalem, God judged him only with a fiery flood, as it says, "Then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand" (2 Kings 19:35). Moreover, all generations, if a person sins, they judge him in a manner similar to his sin. If he deserves stoning, he falls from a rooftop, a wall, a tree, an animal, or he is hit by a falling object. If he deserves burning, he falls into fire or boiling water. If he deserves killing, God sends someone to kill him, or he falls upon a knife or a sword, or the knife or sword falls upon him. If he deserves strangulation, he falls into a sea, a river, or a pit. Therefore, Solomon said, "To every purpose there is a time and a judgment" (Ecclesiastes 8:6), for what caused all these judgments is that the evil of man is great upon him.

“The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shifra and the name of the other was Pu’a” (Exodus 1:15).
When he saw that they were procreating, he issued a decree against the males ²⁹This is Pharaoh’s second decree. – that is what is written: “The king of Egypt said to the midwives….” Who were the midwives? Rav said: A daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law, Yokheved and Elisheva daughter of Aminadav. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says: A woman and her daughter, Yokheved and Miriam.
And Miriam was no more than five years old, as Aaron was three years older than Moses. Our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said: She would go with her mother Yokheved and assist her, and she was very quick. While the child is still young, his [character] is recognizable. That is what Solomon said: “Even a lad is recognized through his deeds” (Proverbs 20:11).
“…the name of one was Shifra [and the name of the other was Pu’a],” because she would attend to [meshaperet] the baby when he would emerge covered in blood; “Pu’a,” because she would express [nofa’at] wine into the babies after her mother [had attended to them].
Alternatively, Shifra, because Israel procreated [sheparu veravu] in her day; Pu’a, who would revive [mapia] the baby when they would say it was dead.
Alternatively, Shifra, because she made her actions pleasing [shipera] before God; Pu’a, because she caused Israel to appear [hofia] before God. Alternatively, Pu’a, because she was impudent [hofia panim] to Pharaoh and had her nose in the air toward him, and she said to him: ‘Woe unto that man when God will come and punish him.’ He became filled with fury and sought to kill her. Shifra, because she eased [meshaperet] the words of her daughter and placated him toward her. She said to him: ‘Are you paying attention to her? She is a child and knows nothing.’
Rabbi Ḥanina bar Rav Yitzḥak said: Shifra, because she preserved Israel for God, and it was for their sake that the heavens were created, regarding which it is written: “By his wind the heavens are calm [shifra]” (Job 26:13). Pu’a, because she was impudent [hofia panim] toward her father. Amram was the head of the Sanhedrin at that time. Once Pharaoh issued his decree and said: “Every son that is born you shall cast him into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22), Amram said: ‘Isn’t Israel begetting children for naught?’ Immediately, he separated from Yokheved and abstained from sexual relations.
He divorced his wife when she was three months pregnant. All Israel arose and divorced their wives. His daughter said to him: ‘Your decree is harsher than Pharaoh’s, as Pharaoh decreed only against the males, and you, against the males and the females. Pharaoh is wicked and it is uncertain whether his decree will be fulfilled or whether it will not be fulfilled. However, you are righteous and your decree will be fulfilled.’ He arose and remarried his wife. All Israel arose and remarried their wives. That is Pu’a, who was impudent toward her father.

“Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying: Every son that is born, you shall cast him into the Nile, and every daughter you shall keep alive” (Exodus 1:22).
“Pharaoh commanded all his people,” Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina says: He issued the decree even against his own people. Why did he do so? It is because his astrologers said to him: ‘The redeemer of Israel has already been conceived by his mother, but we do not know whether he is Israelite or Egyptian.’ At that moment, Pharaoh gathered all the Egyptians and said to them: ‘Lend me your sons that will be born for [the next] nine months so I will cast them into the Nile.’⁴⁵The belief was that the Nile River was a deity and would repay those who worshipped it. That is what is written: “Every son that is born, [you shall cast him] into the Nile.” “Every Israelite son” is not written but rather, “every son,” whether Israelite or Egyptian. But they [the Egyptians] did not want to accept it from him, as they said: ‘An Egyptian son will never redeem them, but rather, one from the Hebrew women.’
“Cast him into the Nile.” Why did they decree to cast them into the Nile? It is because the astrologers foresaw that the redeemer of Israel would be condemned by means of water, and they believed that he would drown in water. But it was, in fact, only by means of a well that the decree of death was issued against him, as it is stated: “Because you did not have faith in me…[therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them; these are the waters of dispute…]” (Numbers 20:12–13). The Rabbis say that they [the astrologers] devised [this] counsel so that the Holy One blessed be He would not take vengeance against them by means of water. Because they knew that the punishments of the Holy One blessed be He fit the crime, and they were certain that He would not bring a flood to the world; therefore, they commanded to drown them in water.
“And every daughter you shall keep alive.” Why did Pharaoh need to keep the females alive? Rather, this is what they would say: ‘We will kill the males and take the females as wives,’ because the Egyptians were engulfed with lewdness.