Wyjścia 1:18 Midrasz: Shemot Rabbah & Midrash Tanchuma

The midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them, and they kept the boys alive” (Exodus 1:17).
“The midwives feared God.” About them it is stated: “A God-fearing woman, she will be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).
“And did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them [aleihen].” Lahen is not written, but rather aleihen.³¹A formulation used elsewhere in the Bible in the sense of sexual relations, e.g., Genesis 29:23. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina says: It teaches that he demanded that they have relations with him, but they did not accept his proposition.
“They kept the boys alive.” Since they “did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them,” do we not know that they kept the boys alive? Why did the verse need to state: “They kept the boys alive”? There is praise within praise. Not only did they not fulfill his command, but they went beyond that and performed good deeds for their benefit. Some of them were poor women, and the midwives would go and collect water and food from the homes of wealthy women and would come and give it to the poor women, thereby sustaining their sons. That is what is written: “They kept the boys alive.”
Alternatively, “they kept the boys alive” – some had a condition that would result in their emerging crippled, blind, deformed, or needing to have a limb amputated in order to emerge safely. What would they do? They would stand in prayer and say before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘You know that we did not fulfill Pharaoh’s command. It is Your words that we seek to fulfill. Lord of the universe, may this child emerge in peace, so Israel will not find a pretext to slander us, saying: Look, they emerged deformed because they sought to kill them.’ Immediately, the Holy One blessed be He would heed their voice, and [the babies] would emerge intact.
Rabbi Levi said: You stated the less severe scenarios; state the severe scenarios. Some of them had a condition that would cause them to die as they emerged, or endanger their mother so she would die after they emerged. They would stand in prayer and say to the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, suspend their sentence now and give them life, so that Israel will not say: They killed them.’ The Holy One blessed be He would fulfill their prayer. Therefore, “they kept the boys alive [vateḥayena et hayeladim]” – vateḥayena, these are the mothers, hayeladim, these are the actual children.
Alternatively, “the midwives feared,” – they adorned themselves with the action of their ancestor, that is Abraham. Just as the Holy One blessed be He attests in his regard: “For now I know that you are God-fearing” (Genesis 22:12), they said: ‘Abraham our patriarch, of blessed memory, opened an inn and would feed all the passersby, uncircumcised people, and we, not only do we not have enough to feed them, but to kill them? We will keep them alive.’ When Pharaoh saw that they did not implement his decree, he sent and called for them; that is what is written: “The king of Egypt called for the midwives [and said to them: Why have you done this thing, and have kept the boys alive?”] (Exodus 1:18).

“The woman conceived and bore a son; she saw that he was good and she hid him for three months” (Exodus 2:2).
“The woman conceived and bore a son” – Rabbi Yehuda said: Her birth is juxtaposed with her conception; just as her conception was painless, so too, her birth was painless. From here it is derived that righteous women were not included in the verdict of Eve. “She saw that he was good [tov].” It was taught that Rabbi Meir says: His name was Tov. Rabbi Yoshiya says: His name was Toviya. Rabbi Yehuda says: He was fit for prophecy. Others say: He was born circumcised. The Rabbis say: At the moment that Moses was born, the entire house was illuminated; here it is written: “She saw that he was good [tov].” There it is written: “God saw the light, that it was good [tov]” (Genesis 1:4).
“She hid him for three months” because the Egyptians counted only from the moment that he remarried her, but she had already been three months pregnant from the outset.
“She was no longer able to hide him, and she took for him a wicker basket and coated it with clay and with pitch; she placed the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile” (Exodus 2:3).
“She was no longer able to hide him” (Exodus 2:3). Why? It is because the Egyptians were going into each and every house in which they thought that a baby had been born, and would take a small Egyptian baby there and would cause him to cry, so that the Israelite baby would hear his voice and cry with him. That is what is written: “Catch us foxes, little foxes [that ruin vineyards…]” (Song of Songs 2:15). ⁴⁷The verse may also be translated: “The foxes held little foxes against us in order to ruin the vineyard,” and the midrash takes it in that sense. The Egyptians are compared to foxes because they are sly as foxes, and Israel is compared to a vineyard.

R. Aha and our sages discussed this verse. Our sages said: He repeated this twice to himself and then He told it to Israel, as it is said: Then did He see it and declare it. This refers to the first time, while He established it, yea, and searched it out alludes to the second time. And after that is written: and unto man He said, etc. R. Aha, however, contended that He considered the matter by Himself four times and then told it to Israel, as it is said: Then did he see it and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out, and after that is written: And unto man He said. From whom do you learn this? From Jochebed and Miriam, about whom it is written: And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them … ye shall look upon the birthstool; if it be a son (Exod. 1:15–16). Why were they commanded to do that? Because the astrologers had told him: “The redeemer of Israel will be born on that day, but we do not know whether he will be born to an Egyptian woman or an Israelite.” At the time he assembled every Egyptian and said to them: “Loan me your sons for a day,” as is said: Every son that is born ye shall cast (ibid., v. 22). It does not say “every child of an Israelite” but rather: Every son that is born, whether Egyptian or Israelite, ye shall cast into the river.