Shiphrah means "beauty and grace".
"And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which 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: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
And the midwifes said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that He made them houses."
~ Exodus 1:15-21 ~
The Vocation of Shiphrah was an anonymous article published in Midwifery Today, in 1999. Though I might not agree with everything said in it, I found it very enlightening.
