Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 1:20

"And God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty." — Exodus 1:20 (ASV)

Therefore God dealt well with the midwives. — The Hebrew text reads, and God dealt well, and so forth. The reason is stated in Exodus 1:21. It was not because they equivocated and deceived the king, but because they feared God sufficiently to disobey the king and run the risk of discovery. If they had been discovered, they would have paid the forfeit with their lives.