Moses Escapes to Midian

15 When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But (A)Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and [a]settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down (B)by a well.

16 Now (C)the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and (D)they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but (E)Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. 18 When they came to their father (F)Reuel, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian saved us from [b]the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 So he said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him [c]to have something to eat.” 21 And (G)Moses was willing to live with the man. And he gave his daughter (H)Zipporah to Moses. 22 Then she gave birth to (I)a son, and he named him [d]Gershom, for he said, “I have been (J)a stranger in a foreign land.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 2:15 Lit dwelt
  2. Exodus 2:19 Lit the hand of the
  3. Exodus 2:20 Lit that he may eat bread
  4. Exodus 2:22 Cf. Heb ger sham, a stranger there

15 And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.

When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down beside a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who came as usual to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father’s flocks. 17 But some other shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he drew water for their flocks.

18 When the girls returned to Reuel, their father, he asked, “Why are you back so soon today?”

19 “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they answered. “And then he drew water for us and watered our flocks.”

20 “Then where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave him there? Invite him to come and eat with us.”

21 Moses accepted the invitation, and he settled there with him. In time, Reuel gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. 22 Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom,[a] for he explained, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2:22 Gershom sounds like a Hebrew term that means “a foreigner there.”