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15 And Pharaoh heard this matter, and he sought to kill Moses, and Moses fled from Pharaoh, and he lived in the land of Midian, and he lived at a certain well.[a]

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.[b] 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and came to their rescue and watered their flock. 18 And they came to Reuel, their father, and he said, “Why have you come so quickly[c] today?” 19 And they said, “An Egyptian man delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 And he said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why then[d] have you left the man? Call him so that he can eat some food.”[e] 21 And Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. 22 And she bore a son, and he called his name Gershom because he said, “I am an alien in a foreign land.”[f]

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 2:15 Literally “the well”
  2. Exodus 2:16 The Hebrew noun translated “flock” is used here and in verses 17 and 19 collectively for sheep or goats or a mix of the two
  3. Exodus 2:18 Literally “why did you hasten coming”
  4. Exodus 2:20 Literally “why this”
  5. Exodus 2:20 Literally “call to or “summon/invite” him and he will eat bread”
  6. Exodus 2:22 The word translated “alien” sounds like the first syllable in the name Gershom. The second syllable sounds like the word for “there”

15 When Pharaoh heard about it, he tried to kill Moses.

But Moses ran away from Pharaoh and settled down in the land of Midian. One day Moses was sitting by a well. 16 Now there was a Midianite priest who had seven daughters. The daughters came to draw water and fill the troughs so that their father’s flock could drink. 17 But some shepherds came along and rudely chased them away. Moses got up, rescued the women, and gave their flock water to drink.

18 When they went back home to their father Reuel,[a] he asked, “How were you able to come back home so soon today?”

19 They replied, “An Egyptian man rescued us from a bunch of shepherds. Afterward, he even helped us draw water to let the flock drink.”

20 Reuel said to his daughters, “So where is he? Why did you leave this man? Invite him to eat a meal with us.”

21 Moses agreed to come and live with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses as his wife. 22 She gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, “because,” he said, “I’ve been an immigrant[b] living in a foreign land.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 2:18 Also called Jethro
  2. Exodus 2:22 Heb ger sounds like Gershom.