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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 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.”