Exodus 2:13-23

13 The next day Moses returned and saw two Hebrew men fighting each other. He said to the one that was in the wrong, "Why are you hitting one of your own people?"

14 The man answered, "Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses was afraid and thought, "Now everyone knows what I did."

15 When the king heard what Moses had done, he tried to kill him. But Moses ran away from the king and went to live in the land of Midian. There he sat down near a well.

16 There was a priest in Midian who had seven daughters. His daughters went to that well to get water to fill the water troughs for their father's flock.

17 Some shepherds came and chased the girls away, but Moses defended the girls and watered their flock.

18 When they went back to their father Reuel, he asked them, "Why have you come home early today?"

19 The girls answered, "The shepherds chased us away, but an Egyptian defended us. He got water for us and watered our flock."

20 He asked his daughters, "Where is this man? Why did you leave him? Invite him to eat with us."

21 Moses agreed to stay with Jethro, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to be his wife.

22 Zipporah gave birth to a son. Moses named him Gershom, because Moses was a stranger in a land that was not his own.

23 After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel groaned, because they were forced to work very hard. When they cried for help, God heard them.

Exodus 2:13-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 2

This chapter relates the birth of Moses, and his preservation in an ark of bulrushes, Ex 2:1-3. His being found by Pharaoh's daughter, took up, and put out to nurse by her, and adopted for her son, Ex 2:4-10, some exploits of his when grown up, taking the part of an Hebrew against an Egyptian whom he slew, and endeavouring to reconcile two Hebrews at variance, when one of them reproached him with slaying the Egyptian, Ex 2:11-14, which thing being known to Pharaoh, he sought to slay Moses, and this obliged him to flee to Midian, Ex 2:15 where he met with the daughters of Reuel, and defended them against the shepherds, and watered their flocks for them, Ex 2:16,17, which Reuel being informed of, sent for him, and he lived with him, and married his daughter Zipporah, by whom he had a son, Ex 2:18-22 and the chapter is concluded with the death of the king of Egypt, and the sore bondage of the Israelites, and their cries and groans, which God had a respect unto, Ex 2:23-25.

was Amram, the son of Kohath, and grandson of Levi, as appears from Ex 6:18,20

\\and took to wife a daughter of Levi\\; one of the same house, family, or tribe; which was proper, that the tribes might be kept distinct: this was Jochebed, said to be his father's sister, \\see Gill on "Ex 6:20"\\: her name in Josephus {s} is Joachebel, which seems to be no other than a corruption of Jochebed, but in the Targum in 1Ch 4:18 she is called Jehuditha.

{s} Antiqu. l. 2. c. 9. sect. 4. 09514-950103-1343-Ex2.2