Exodus 2:16
in Exodus 2Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
KJV
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
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This verse in Exodus 2
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe priest of Midian - Or prince, or both; for the original כהן cohen has both meanings. See it explained at large at Gen 15:18 (note). The transaction here very nearly resembles that mentioned Genesis 29 (note) concerning Jacob and Rachel.
This site's exposition
the priest of Midian had seven daughters
on Exodus 2:16-17
Women come to draw water, shepherds drive them off, and Moses stands up and waters the flock himself. It is the same act he did in Egypt at verse 12, taking the part of people being pushed around, so his first recorded deed in each country is of one kind. The Genesis versions of the scene put the service at the water in other hands, Rebekah watering the camels at Genesis 24:19 and Jacob rolling the stone from the well at Genesis 29:10.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters,....
If their father was a prince, it teaches us that even those who are honourably born, and are of quality and distinction in their country, should yet apply themselves to some useful business, and what their hand finds to do do it with all their might.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Priest of Midian - Reuel Exo 2:18. His name, and the detailed notices in Exo. 18, prove that he was a priest of the one true God who was known to the patriarchs especially under the name El. The great bulk of his tribe, certainly those who lived farther north and more closely in contact with the Hamites of Canaan, were already plunged in idolatry. The conduct of the shepherds Exo 2:17 may indicate that his person and office were lightly regarded by the idolatrous tribes in his immediate neighborhood.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּלְכֹהֵ֥ן | ulekhohen | and [belonged] to [the] priest of | H3548 → | 750 times |
| מִדְיָ֖ן | midyan | Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
| שֶׁ֣בַע | sheva' | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| בָּנ֑וֹת | banot | daughters | H1323 → | 588 times |
| וַתָּבֹ֣אנָה | vatavonah | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וַתִּדְלֶ֗נָה | vatidlenah | and they drew | H1802 → | 5 times |
| וַתְּמַלֶּ֙אנָה֙ | vatemalenah | and they filled | H4390 → | 249 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָ֣רְהָטִ֔ים | harehatim | the drinking troughs | H7298 → | |
| לְהַשְׁק֖וֹת | lehashkot | to water | H8248 → | 61 times |
| צֹ֥אן | tzon | [the] flock of | H6629 → | 274 times |
| אֲבִיהֶֽן׃ | ʾavihen | father their | H1 → | 1212 times |
וּלְכֹהֵ֥ןand [belonged] to [the] priest of
ulekhohenH3548 →750 times
מִדְיָ֖ןMidian
midyanH4080 →59 times
שֶׁ֣בַעseven
sheva'H7651 →394 times
בָּנ֑וֹתdaughters
banotH1323 →588 times
וַתָּבֹ֣אנָהand they came
vatavonahH935 →2568 times
וַתִּדְלֶ֗נָהand they drew
vatidlenahH1802 →5 times
וַתְּמַלֶּ֙אנָה֙and they filled
vatemalenahH4390 →249 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָ֣רְהָטִ֔יםthe drinking troughs
harehatimH7298 →
לְהַשְׁק֖וֹתto water
lehashkotH8248 →61 times
צֹ֥אן[the] flock of
tzonH6629 →274 times
אֲבִיהֶֽן׃father their
ʾavihenH1 →1212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 3:1Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 19:8
So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
- Exodus 17:6
Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in…
- Psalms 78:70–72
He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
- Numbers 10:29
Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us,…
- Judges 4:11
Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
- 1 Kings 19:8
Through
Genesis 24:11As evening approached, he made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town at the time when the women went out to draw water.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 9:11
And as they were climbing the hill to the city, they met some young women coming out to draw water and asked, “Is the seer here?”
- John 4:7
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
- 1 Samuel 9:11
Through
1 Samuel 9:11And as they were climbing the hill to the city, they met some young women coming out to draw water and asked, “Is the seer here?”
it leads to
- Genesis 24:11
As evening approached, he made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town at the time when the women went out to draw water.
- Genesis 24:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.