Exodus 2:21
in Exodus 2Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
KJV
And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
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This verse in Exodus 2
Commentary
4 notes on this verseZipporah his daughter - Abul Farajius calls her “Saphura the black, daughter of Rewel the Midianite, the son of Dedan, the son of Abraham by his wife Keturah.” The Targum calls her the granddaughter of Reuel. It appears that Moses obtained Zipporah something in the same way that Jacob obtained Rachel; namely, for the performance of certain Services, probably keeping of sheep: see Exo 3:1.
This site's exposition
Moses was content to dwell with the man
on Exodus 2:21-22
The scene closes the way the other two closed, with the traveller taken into the household and a marriage following, as at Genesis 24:51 and Genesis 29:28. The son is called Gershom because Moses says he has been a stranger in a strange land, and stranger is the word of the promise at Genesis 15:13, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs. The man who will lead Israel out of its sojourning names his own son after his.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Moses was content to dwell with the man,.... After he had been called and brought into the house, and had had some refreshment, and after some conversation had passed between them, and perhaps after some days' stay in Reuel's house; Reuel having observed his disposition and behaviour, and being delighted therewith, proposed to him to take up his residence with him, with which motion Moses was well pleased, and accepted of it: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter; to be his wife.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Moses tells us nothing of what he may have learned from his father-in-law, but he must have found in him a man conversant with the traditions of the family of Abraham; nor is there any improbability in the supposition that, as hereditary priest, Reuel may have possessed written documents concerning their common ancestors.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיּ֥וֹאֶל | vaiyoel | and he was willing | H2974 → | |
| מֹשֶׁ֖ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| לָשֶׁ֣בֶת | lashevet | to dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| הָאִ֑ישׁ | haish | the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וַיִּתֵּ֛ן | vaiyiten | and he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צִפֹּרָ֥ה | tziporah | Zipporah | H6855 → | 3 times |
| בִתּ֖וֹ | vito | daughter his | H1323 → | 588 times |
| לְמֹשֶֽׁה׃ | lemosheh | to Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
וַיּ֥וֹאֶלand he was willing
vaiyoelH2974 →
מֹשֶׁ֖הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
לָשֶׁ֣בֶתto dwell
lashevetH3427 →1079 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
הָאִ֑ישׁthe man
haishH376 →1663 times
וַיִּתֵּ֛ןand he gave
vaiyitenH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
צִפֹּרָ֥הZipporah
tziporahH6855 →3 times
בִתּ֖וֹdaughter his
vitoH1323 →588 times
לְמֹשֶֽׁה׃to Moses
lemoshehH4872 →765 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
Hebrews 13:5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
- Joshua 1:5
No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
- Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- 1 Samuel 12:22
Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.
- Isaiah 41:17
The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Deuteronomy 31:8
Through
Hebrews 11:25He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin.
it leads to
- Psalms 84:10
For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
- Psalms 84:10
Through
Exodus 2:10When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”
it leads to
- Acts 7:21–22
When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.
- Hebrews 11:24
By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
- Acts 7:21–22
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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.