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Moses in the Land of Midian
v. 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. This man is called a priest, but the Midianites apparently had not retained the pure religion of Abraham, Exo_4:25-26, although the tradition of the true God persisted, as the name Reuel shows. The seven daughters of this priest, as dwellers in the wilderness, performed the work which the unmarried daughters of the Arab tribes do to this day.
v. 17. And the shepherds came and drove them away, for the saying that might makes right held good in the wilderness; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
v. 18. And when they came to Reuel, their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon today? It seems that the shepherds made ungallant behavior their daily practise.
v. 19. And they said, An Egyptian, for as such they regarded Moses from his dress and probably from his speech, delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. In comparing this passage with Num_10:29 and Exodus 18, it should be noted that Reuel (friend of God) was the given name of this priest and Jethro, or Jether, his official title, while Hobab was the name of his son, the brother-in-law of Moses.
v. 20. And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? Why is it that ye have left the man? Call him that he may eat bread. They had offended against desert hospitality in not inviting Moses to the home of their father, especially after he had shown them such kindness.
v. 21. And Moses was content to dwell with the man, he consented to accept the urgent invitation; and he gave Moses Zipporah, his daughter.
v. 22. And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom (always a sojourner, ever a stranger ); for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. The birth of this son is of particular interest, inasmuch as at various times the Lord threatened to destroy the children of Israel and to make the descendants of Moses a great nation. Through the long period of trial and humiliation Moses clung to his faith in the true God and learned to submit unconditionally to the will of God.