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.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and lived in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.
- KJV Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
- BSB When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.
- NKJV When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.
- NASB When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Pharaoh seeks to kill Moses, who flees to Midian and sits by a well. The would-be deliverer becomes a fugitive in exile.
Overview
Moses' forty years in Midian become God's school, humbling the prince of Egypt into a lowly shepherd ready for true service. Sitting by a well echoes earlier patriarchal scenes where God provides a wife and a future. The exile that looks like failure is in fact God's preparation of His chosen instrument.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Acts 7:29Moses fled at this saying, and became a stranger in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
- Heb 11:27By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
- Gen 24:11He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water.
- Gen 29:2He looked, and behold, a well in the field, and, behold, three flocks of sheep lying there by it. For out of that well they watered the flocks. The stone on the well’s mouth was large.
- Prov 22:3A prudent man sees danger, and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
- Matt 10:23But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for most certainly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man has come.
- 1 Kgs 19:13–14When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle, went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. Behold, a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- 1 Kgs 19:1–3Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
- John 4:6Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
- Exod 4:19Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return into Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.”
- Gen 25:4The sons of Midian were: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
- Gen 25:2She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
- Gen 28:6–7Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take him a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a command, saying, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan,”
- Jer 26:21–23When Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt:
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 2:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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