Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses was content to dwell with the man. He gave Moses Zipporah, his daughter.
- KJV And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
- NKJV Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.
- NASB And Moses was willing to live with the man. And he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses.
- NLT Moses accepted the invitation, and he settled there with him. In time, Reuel gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife.
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
Moses agrees to stay, and Reuel gives him his daughter Zipporah as wife. Moses establishes a home in Midian.
Overview
Marriage and settled life mark the start of Moses' long sojourn away from Egypt. These quiet years form part of God's hidden preparation of His chosen leader. Far from the palace, the future deliverer learns the wilderness through which he will one day lead Israel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gen 31:38–40I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flock.
- Heb 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.”
- Exod 4:20–25So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
- 1 Tim 6:6Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
- Exod 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.”
- Phil 4:11–12I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.
- Exod 18:2–6After Moses had sent back his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had received her,
- Jas 1:10But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
- Heb 11:25He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin.
- Num 12:1Then Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married, for he had taken a Cushite wife.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 2:21 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.