Moses Flees to Midian

When Moses had grown up, he went out and saw the hard burdens carried by his Hebrew people. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew man. Moses looked around, and when he saw no one there, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

The next day Moses saw two Hebrew men fighting. He spoke to the one in the wrong and asked why he was striking his fellow Hebrew. The man answered that he knew Moses had killed the Egyptian. Then Moses was afraid, because what he had done was no longer secret.

When Pharaoh heard about it, he wanted to kill Moses. So Moses fled to Midian and sat down by a well. Seven daughters of the priest of Midian came to draw water for their father’s flock, but shepherds drove them away. Moses stood up, helped them, and watered their flock.

The daughters returned early, and their father Reuel asked why. They said an Egyptian had rescued them, drawn water for them, and watered the flock. Reuel told them to call the man so he could eat bread. Moses was content to live there, and Reuel gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.

Zipporah had a son, and Moses named him Gershom because he said he had lived as a foreigner in a foreign land. After many days, the king of Egypt died, but the Israelites still groaned under bondage and cried out. God heard them, remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saw them, and understood.