12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he hslew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. 13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, h Acts 7. 24. i Acts 7. 26. nary end. It was before this time, that Stephen's testimony assures us he had 'become mighty in words and in deeds.' And when he was seen to come forth alone, and take vengeance on one of their oppressors, it might have been presumed that he regarded himself as directed by God in what he had undertaken. But the result showed that the expectation of being recognized in his true character was premature. 12. He looked this way and that way, &c. Evidently implying that he was not exempt from some inward wavering of spirit in thus entering upon his mission. But if oppression maketh a wise man mad, we may easily perceive that his natural indignation, joined to a conscious impulse from above, was sufficient to urge him forward to the act recorded. 13. Behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together. Heb. nitzim, fighting. Whatever were the occasion of this unhappy contest, it must have been mortifying to Moses to behold it. As if they had not enemies enough in their common cruel taskmasters, they fall into strife with each other! Alas, that sufferings in common should fail to unite the professing people of God in the strictest bonds of brotherhood.¶ He said to him that did the wrong. Heb. larasha, to the wicked one. The Gr. however renders very correctly by ro adikovvri, to the wrong-doer, and Stephen confirms the same version, Acts, 7. 26, Sirs, ye are brethren, why do ye wrong (adixɛITE) one to another?' In the case of the offending Egyptian Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? 14 And he said, k Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. k Acts 7. 27, 28. Moses administered reproof by a mortal blow, but he tries to gain a contending brother by mild and gentle means. In the former instance he acted more as a judge; in the present, as a peace maker. His question has indeed the air of being sternly proposed, but there was nothing in it which could not or should not have been said by one Israelite to another; and we ought never to think it going beyond the bounds of charity or duty, where we are satisfied on which side the wrong lies, to call an offender to account by an equally plain interrogation. Every man should look upon himself as at least so far appointed a guardian of the general interests of justice and of right as to expostulate in pointed terms with the injurious and overbearing. 14. Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Heb. 'Who set thee for a man a prince and a judge over us?' Moses intended merely to administer a mild and friendly reproof, and yet how roughly is his admonition received. The man could not easily have given a plainer testimony of his guilt than by such a choleric reply. What authority did Moses assume in thus gently reproving a manifest outrage? Does one need a commission to perform an act of real kindness, and to endeavor to make friends of apparent enemies? Yet how boldly does he challenge his au thority as if he were imperious and presuming. It is rare virtue ingenuously to confess our faults and to receive correction with meekness!- -T Intendest thou to kill me, as thou kille ist the Egyptian? Heb. 2 15 Now when Pharaoh heard | face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the this thing, he sought to slay Mo-land of Midian: and he sat down But Moses fled from the by ma well. ses. 1 Acts 7. 29. Hebr. 11. 27. halhorgani attah omer, sayest thou to kill me? See Note on Gen. 20. 11. We here behold a striking specimen of the base constructions which an ill mind will put upon the best words and actions. What right had he to charge Moses with a murderous intention? He had indeed slain an Egyptian, but an Egyptian was not a Hebrew, nor had he any grounds to suppose that Moses would go farther than the provocation warranted. The occasion called simply for a reproof, and a reproof was the head and front of his offending; yet the aggressor would turn away the force of his rebuke by pretending that he aimed at nothing less than his life! Besides, why should he cast the slaying of the Egyptian in Moses' teeth, when he had really done it from his regard to his own countrymen? Should not this quarrelsome Hebrew have taken it rather as a proof of Moses' favorable feelings towards himself than as an evidence of a wish to harm him? If he had not loved the Hebrews would he have dispatched one of their enemies? But reason and humanity speak in vain to those whom a guilty conscience lear! to pervert the wisest and the kindest counsels.- - Surely this thing is known; i. e. his slaying the Egyptian. Heb. haddabar, this word. See Note on Gen. 15. 1. Moses was satisfied from this that the Hebrew whom he had liberated the day before by slaying the Egyptian, had divulged the circumstance, and not doubting that it would soon come to the ears of the king, began to be in dread of his life. 15. When Pharaoh heard this thing, &c. He soon learnt that his fears were well founded. Pharaoh was apprised of the fact of his having put an Egyptian to death, and Moses was at once marked m Gen. 24. 11. & 29. 2. as the victim of his wrath. This was perhaps not so much with a view to avenge the death of a single individual of the Egyptian race, as be cause Moses had by this act discovered himself to be a friend and favorer of the oppressed Israelites, and given the king reason to suspect that he was secretly cherishing the purpose of one day attempting to effect their liberation. His only safety therefore was in flight. This would subject him to great trials and privations, and had his heart been less firmly fixed in the great purpose which he had adopted, he would have sought rather to make his peace with the king, his benefactor, and to retain his place at court. But he had made his clection, and now chose rather to wander through dreary deserts than to be reconciled to the enemies of his people. The providence which thus withdrew the destined agent of deliverance from the field of action in the very outset of his work, would seem at first view extremely mysterious and adverse. But infinite wisdom saw that he needed a quite different training from that which he would receive in a luxurious court, in order to fit him for the hard services which awaited him. He sends him to school therefore for forty years in the desert to qualify him the better for leading his people through their forty years sojourn in the desert. God,' says Henry, 'fetches a wide compass in his plans, but his eye is continually upon the grand point at which he aims.'-It is not to be supposed that there is any real discrepancy between this passage and Heb. 11. 27, By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wra h of the king.' The Apostle alludes not to his flight into Midian, but to his final departure from Egypt at 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. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and p watered their flock. P Gen. 29. 10. ach, 3. 1. Gen. 24. 11. & 29. 10. 1 Sam. 9. 11. the head of the children of Israel.- 'priest,' as is shown in the Note on ¶ Dwelt in the land of Midian. Heb. Gen. 41. 18, and accordingly in the earyesheb, sat down; the same wordly ages of the world both these offices in the original with that applied in the ensuing clause to his seating himself by the well. Probably in both cases the time implied is that of his first arrival in Midian, the one referring us in general to the country in which he stopped on his route, the other to the particular place which was the scene of the incidents subsequently related. Coming to that land he halted in his sojourning, and finding a refreshing well of water he sat down or tarried a longer time than usual by the side of it. Otherwise we seem to be forced to the awkward construction that the dwelling mentioned in our translation, which implies somewhat of a permanent abode, was prior to his sitting by the well, which evidently is not the sense of the passage. -Midian was a country in Arabia Petræa, deriving its name from Midian, the fourth son of Abraham by Keturah. It was situated on the south of the Dead Sea and the land of Moab, and probably comprehended the whole country, as far south as the Red Sea. It is at least certain, that if the country of Midian did not actually reach to Sinai, there were colonies of the Midianites who settled near that mount, and who also gave the surrounding districts the name of the 'Land of Midian.' Among those emigrants who preserved the worship of God in comparative purity when lost amongst their countrymen in the north, was Jethro, with whose family Moses here comes into connexion. were often united in one and the same person. The humble occupation of his daughters will be no objection to this view of the title, if the difference be tween ancient and modern customs be duly considered. See Note on Gen. 48. 45. Nearly all the ancient versions, besides the Chaldee, adhere to the sense of 'priest;' but whether he were the priest of a true or false religion, is not so clear. Being in all probability de scended from Midian the son of Abraham by Keturah, it is perhaps most reasonable to infer that he retained the leading doctrines of the faith of his great progenitor, though possibly corrupted in some measure by the admixture of errors originating in the surrounding systems of heathen idolatry. | From what we are subsequently informed of Jethro, he seems to have possessed a knowledge of the true God, and to have been imbued with senti ments of piety; and this supposition is strengthened when we consider the improbability of Moses' entering into a marriage alliance with the family of an idolater. 17. The shepherds came and drove them away. Heb. Dyegareshum, where the pronominal suffix answering to 'them' is in the masculine, and not in the feminine gender; from which we are doubtless to understand that the daughters of Reuel were accompanied by men-servants who were under their direction. It would be strange indeed for a company of unprotected females to be thus employed, and equally strange, if they were without assistance, tha such savage ru leness should be prac 18 And when they came to a Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to-day? 19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew wa q Numb. 10 29. ch 3. 1. & 4. 18. & 18 1. &c. tised toward them by the shepherds. See Note on Gen. 29. 3.- Moses stood up and helped them. Heb. P yakom va-yoshian, arose and saved them. Gr. ɛopuraro avras, delivered them. Here again we are probably required to suppose a fact not expressly mentioned in the sacred record, viz. that Moses travelled with attendants. Joining his servants with those of Reuel, a party was formed sufficiently strong to overpower the shepherd-boors who had so rudely attempted to drive away the flocks of the young women.¶ Wa tered their flock. Heb. NY tzonam. Helped to water them. Here too the pronominal suffix their' is in the masculine gender. 18. Came to Reuel their father. The assignment of the names Reuel, or Raguel (Num. 10. 29), Jethro and Hobab, to the proper persons is no easy matter. It is supposed by many that Jethro and Reuel were but different names of the same person. Others consider Reuel as the father of Jethro, and the grand-father of the maidens here spoken of, but called their father in conformity to a very common idiom in the original, of which see examples, Gen. 31. 43. 2 Sam. 19. 25. 2 Kings, 14. 3. 16. 2. 18. 3. So Targ. Jon. They came to Reguel, their father's father.' But as Reuel seems obviously to have been the same person as the priest of Midian, who had the seven daughters, an office which he probably would not have held had his father been alive, and as he is the one who is said v. 21, to have given Moses his daughter to wife, an act more appropriate to a father than to a grandfather, provided both wert living, as it ter enough for us, and watered the flock. 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 reat bread. r Gen. 31. 54. & 43. 25. is clear they were if they were different persons; we cannot but give a decided preference to the former opinion, which makes Jethro and Reuel the same person, but, for reasons now unknown to us, called by different names. As to Hobab, mentioned afterwards, Num. 10. 29, he is expressly affirmed to be the son of Reuel (Raguel) 'Moses' fatherin-law,' which would seem to preclude all controversy on the subject. But see Note in loc.- T How is it that ye are come so soon to-day. Heb. miharten bo, hastened to come. 19. An Egyptian delivered us, &c. This they inferred from his speech and dress, or they had learned from his own mouth the country from which he came Drew (water) enough for us. Heb. 3 daloh dalah, drawing drew. The word 'enough' is inserted in our translation in order to bring the expression somewhat nearer to the em phasis of the original. 20. Why is it that ye have left the man? It is not, we presume, to be construed as a breach of propriety on the part of the daughters, that they did not invite Moses home to their father's house. It would have had a very questionable air had they introduced a stranger into the paternal mansion with. out any previous notice to its proper head. On the contrary, they demean themselves with all the decorous re. serve appropriate to their sex. It does not appear even that they solicited pro tection, but modestly received it; and when rendered they rather looked then thanks than uttered them. This was sufficient, for no noble or sensible mind, like that of Moses, would be in danger 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daugh ter. sch. 4. 25. & 18. 2. t 22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, I have been ua stranger in a strange land. t ch. 18. 3. u Acts 7. 29. Hebr. 11. 13, 14. of interpreting the instincts of maidenly in a union with one of the daughters. reserve into an ungrateful return for generous services. But what they failed to say to Moses himself they no doubt said for him to their father, and were happy to be able, under his sanction, to express their thanks by ministering all in their power to his comfort as a guest. —¶ That he may eat bread. That is, partake of an entertainment. See Note on Gen. 21. 14. He gave Moses Zipporah his daughter; to whom reference is made Numb. 12. 1, And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian.' The original has 'Cushite' instead of 'Ethiopian,' not, probably, because her family was descended from Cush, or that she had the features and complexion of the modern Ethiopian race, but simply from the fact that they inhabited a country to which the name of Cush or Ethiopia was applied. See Pict. Bib. p. 137. 21. Moses was content to dwell with the man. Heb. 7 yoel, was willing; or perhaps more strictly, prevailed upon himself, adopted the resolution. The word occurs in the following passages; Gen. 18. 27, 'Behold now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord;' i. e. have persuaded myself. Josh. 7. 7, 'Would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan;' i.e. had prevailed upon ourselves. Judg.jective derived from the root 19. 6, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night;' i. e. consent. 2 Sam. 7, 29, 'Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant;' i. e. be thou willing. With characteristic brevity, Moses says nothing of the previous proposition and negotiation which led to this arrangement, but the simple fact of the compact to remain is alone mentioned. The nature of the services he was to perform is not here specified, as it was in the case of Jacob in similar circumstances, but we learn from the opening of the ensuing chapter, what might be inferred from the manners and habits of those pastoral tribes, that the humble occupation of a shepherd was that in which the illustrious exile now consented to engage. Being thus brought into daily intimacy with kindred minds, it was natural that his intercourse with Jethro's family should result, as it did, 22. He called his name Gershom, &c. Heb. Da gëreshom, which appears to be a compound made up of 1 gër, stranger, and sham, there. Others take the final syllable to be an ad sha mam, to be desolate, implying a lonely or desolate stranger. The import however of this member of the word is of little consequence, as its main significancy is concentrated in that of stranger conveyed by the other. The Gr. version here adds: 'And she conceived again and bare a second son; and he called his name Eliezer, saying, For the God of my father is my helper, and hath delivered me from the hand of Pharaoh.' This addition, which is transferred also into the Vulg., was borrowed from Ex. 18. 4, where nearly the same words occur. The birth of a second son is also expressly mentioned in this connexion by Stephen, Acts, 7. 29, Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.' At what period of Moses' forty years sojourning in Midian his marriage with Zipporah, or the birth |