Exodus 2:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock.

NIV: Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.

NASB: Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.

CSB: Then some shepherds arrived and drove them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their flock.

NLT: But some other shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he drew water for their flocks.

KJV: And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

NKJV: Then the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

The context indicates a group of male shepherds coming to the well when the daughters of Reuel were there to water their family's livestock. These shepherds "drove them away," meaning they made the women leave. This was most likely so the men would not have to wait to obtain water for themselves and their own flock. Moses acts to correct an injustice once again, this time standing up for these seven women and watering their sheep.

The contrast stands out greatly from the previous action of Moses. In the previous account, Moses killed an Egyptian who mistreated one of Moses' own people (Exodus 2:11–14). In this account, he helps those in need without committing a crime, and despite the fact that they are unrelated to him. Instead of fleeing afterwards, Moses is invited into the family of Reuel and rewarded for his actions. His previous act led to 40 years of exile from his home and people. His current act would lead to provision during that same exile and a positive new life during those same 40 years. His previous crime took a life. This current action leads to the life of someone new, his firstborn son Gershom (Exodus 2:22).

Exodus 2:11–22 describes how Moses went from the adopted son of an Egyptian princess to an exiled shepherd living in Midian. As an adult, Moses defends a fellow Jew by killing an Egyptian aggressor. Moses is shocked to find that his attempt to hide the act failed, and he is forced to flee Egypt. In Midian, Moses heroically defends a group of shepherd girls, and is welcomed into their family. This establishes the backdrop of Moses' life for one of God's most dramatic encounters with man: the burning bush.

Amid an order from Pharaoh to murder newborn Hebrew boys, Moses' mother places him in a basket along the side of the river, staging her daughter there to observe. The Egyptian king's daughter sees the baby and has pity. Thanks to the presence of Moses' sister, the princess winds up paying Moses' own mother to wean him. After this, he is raised in the home of Egypt's royal family. As an adult, Moses unsuccessfully attempts to hide his murder of an abusive Egyptian and flees to Midian as an exile. As Moses builds a family abroad, Israel cries out to God for rescue from the brutality of Egyptian slavery.

Exodus chapter 2 introduces the character of Moses, after describing the plight of Israel under Egyptian slavery. This passage provides a few interesting ironies. Primarily, the Egyptian king attempts to oppress Israel through infanticide; this very command leads to his own daughter adopting an abandoned Hebrew boy—Moses. She provides him with support and education, essentially raising the future liberator of the very people her father seeks to control. After chapter 2 establishes Moses' exile from Egypt, chapter 3 will begin narrating his call to lead the nation of Israel out of captivity under the Pharaoh.

The book of Exodus establishes God's covenant relationship with the full-fledged nation of Israel. The descendants of Abraham prosper after settling in Egypt, only to be enslaved by a fearful, hateful Egyptian Pharaoh. God appoints Moses to lead the people out of this bondage. Moses serves as God's spokesman, as the Lord brings plagues and judgments on Egypt, leading to the release of Israel.