Bible Strands
Acts 7:29
At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Stephen addresses the Sanhedrin, recounting Moses’s life to confront his listeners about their rejection of God’s chosen deliverers. The verse marks the moment after Moses’s identity is exposed and he is questioned about killing an Egyptian, prompting his immediate departure.
The words — ἔφυγεν (ephugen) translates literally as “he fled,” describing Moses’s physical response to the threat. The particle δὲ (de) functions as a narrative connector, marking this flight as the direct consequence of the preceding confrontation.
The thread — This flight initiates Moses’s period of exile in Midian, paralleling Exodus 2:14 where the Hebrew confronts him and Exodus 4:19 where God commands him to return after his pursuers die. The narrative arc continues in Exodus 18:2, which notes the return of his wife Zipporah after this period of foreign residence.
Why it lands — The text states that Moses abandoned his initial rescue plan and lived as a foreigner, requiring the reader to acknowledge that human intervention fails when it ignores divine timing. It demands recognition that God’s deliverance operates through appointed seasons rather than impulsive action.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
Cross-references
- Exodus 18:2 After Moses had sent back his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had received her,
- Exodus 2:14 But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become known.”
- Exodus 4:19 Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.”