Bible Strands
Exodus 2:21
Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses responds to Jethro's inquiry about the man he left behind by agreeing to remain in Midian. This exchange occurs immediately after Jethro's daughters report their encounter and Jethro invites Moses to a meal.
The words — The Hebrew וַ/יּ֥וֹאֶל (va/i.Yo.'el) translates literally as "and he was willing," marking Moses's voluntary consent to dwell (לָ/שֶׁ֣בֶת, la./She.vet) with Jethro. This willingness directly precedes the marriage arrangement and establishes his settled status in the land.
The thread — The motif of willing settlement and sustained presence appears in Genesis 31:38 regarding long-term stewardship and Hebrews 13:5 regarding God's promise to never abandon His people. Both passages frame human contentment and divine faithfulness within extended periods of dwelling.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that obedience often begins with a simple willingness to remain where God places you. It presents relocation and marriage not as diversions but as the concrete setting for divine preparation.
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 Hebrew words
King James Version
And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
Cross-references
- Genesis 31:38 I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flock.
- Hebrews 13:5 Keep 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.”
- Exodus 2:10 When 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.”
- Exodus 4:20 So 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.
- Exodus 18:2 After Moses had sent back his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had received her,
- Philippians 4:11 I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.
- 1 Timothy 6:6 Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
- Hebrews 11:25 He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin.
- James 1:10 But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
- Numbers 12:1 Then Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married, for he had taken a Cushite wife.