Exodus 3:1

Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Moses	וּמֹשֶׁ֗ה u.mo.Sheh	H4872	Mosheh · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
kept	הָיָ֥ה ha.Yah	H1961	to exist · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
flock	צֹ֛אן tzon	H6629	a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats) · noun, common both genders singular construct
Jethro	יִתְר֥וֹ yit.Ro	H3503	Jethro · proper noun, a man's name
law	חֹתְנ֖וֹ cho.te.No	H2859	to give (a daughter) away in marriage · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
priest	כֹּהֵ֣ן ko.Hen	H3548	literally one officiating · noun, common masculine singular construct
Midian	מִדְיָ֑ן mid.Yan	H4080	Midjan · proper noun, a place name
led	וַיִּנְהַ֤ג vai.yin.Hag	H5090	to drive forth (a person · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
flock	הַצֹּאן֙ ha.tzoN	H6629	a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
backside	אַחַ֣ר 'a.Char	H310	properly · cardinal number, masculine singular construct
desert	הַמִּדְבָּ֔ר ha.mid.Bar	H4057	a pasture (i.e. open field · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
came	וַיָּבֹ֛א vai.ya.Vo'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
mountain	הַ֥ר har	H2022	a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · noun, common masculine singular construct
God	הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים ha.'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
Horeb	חֹרֵֽבָה cho.Re.vah	H2722	Choreb · proper noun, a place name + directional suffix

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Kings 19:8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the…
Psalms 78:70-72 He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
Numbers 10:29 And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I…
Exodus 18:1-6 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the L…
Judges 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his t…
Malachi 4:4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
Exodus 2:16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 3:1-6

The years of the life of Moses are remarkably divided into three forties: the first forty he spent as a prince in Pharaoh's court, the second a shepherd in Midian, the third a king in Jeshurun; so changeable is the life of men, especially the life of good men. He had now finished his second forty, when he received his commission to bring Israel out of Egypt. Note, Sometimes it is long before God calls his servants out of that work which of old he designed them for, and has been graciously preparing them for. Moses was born to be Israel's deliverer, and yet not a word is said of it to him till he is eighty years of age. Now obverve, I. How this appearance of God to him found him employed. He…

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Adam Clarke on Exodus 3:1

Jethro his father-in-law - Concerning Jethro, see Clarke's note on Exo 2:18. Learned men are not agreed on the signification of the word חתן chothen, which we translate father-in-law, and which in Gen 19:14, we translate son-in-law. It seems to be a general term for a relative by marriage, and the connection only in which it stands can determine its precise meaning. It is very possible that Reuel was now dead, it being forty years since Moses came to Midian; that Jethro was his son, and had succeeded him in his office of prince and priest of Midian; that Zipporah was the sister of Jethro; and that consequently the word חתן chothen should be translated brother-in-law in this place: as we lear…

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John Gill on Exodus 3:1

Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian,.... Who was either the same with Reuel or Raguel, spoken of in the preceding chapter; or, as others think, a son of his, the father being now dead; seeing it was now forty years since Moses came into Midian, Acts 7:30. Demetrius (c), an Heathen writer, expressly says that Jothor a son of Raguel, and Zipporah or Sepphora, as he calls her, was his daughter, whom Moses married: now this was the business Moses was chiefly concerned in during his stay in Midian; keeping the sheep of his father-in-law, in which great personages have have employed, and who have afterwards been called to the kingly office, as David; and this…

The Church Fathers

Moses in Egypt was held in great honor: Pharaoh's daughter called him her own son —yet rejecting this, he chose to be just a shepherd, living in hardship.
— Ephrem the Syrian, HYMNS ON PARADISE 6

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Bush — In which Jehovah appeared to Moses in the wilderness (Ex. 3:2; Acts 7:30). It is difficult to say what particular kind of plant or bush is here meant. Probably it was the mimosa or acacia. The words…
Desert — (1.) Heb. midbar, “pasture-ground;” an open tract for pasturage; a common (Joel 2:22). The “backside of the desert” (Ex. 3:1) is the west of the desert, the region behind a man, as the east is the…
Horeb — Desert or mountain of the dried-up ground, a general name for the whole mountain range of which Sinai was one of the summits (Ex. 3:1; 17:6; 33:6; Ps. 106:19, etc.). The modern name of the whole…
Moses — Drawn (or Egypt. mesu, “son;” hence Rameses, royal son). On the invitation of Pharaoh (Gen. 45:17-25), Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. This immigration took place probably about 350 years…
Plagues, The Ten — The occasion on which the plagues were sent is described in Exod 3-12.
Deserts · Parts of, afforded pasture — Parts of, afforded pasture
Horeb · A range of mountains of which Mount Sinai is the most prominent — A range of mountains of which Mount Sinai is the most prominent
Jethro · Moses spent forty years of exile with, and married his daughter — Moses spent forty years of exile with, and married his daughter
Midianites · A small part of: Dwelt near Horeb — A small part of: Dwelt near Horeb
Mountains · Mentioned in scripture: Horeb — Mentioned in scripture: Horeb
Revelation · God reveals himself to Moses — God reveals himself to Moses

Exodus 3:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 3:1-6

Adam Clarke on Exodus 3:1

John Gill on Exodus 3:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 3:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 3:1-6

Adam Clarke on Exodus 3:1

John Gill on Exodus 3:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Exodus 3:1-5

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 3:1

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 3:1–end

Rashi on Exodus 3:1