Midian is the setting of Moses’ flight from Pharaoh and his intervening years away from Egypt: there he helps the daughters of a Midianite priest, is welcomed into the household, marries Zipporah, and begins a family. From Midian, he is later sent back to Egypt with a divine commission to confront Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of bondage.

Moses’ Refuge and Welcome

After Pharaoh sought to kill him for killing an Egyptian, Moses fled to Midian and sat by a well. There he intervened when shepherds drove away the seven daughters of the priest of Midian, helping them draw water and water their father’s flock.

The daughters told their father that an Egyptian had delivered them from the shepherds and watered the flock. Their father, Reuel, questioned why they had left their helper behind and invited Moses to eat. Moses agreed to stay with the family, and Reuel gave him his daughter Zipporah as a wife. She bore a son, Gershom; Moses named him in reference to being a stranger in a strange land.

A Place of Exile and Calling

Moses later kept the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and led it to Horeb, where the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in the Burning Bush. The LORD called Moses to return to Egypt and bring the Israelites out of bondage. Moses questioned his ability to undertake the mission, but the LORD promised to be with him and appointed Aaron as his spokesman.

When Moses asked Jethro for permission to return to his brethren in Egypt, Jethro sent him in peace. The LORD also told Moses that the men who had sought his life were dead. Moses departed with his wife and sons, carrying the rod of God; thus Midian, first a refuge from Pharaoh, became the place from which he set out to confront him.

Wider Narrative Significance

Midian marks a change in Moses’ circumstances without erasing his connection to Egypt and the Israelites: he arrives as a fugitive, becomes part of a priestly household, and leaves as a commissioned leader. The narrative places his encounter with the Burning Bush in the course of his Midianite life, linking his years of exile to the mission that will reshape the Israelites’ fate.

The book also looks back to Midian when describing the Israelites assembled for the covenant at Horeb: Moses stood between the LORD and the people to declare the divine words because they were afraid of the fire. Midian’s narrative importance therefore extends beyond Moses’ personal refuge, encompassing the setting of his preparation and the mountain associated with Israel’s covenant encounter.