16-22. the priest of Midian--or, "prince of Midian." As the
officers were usually conjoined, he was the ruler also of the people
called Cushites or Ethiopians, and like many other chiefs of pastoral
people in that early age, he still retained the faith and worship of
the true God.
seven daughters--were shepherdesses to whom Moses was favorably
introduced by an act of courtesy and courage in protecting them from
the rude shepherds of some neighboring tribe at a well. He afterwards
formed a close and permanent alliance with this family by marrying one
of the daughters, Zipporah, "a little bird," called a Cushite or
Ethiopian
(Nu 12:1),
and whom Moses doubtless obtained in the manner of Jacob by service
[see
Ex 3:1].
He had by her two sons, whose names were, according to common practice,
commemorative of incidents in the family history
[Ex 18:3, 4].
JFB.
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