Exodus 2:17

In the East wells are of great importance, and frequent disputes arise over rights of watering: see e.g. Genesis 26:20.

21. Moses stayed in Midian forty years (cp. Exodus 7:7), so that his life falls into three equal portions. The first forty years he spent in Egypt (Acts 7:23), the second forty in Midian, and the last forty in the wilderness (cp. Deuteronomy 34:7). it may be observed, however, that in Scripture forty is frequently used as a round number. Here the forty years signify a generation: so that Moses simply waited in Midian till a new set of people arose in Egypt: see e.g. Genesis 7:4; Exodus 24:18; Exodus 34:28; Numbers 13:25; Numbers 14:33; 1 Samuel 17:16; 1 Kings 19:8. With the preparatory sojourn of Moses in Midian may be compared that of the Baptist in the wilderness (Luke 1:80) and of St. Paul in Arabia (Galatians 1:17). Zipporah] see on Numbers 12:1.