seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 28:21. So he left, fearful and vigilant. He said, “My Lord, deliver me from the wrongdoing people.”
22. As he headed towards Median, he said, “Perhaps my Lord will guide me to the right way.”
23. And when he arrived at the waters of Median, he found there a crowd of people drawing water, and he noticed two women waiting on the side. He said, “What is the matter with you?” They said, “We cannot draw water until the shepherds depart, and our father is a very old man.”
24. So he drew water for them, and then withdrew to the shade, and said, “My Lord, I am in dire need of whatever good you might send down to me.”
25. Then, one of the two women approached him, walking bashfully. She said, “My father is calling you, to reward you for drawing water for us.” And when he came to him, and told him the story, he said, “Do not fear, you have escaped from the wrongdoing people.”
26. One of the two women said, “Father, hire him; the best employee for you is the strong and trustworthy.”
27. He said, “I want to marry you to one of these two daughters of mine, provided you work for me for eight years. But if you complete ten, that is up to you. I do not intend to impose any hardship on you. You will find me, God willing, one of the righteous.”
28. He said, “Let this be an agreement between you and me. Whichever of the two terms I fulfill, there shall be no reprisal against me; and God is witness over what we say.”
I don't know if this scene needs commentary.... but here it is.... someone thought it did so they wrote it.
According to Exod. 2:18, the old man was Reuel, but in Exod. 3:1 he is called Jethro and he is said to have had seven daughters. The Qur’ån does not state how many daughters the man had; it only speaks of two of them being in charge of their father’s flock. Hence the alleged confusion of this story with that of Laban’s two daughters is itself due to a confusion. The commentators say this man was Shu‘aib, and Shu‘aib is mentioned by the name of Jethro in the Bible.
Christian critical opinion discovers here another confusion. Because Jacob had made an agreement with Laban to serve him for seven years as a condition of marrying one of his daughters (Gen. 29:18), it is alleged that this fact must have been present in the Prophet’s mind in a confused state, giving rise to the story relating to Moses’ serving Jethro for eight or ten years. According to Rabbinical accounts, Moses lived with Jethro for ten years, which corroborates the Quranic story in substance (see Jewish En.), and there is nothing improbable in the circumstance that he may have served him during that period and married one of his daughters. But what is stated here has really a deeper significance beneath it. In Moses’ stay at Midian for ten years, there is a prophetical reference to the ten years of the Prophet’s life at Madßnah. The mention of eight years has another underlying significance, for it was after eight years that the Prophet came back to Makkah as a conqueror, a clear reference to which is contained further on in v. 85: He Who has made the Qur’ån binding on thee will surely bring thee back to the Place of Return. This occurred exactly eight years after his Flight. That such is the real significance of relating this narrative is made clear by the Qur’ån itself further on in v. 45, where the Prophet is thus addressed: And thou wast not dwelling among the people of Midian, reciting to them Our messages. It is, as it were, to say that it was Moses that lived among the people of Midian, but his episode really conveys the news of what will happen to thee.
It may be added here that Moses was paid his wages, and the condition of his staying in Midian for eight or ten years was as much in his own interest as in the interest of Jethro, for as the Bible narrative shows, Pharaoh had died by the time that Moses’ stay in Midian had come to an end.
It says the people might get confused by the story because Jacob, Isaac's son, Abraham's grandson.... worked for seven years to earn his wife. Moses worked for ten years for Jethro [aka Reuel].
So Moses beat an Egyptian man to death for beating a Hebrew.... or forcing adultery on a woman [depending on which book I read].... and he had to run. He ran to Midian.... where he met Jethro, the priest.... and two of Jethro's daughters.
Women weren't counted back then.... we didn't count. When the Bible talks about the crowd of 5,000 who attended the fish feast Jesus held.... the 5,000 were just the men.... women and children were there.... but they weren't counted. I doubt anyone really knows how many daughters Jethro really had. Maybe the Quran and the Bible combined will give us a hint.
At any rate.... Moses was with Jethro and the girls for ten years.... and Pharaoh didn't find him there.
So Moses hid out in plain sight for ten years.
