Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons. (Acts 7:29)

The Sons Of Moses

Stephen’s historical account of the nation of Israel includes the reminder that Moses had two sons. The Hebrews had fallen under the tyranny of an Egyptian ruler who did not know what Joseph had done for the people and worried about how the Hebrews were multiplying. Pharaoh passed a law that all Hebrew babies would be killed in an effort to stem the tide of the increasing population. The parents of Moses did not fear the king’s order and hid Moses for three months. Unable to hide the infant any longer, his mother, Jochebed, placed Moses in a small ark near the river where the daughter of Pharaoh bathed. When Pharaoh’s daughter saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maids to retrieve it. Miriam, the sister of the infant Moses, told Pharaoh’s daughter that she would get a woman from among the Hebrews to nurse the child. Jochebed nursed Moses until such a time as she took her son to live in the Egyptian palace. Moses would be raised as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

At the age of forty, Moses killed an Egyptian for beating a fellow Hebrew. The next day, knowing his act of murder was known, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he would remain for forty years. Moses married one of the seven daughters of the priest of Midian and had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. After God called Moses to return to Egypt, Jochebed, and the two boys joined Moses on his journey back to Egypt. On the way, the Lord met Moses, intending to kill him. The context lends itself to the belief that Moses had not circumcised Eliezer. The covenant of circumcision was first given to Abraham as a sign of the covenant. Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son, and the Lord relented.

Sometime after arriving in Egypt and before the exodus of the people, Moses sent Zipporah back to Midian, where she stayed with her father. When the people were at Sinai, Jethro brought his daughter and two grandsons to Moses. After Moses recounted the story of the people’s deliverance, Jethro made a burnt offering and made other sacrifices to offer to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came and ate bread with Moses and Jethro. The next day, when Moses was judging the people, Jethro suggested that Moses was overtaxing himself by taking on all the leadership. He suggested Moses establish rulers in various numbers to care for the judging of the people. Moses agreed and did all that he said.

The Holy Spirit records no further details of Zipporah. Moses marries an Ethiopian later, which causes problems with Miriam and Aaron, arousing the anger of the Lord against Moses’ brother and sister. Gershom and Eliezer pass from the records, with only a mention of their sons in David’s records many years later. From the family of Amram, Shebuel was a descendant of Gershom and was called the chief officer of the treasuries. Other descendants of Moses through Eliezer were Rehabiah, Jeshaiah, Joram, Zicri, and Shelomoth. The records fall silent to the story of the family of Moses.

It is remarkable to consider how central to Old Testament history Moses is, yet very little is known about his family. He died at the age of one-hundred-twenty with his strength undiminished and his eyesight clear. Were his sons there? It is unknown. Moses was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knew where God buried him. His resting place remains in the shadows of history unknown. His sons’ legacy may live today in the lives of unknown people; they will never know it. Moses had a single purpose in life and became the great lawgiver for the Lord. And he had two sons.