Exodus 2:20 records Reuel, the priest of Midian, asking where the stranger is and telling his daughters to bring him back to eat. The verse shows a father noticing that a guest was left outside and wanting him welcomed into the household. It is said by Reuel, also called Jethro, to his daughters after they return home from the well.
He said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”
Exodus 2:20 (WEB)
What Exodus 2:20 Means
The question “Where is he?” carries more concern than curiosity. Reuel is not asking for information so much as expressing surprise that the man who helped his daughters was not invited in. In the culture of the ancient Near East, hospitality toward strangers was a serious obligation, and a person who had done a kindness was expected to be received with a meal.
The phrase “Why is it that you have left the man?” is a gentle rebuke. The daughters had come home without the one who had rescued them, and their father wants that failure corrected. The command “Call him, that he may eat bread” shows the remedy: honor the guest with food and a place at the table. The verse does not promise Moses any particular future here. It describes a moment of ordinary generosity, and that is the point it makes.
The Context of Exodus 2:20
Exodus is the second book of the Torah, traditionally attributed to Moses, and it tells how Israel went from slavery in Egypt to covenant life with God. Chapter 2 is the bridge between Moses’ birth and his call at the burning bush. Here we meet a young man who fled Egypt after killing an Egyptian overseer, and who now sits as a foreigner by a well in Midian. The original audience was the Israelite community that would hear these stories as their own origin.
Just before verse 20, Moses defended Reuel’s daughters from shepherds who had driven them away, and he watered their flock. Just after, Reuel gives Moses his daughter Zipporah, and Moses names his son Gershom, saying he has been a stranger in a foreign land. Read in that setting, verse 20 is the hinge: the stranger who was overlooked is now welcomed, and that welcome leads to a home for a man who will soon be called to lead a people out of bondage.
Key Phrases in Exodus 2:20
Hebrews 13:2
Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it.
(WEB)
This verse encourages believers not to neglect hospitality to strangers, noting that some have welcomed angels without knowing it. It places Reuel’s invitation within a wider New Testament pattern of open doors and generous tables.
Romans 12:13
Contributing to the needs of the saints; given to hospitality.
(WEB)
Paul urges believers to share with the Lord’s people who are in need and to practice hospitality. Read alongside Exodus 2:20, it shows that welcoming others is an ordinary, daily expression of Christian love rather than a special occasion.
A Short Prayer From Exodus 2:20
Lord, you see the people who have helped me and the ones I have overlooked in my hurry. Help me notice where they are and not let their kindness pass unnoticed. Give me a generous heart like Reuel’s, quick to say “come, eat with us” and slow to assume that someone has already been cared for. Let my home and my table become places where strangers feel known and welcomed, and where your faithfulness to them is seen through my hands. Amen.
