Exodus 2:21

Summary

The verse reports that Moses agreed to stay and live with the man he had encountered (Jethro/Reuel, per the preceding context), and that this man then gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses. The two clauses are joined by narrative vav, marking a sequential chain of events.

Key words

• va-yo'el ("and he was willing", H2974) — hiphil narrative form of the root meaning "to be willing/agree/consent"; the hiphil here functions as a causative-reflexive expressing Moses' own decision or consent, not an external compulsion.
• la-shevet ("to dwell", H3427) — qal infinitive with the preposition le-, expressing purpose or content of the willingness: "willing to dwell."
• 'et-ha-'ish ("with the man", H0854 + H9009 + H0376G) — object of the infinitive, marked with the preposition 'et ("with") and the definite article, identifying a specific, previously mentioned man.
• va-yitten ("and he gave", H5414O) — qal narrative form, third person masculine singular, continuing the narrative chain begun by va-yo'el.
• vitto ("his daughter", H1323G + H9023) — feminine singular noun in construct with the pronominal suffix "his," identifying Zipporah's relationship to the man (her father).

What the text says

The verse consists of two narrative clauses linked by the vav that carries the story forward ("and then… and then…"). The first clause centers on the hiphil verb yo'el (H2974), which expresses Moses' internal disposition — his willingness or consent — followed by the infinitive lashevet (H3427, "to dwell") stating what he consented to do: dwell with "the man" (ha-'ish, H0376G), a definite reference back to the person introduced earlier in the chapter. Grammatically, the infinitive construction with le- shows purpose/content rather than a separate action; Moses' agreement and his dwelling are presented as a single unified idea.

The second clause shifts the subject to the man, using the qal narrative verb va-yitten (H5414O) with the direct object marker 'et (H0853) before the proper name Tzipporah (H6855). The noun bitto (H1323G with suffix H9023, "his daughter") stands in apposition to Zipporah, clarifying the relationship before the final phrase le-Mosheh ("to Moses") states the recipient.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew verb yo'el (H2974, "he was willing/agreed") differs from both the LXX and the Vulgate. The LXX renders this clause passively, katōkisthē ("he was settled/made to dwell"), shifting the emphasis from Moses' will to an action performed upon him. The Vulgate uses juravit ("he swore"), introducing the concept of an oath, which is not expressed by the Hebrew root H2974. Additionally, both the LXX (γυναῖκα, "as wife") and the Vulgate (uxorem, "as wife") explicitly state that Zipporah was given "as wife," a specification not present in the Hebrew text, which simply states that the man "gave" (va-yitten, H5414O) his daughter to Moses without the added noun.