Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
Moses fled ... and dwelt in the land of Midian - situated on the shore of the Eastern gulf of the Red Sea, and occupied by the posterity of Midian, the son of Abraham (Genesis 25:7) - their kindred with Israel, and their adherence to the primitive faith, being, doubtless, the reason of his taking refuge among them. The territory extended northward to the top of the gulf, and westward far across the desert of Sinai. And from their position near the sea, they early combined trading with pastoral pursuits (Genesis 37:28). The headquarters of Jethro are supposed to have been where Dahab-Madian now stands; and from Moses coming direct to that place, he may have traveled with a caravan of merchants. But the site of the "land of Midian" is not known. Josephus describes it as by the Red Sea. Dr. Beke and others hold that it lay in the widespread plains of the Ghor.
Sat down by a well, х `al (H5921) habª'eer (H875)] - by the well, a well-known watering-place; and it was 'noon' (Josephus 'Antiquities, b. 2:, ch. 11:, sec. 1). See the note at Genesis 29:3.