Bible-Center
РУ
EN
FR
Bible
Notes
FAQ
Links
About

Search

Search Search
search in current section [Notes]

NOTES for Exo 18:1-27

Printable version
1 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt;
2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,
3 And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
4 And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
6 And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
7 And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14 And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God:
16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.
25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26 And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
27 And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
Hide

Today's passage tells of Moses meeting his father-in-law Jethro in the wilderness. It is no surprise that when they meet, Moses tells him about everything that happened in Egypt and on the way to Sinai (vv. 5-8). What is more unusual is Jethro's reaction: he in fact acknowledges the God of Moses as the true God (vv. 9-12). Still, there is a logic to such an acknowledgment. After all, in the Bible Jethro is called a "prophet" (v. 1; Ex. 2:16, 3:1). Not a "priest," as we read in the Synodal translation, but precisely a "prophet," because the Hebrew word used here, "kohen," denotes a priest only when it refers to the Levitical priesthood that appeared later and existed only among the Jews. Before the Levitical priesthood appeared, this word denoted precisely a prophet, as did words related to it in other Semitic languages.

Which god Jethro served is something we can only guess, because practically nothing is known about the religion of the Midianite tribe, or about the tribe itself. But something else is known: prophets of all times and peoples were distinguished by having direct contact with higher powers and often communicating directly with the gods they served. From there, everything depended only on Jethro's readiness to hear the God of Moses and accept Him.

For mystical experience in itself is neutral. The person who undergoes it differs from other people only in that he possesses certain special psychic abilities that others do not possess, or possess to a lesser degree. How he uses these abilities depends on the person himself. They can be used for self-assertion, or they can be used for serving God. One can listen to the voices of numerous spirits, or one can listen to the voice of God. And of course it depends only on the person himself whether he listens to the witness of someone who has experienced a meeting with the One, or leaves that witness unnoticed. In the second case, no mystical abilities will help him: he will never come to know the one true God. In the first case, he will know Him, and his special mystical giftedness will help him know Him even more deeply and communicate with Him more intensely.

Like any gift, the prophetic gift can either bring a person closer to God or move him farther from Him. Here everything depends on the person's own choice.

Other notes

 
For Exo 18:1-27
1 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt;
2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,
3 And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
4 And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
6 And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
7 And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14 And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God:
16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.
25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26 And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
27 And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
Hide
On the one hand, this is a story that, in legendary form, tells of the beginning of "civilization," of organization within the people who left Egypt for the wilderness with Moses. On the other hand, behind this organization one can see...  Read more

On the one hand, this is a story that, in legendary form, tells of the beginning of "civilization," of organization within the people who left Egypt for the wilderness with Moses. On the other hand, behind this organization one can see the ambiguity of any mediation between God and people. Moses, as prophet and "spiritual leader" of Israel, is condemned to this mediation, but its burden is unbearable for a human being, because only God Himself can fully bear it. To ease his task, Moses appoints many "leaders" who are ready to share with him responsibility for the people before God. The more people are able to stand before God on their own, the closer His goal becomes: each person's involvement in a relationship of love with the Creator. Later, in a similar episode (Numbers 11), we will see that in the Bible such participation in common responsibility is understood as participation in God's Spirit, in whom this love is brought about...

Hide
 
For Exo 18:1-27
1 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt;
2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,
3 And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
4 And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
6 And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
7 And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14 And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God:
16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.
25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26 And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
27 And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
Hide
Moses' father-in-law clearly has a great deal of management experience. It is no accident that he is the one who advises Moses to create the first administrative apparatus in the history of the people. One might think that the point here is only Moses' desire to shift part of the burden of governing the people onto others. And that is understandable: why should he...  Read more

Moses' father-in-law clearly has a great deal of management experience. It is no accident that he is the one who advises Moses to create the first administrative apparatus in the history of the people. One might think that the point here is only Moses' desire to shift part of the burden of governing the people onto others. And that is understandable: why should he personally decide every case and sort out every problem that arises? His task is prophetic ministry; he must be the mediator between God and the people, since the people need a mediator. The rest can be entrusted to others.

In reality, however, everything is more complicated. In addition to easing Moses' own burden, there is also an attempt here to make the people at least somewhat responsible for their own life and their own affairs, because those who rule over the people are chosen by the people themselves. No one chose Moses; he is a leader appointed by God. Any claims can be made against him without taking responsibility for anything: after all, he, Moses, is the initiator of everything he does. God leads him, so let him solve his own and our problems with God while we wait.

Now everything changes: the people choose the new leaders for themselves. Now it will no longer be possible to remove responsibility from oneself completely, because the one who chooses is always responsible for those whom he chooses. Besides, now disobedience to these chosen leaders becomes, at the very least, obviously inconsistent for everyone. First choose elders for yourselves, and then ignore their instructions, not listen to orders, simply disregard them? Any reasonably normal person in such a case would simply stop respecting himself, and those around him would scarcely take him seriously either.

The issue, then, is training in the most elementary responsibility: responsibility connected with authority, with its delegation, and with conscious obedience to those whom one has chosen as leaders. Of course, not everything always goes smoothly here, but people learn from mistakes, and there is no other way to learn responsibility. The people will still have to settle the land promised to them by God, and the experience gained in this way will be very useful there. Without it, no more or less normal life can be arranged on the land given by God.

Hide
Bible
Notes
FAQ
Links
About
Site map
Design and development:  © 2001–2026 W-M v:2.0.3.107

After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan.

Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free.