Exodus 18:1

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;

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Jethro	יִתְר֨וֹ yit.Ro	H3503	Jethro · proper noun, a man's name
priest	כֹהֵ֤ן kho.Hen	H3548	literally one officiating · noun, common masculine singular construct
Midian	מִדְיָן֙ mid.Yan	H4080	Midjan · proper noun, a place name
Moses’	מֹשֶׁ֔ה mo.Sheh	H4872	Mosheh · proper noun, a man's name
law	חֹתֵ֣ן cho.Ten	H2859	to give (a daughter) away in marriage · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct
heard	וַיִּשְׁמַ֞ע vai.yish.Ma'	H8085	to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
God	אֱלֹהִים֙ 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
done	עָשָׂ֤ה 'a.Sah	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Moses	לְמֹשֶׁ֔ה le.mo.Sheh	H4872	Mosheh · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
Israel	וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל u.le.Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · conjunction + preposition + proper noun, a place name
people	עַמּ֑וֹ a.Mo	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD	יְהוָ֛ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
brought	הוֹצִ֧יא ho.Tzi'	H3318	to go (causatively · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
Egypt	מִמִּצְרָֽיִם mi.mitz.Ra.yim	H4714	Mitsrajim · preposition + proper noun, a place name

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Exodus 2:16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
Exodus 3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to…
Psalms 77:14-15 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.
Joshua 2:10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of t…
Joshua 9:9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of…
Psalms 34:2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
Psalms 44:1 We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
Psalms 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful wo…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 18:1-6

This incident may very well be allowed to have happened as it is placed here, before the giving of the law, and not, as some place it, in connection with what is recorded, Num 10:11, Num 10:29, etc. Sacrifices were offered before; in these mentioned here (Exo 18:12) it is observable that Jethro is said to take them, not Aaron. And as to Jethro's advising Moses to constitute judges under him, though it is intimate (Exo 18:13) that the occasion of his giving that advice was on the morrow, yet it does not follow but that Moses's settlement of that affair might be some time after, when the law was given, as it is placed, Deu 1:9. It is plain that Jethro himself would not have him make this alter…

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Adam Clarke on Exodus 18:1

When Jethro, the priest of Midian, etc. - Concerning this person and his several names, See Clarke's note on Exo 2:15, See Clarke's note on Exo 2:16, See Clarke's note on Exo 2:18, See Clarke's note on Exo 3:1, See Clarke's note on Exo 4:20, See Clarke's note on Exo 4:24. Jethro was probably the son of Reuel, the father-in-law of Moses, and consequently the brother-in-law of Moses; for the word חתן chothen, which we translate father-in-law, in this chapter means simply a relative by marriage. See Clarke's note on Exo 3:1.

John Gill on Exodus 18:1

When Jethro the priest of Midian, Moses's father-in-law,.... The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call him the prince of Midian, and so the word (e) is rendered in some versions; whose daughter Moses had married, and so was his father-in-law, of which see more in Exodus 2:16. heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people; the miracles he had wrought for them in Egypt, the dividing of the Red sea to make a way for them, the destruction of the Egyptians, providing them with bread and water in such a miraculous manner in the wilderness, and giving them victory over Amalek, and appearing always at the head of them in a pillar of cloud and fire: and that the Lord had brough…

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Dictionary and topics

Jethro — His excellence, or gain, a prince or priest of Midian, who succeeded his father Reuel. Moses spent forty years after his exile from the Egyptian court as keeper of Jethro’s flocks. While the…
Aaron · Priesthood of — Priesthood of
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Jethro’s visit — Jethro’s visit
Kenites, The · Showed kindness to Israel in the desert — Showed kindness to Israel in the desert

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Exodus 18:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 18:1-6

Adam Clarke on Exodus 18:1

John Gill on Exodus 18:1

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 18:1

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 18:1-6

Adam Clarke on Exodus 18:1

John Gill on Exodus 18:1

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Exodus 18:1-12

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 18:1-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 18:1-12

Rashi on Exodus 18:1