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Exodus 18:1–12 — The Visit of Jethro. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

Jethro, to congratulate the happiness of Israel, and particularly the honour of Moses his son-in-law, comes to rejoice with them, as one that had a true respect both for them and for their God

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

And that the Lord had brought Israel out. —Rather, in that the Lord had brought Israel out, It was this fact especially which Jethro had heard, and which induced him to set out on his journey.

Decisive on the kî of word 14 — the Exodus is the single fact summing up “all that God had done.”

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Rather, "Jethro, priest of Midian, Moses' brother-in-law." See the comment on Exodus 3:1; and note that the Seventy use the ambiguous word

The lexical ground for the “father-in-law / brother-in-law” divergence on ḥō·ṯên (H2859); the Vulgate likewise renders cognatus.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

in the person of Jethro the first-fruits of the heathen, who would hereafter seek the living God, entered into religious fellowship with the people of God

Keil's typological reading that governs the whole unit: Jethro as the firstfruits of the nations, set against Amalek of chapter 17.

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Now Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about all that God had done for Moses and His people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

mō·šeh ’êṯ ḥō·ṯên yiṯ·rōw ḵō·hên miḏ·yān way·yiš·ma‘ kāl- ’ă·šer ’ĕ·lō·hîm ‘ā·śāh lə·mō·šeh ‘am·mōw ū·lə·yiś·rā·’êl kî- Yah·weh ’eṯ- hō·w·ṣî yiś·rā·’êl mim·miṣ·rā·yim

Word by word20 · parsed

מֹשֶׁ֔הmō·šehNow Moses’H4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

אֵת֩’êṯH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

חֹתֵ֣ןḥō·ṯênfather-in-lawH2859

√ châthan — to give (a daughter) away in marriageNounmasculine singular construct

יִתְר֨וֹyiṯ·rōwJethroH3503

√ Yithrôw — Jethro, Moses' father-in-lawNounpropermasculine singular

כֹהֵ֤ןḵō·hênthe priestH3548

√ kôhên — literally one officiating, a priestNounmasculine singular construct

ḵō·hên — the office that makes verse 12 possible. A priest hears of God's acts and will answer with a priest's instinct: a burnt-offering. The word frames the whole episode.

מִדְיָן֙miḏ·yānof MidianH4080

√ Midyân — Midjan, a son of AbrahamNounpropermasculine singular

וַיִּשְׁמַ֞עway·yiš·ma‘heardH8085

√ shâmaʻ — to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

shâmaʻ, Qal consecutive imperfect: the report reaches Midian. Gill: Midian lay near Egypt, and the fame of the plagues, the Sea, and the manna ran through all the surrounding countries (cf. Exodus 15:14). The unit opens on a Gentile hearing.

כָּל־kāl-about allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

אֲשֶׁ֨ר’ă·šerthatH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

אֱלֹהִים֙’ĕ·lō·hîmGodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

’ĕ·lō·hîm (H430) — the generic, universal name God is used of what Jethro heard; only later (vv.10–11) does he take up the covenant name Yahweh from Moses' lips. The narrator lets the outsider begin where an outsider begins.

עָשָׂ֤ה‘ā·śāhhad doneH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

לְמֹשֶׁ֔הlə·mō·šehfor MosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

עַמּ֑וֹ‘am·mōwand His peopleH5971

√ ʻam — a people (as a congregated unit)Nounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖לū·lə·yiś·rā·’êlIsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobConjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

כִּֽי־kî-and howH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

יְהוָ֛הYah·wehthe LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

Yah·weh (H3068) — set in apposition to ʼĕlōhîm: the God of the nations and the covenant LORD are one, and the proof is a single deed, the bringing-out of Israel.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הוֹצִ֧יאhō·w·ṣîhad broughtH3318

√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singular

hō·w·ṣî (H3318, yâtsâʼ Hifil) — caused to go out: the defining Exodus verb. Keil reads this clause as the precise content of what Jethro heard, against Kurtz's theory that it was rather the Amalekite victory.

יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לyiś·rā·’êlIsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃mim·miṣ·rā·yimout of EgyptH4714

√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iPreposition-mNounproperfeminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-he-heard Jethro, the-priest of-Midian, father-in-law of-Moses, all that God had-done for-Moses and-for-Israel His-people — that Yahweh had-brought-out Israel from-Egypt.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיִּשְׁמַ֞ע BSB's flat “heard about” renders way·yiš·ma‘ (H8085, shâmaʻ), the verb that means not bare audition but to hear intelligently, with attention and response. Jethro's hearing is already the seed of his coming, his blessing, and his sacrifice — the Hebrew word carries the whole arc.
כֹהֵ֤ן “the priest of Midian” renders ḵō·hên (H3548) — the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, Gill notes, render it prince. The single word holds an ambiguity the English settles too quickly: Jethro is a sacrificing priest of a Midianite worship, not yet of Israel's altar.
חֹתֵ֣ן “father-in-law” renders ḥō·ṯên (H2859, root châthan, “to give a daughter in marriage”). The participle names a marriage-relation broadly; the LXX uses the ambiguous γαμβρός and the Vulgate cognatus, which is why Barnes and the Pulpit Commentary argue for brother-in-law. The relationship is fixed by translation, not by the word.
כִּֽי־ BSB's “and how” blunts kî (H3588). Ellicott and the Pulpit Commentary insist the clause is exegetical: “in that the LORD had brought Israel out” — the one fact, naming the Exodus itself, that summed up all God had done and set Jethro on the road.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Heb., after her dismissal. The fact had not been previously stated, but is in harmony with the general narrative, which has been absolutely silent concerning Zipporah since Exodus 4:26 .

Pins the rendering of šil·lū·ḥe·hā (H7964) and notes the silence the single word fills.

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

because he found by experience that she was likely to hinder him from, or discourage him in, the discharge of his great and dangerous office

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

this is by no means to be interpreted of a divorce of her; after which she was brought again to her husband; for there is no reason to believe that ever anything of that kind had passed

Reads šil·lū·ḥe·hā as a temporary sending-back, not a legal dismissal — the lexical caution behind the divergence.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

In all probability an addition of the compiler, made for the purpose of harmonizing the statement in v. 5 that Moses’ sons (in the plural ) and his wife were with Jethro

A higher-critical reading recorded for transparency; we do not adopt the source-division it assumes — see the apparatus.

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After Moses had sent back his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had received her,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’a·ḥar mō·šeh šil·lū·ḥe·hā ’ê·šeṯ ṣip·pō·rāh mō·šeh ’eṯ- ḥō·ṯên yiṯ·rōw way·yiq·qaḥ

Word by word10 · parsed

אַחַ֖ר’a·ḥarAfterH310

√ ʼachar — properly, the hind partAdverb

מֹשֶׁ֑הmō·šehMosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

שִׁלּוּחֶֽיהָ׃šil·lū·ḥe·hāhad sent backH7964

√ shillûwach — (only in plural) a dismissal, iNounmasculine plural constructthird person feminine singular

šil·lū·ḥe·hā — a rare plural noun (H7964, only here, 1 Kings 9:16, Micah 1:14). Geneva: she was sent back “for her impatience, lest she should be a hinderance to his calling,” tying the word back to the bloody-bridegroom scene of Exodus 4:25.

אֵ֣שֶׁת’ê·šeṯhis wifeH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanNounfeminine singular construct

צִפֹּרָ֖הṣip·pō·rāhZipporahH6855

√ Tsippôrâh — Tsipporah, Moses' wifeNounproperfeminine singular

ṣip·pō·rāh (H6855) — Zipporah, named here for the first time since Exodus 4:26, after the long narrative silence Ellicott observes.

מֹשֶׁ֔הmō·šeh[his]H4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

חֹתֵ֣ןḥō·ṯênfather-in-lawH2859

√ châthan — to give (a daughter) away in marriageNounmasculine singular construct

יִתְרוֹ֙yiṯ·rōwJethroH3503

√ Yithrôw — Jethro, Moses' father-in-lawNounpropermasculine singular

וַיִּקַּ֗חway·yiq·qaḥhad received herH3947

√ lâqach — to take (in the widest variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

lâqach, Qal consecutive imperfect — the hinge verb of the visit. Jethro takes the family toward Moses now; in v.12 he will take a sacrifice toward God.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-he-took Jethro, father-in-law of-Moses, Zipporah the-wife of-Moses, after her-sending-away,

Where the English smooths the original

שִׁלּוּחֶֽיהָ׃ “After Moses had sent back his wife” unpacks the terse Hebrew šil·lū·ḥe·hā (H7964, plural shillûwach, “her dismissal / her sendings-away”). Ellicott, the Pulpit Commentary, and Gill all flag it: the text states the dismissal only here, in a single noun, as something already known.
וַיִּקַּ֗ח BSB's “had received her” renders way·yiq·qaḥ (H3947, lâqach, “to take”). The plain verb is took — Gill: Jethro took his daughter along to deliver her to her husband. The same verb returns in verse 12 (“took a burnt offering”), framing the visit between two takings.
אֵ֣שֶׁת “his wife Zipporah” places the noun ’ê·šeṯ (H802, ʼishshâh) in construct — “the wife of Moses.” Gill and the Geneva Bible note this is no divorce: shillûwach is a temporary sending-back, not a writ of dismissal; she remains the wife of Moses throughout the clause.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Alexander MaclarenExpositions of Holy Scripturec. 1905

The first child’s name expresses his father’s discontent, and suggests the bitter contrast between Sinai and Egypt; the court and the sheepfold

Maclaren reads the two names as a spiritual autobiography — exile's discontent in Gershom, deliverance's gratitude in Eliezer.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

The name of one was Gershom — A stranger, designing thereby not only a memorial of his own condition, but a memorandum to his son of his, for we are all strangers upon earth.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

his name signifies a desolate stranger, as some, or, "there I was a stranger"

Gives the wordplay between Gershom (H1647) and gêr (H1616) the divergence rests on.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

I have been a sojourner in a foreign land ] Repeated verbatim from Exodus 2:22 . Eliezer is mentioned only here.

The textual ground for the Exodus 2:22 thread — the verbatim repetition the verifier independently confirms (H1647, H1616, H5237).

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along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’êṯ šə·nê ḇā·ne·hā hā·’e·ḥāḏ ’ă·šer šêm gê·rə·šōm kî ’ā·mar hā·yî·ṯî gêr nā·ḵə·rî·yāh bə·’e·reṣ

Word by word13 · parsed

וְאֵ֖תwə·’êṯalong withH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker

שְׁנֵ֣יšə·nêher twoH8147

√ shᵉnayim — twoNumbermasculine dual construct

בָנֶ֑יהָḇā·ne·hāsonsH1121

√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural constructthird person feminine singular

הָֽאֶחָד֙hā·’e·ḥāḏOneH259

√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iArticleNumbermasculine singular

אֲשֶׁ֨ר’ă·šer[son]H834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

שֵׁ֤םšêmwas namedH8034

√ shêm — an appellation, as amark or memorial of individualityNounmasculine singular construct

šêm (H8034) — “name” as memorial of individuality. Each son's name is a sentence about Moses' inner life; the narrator pauses the action to read the family's theology off its children's names.

גֵּֽרְשֹׁ֔םgê·rə·šōmGershomH1647

√ Gêrᵉshôm — Gereshom, the name of four IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

Gershom — Maclaren: the first child's name “expresses his father's discontent,” the bitterness of exile, before Eliezer's name (v.4) clears into trust.

כִּ֣יkîforH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

אָמַ֔ר’ā·marMoses had saidH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)VerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

הָיִ֔יתִיhā·yî·ṯîI have beenH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectfirst person common singular

גֵּ֣רgêra foreignerH1616

√ gêr — properly, a guestNounmasculine singular

gêr (H1616) — the keyword. Israel's whole self-understanding as resident-aliens (Leviticus 19:34; 25:23) is rehearsed in the name of Moses' firstborn.

נָכְרִיָּֽה׃nā·ḵə·rî·yāhin a foreignH5237

√ nokrîy — strange, in a variety of degrees and applications (foreign, non-relative, adulterous, different, wonderful)Adjectivefeminine singular

nokrîy (H5237) — paired with gêr to make the alienation total; the clause is lifted word-for-word from Exodus 2:22, a deliberate echo the parse confirms.

בְּאֶ֖רֶץbə·’e·reṣlandH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Preposition-bNounfeminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

and her-two sons; of-whom the-name of-the-one was-Gershom, for he-said: “A-sojourner I-have-been in-a-foreign land.”

Where the English smooths the original

גֵּֽרְשֹׁ֔ם “Gershom” renders gê·rə·šōm (H1647) — a name Benson and Gill hear as “a stranger / there I was a stranger,” a wordplay on gêr (sojourner) in the very next clause. The English keeps the name but loses the pun that explains it.
גֵּ֣ר “a foreigner” renders gêr (H1616) — properly a guest, a resident-alien, not merely a stranger. Benson: the name was “a memorandum to his son… for we are all strangers upon earth.” The word that names Moses' exile becomes a name for the whole pilgrim people.
נָכְרִיָּֽה׃ “foreign” renders nā·ḵə·rî·yāh (H5237, nokrîy) — the sharper word for alien, that which is not one's own. Hebrew doubles the estrangement: a gêr (H1616) in a nokrîy (H5237) land — guest-status in utterly-other soil. Cambridge marks the whole line as “Repeated verbatim from Exodus 2:22.”

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

The name of the other was Eliezer — My God a help: it looks back to his deliverance from Pharaoh, when he made his escape after the slaying of the Egyptian

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Eliezer means literally, "My God (is my) help."

The lexical decomposition of the name behind the divergence on ’ĕ·lî·‘e·zer (H461) and ‘ez·rî (H5828).

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Eliezer is supposed to have been the boy whom Zipporah circumcised in the wilderness ( Exodus 4:25 ).

Links the younger son to the bloody-bridegroom episode that explains the “sending-away” of v.2.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

the God of my father ] Exodus 3:6 (E), Exodus 15:2 (the Song). from the sword of Pharaoh ] cf. Exodus 2:15 .

The cross-references anchoring “God of my father” to the bush and the Song of the Sea.

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The other son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my father was my helper and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hā·’e·ḥāḏ wə·šêm ’ĕ·lî·‘e·zer kî- ’ĕ·lō·hê ’ā·ḇî bə·‘ez·rî way·yaṣ·ṣi·lê·nî mê·ḥe·reḇ par·‘ōh

Word by word10 · parsed

הָאֶחָ֖דhā·’e·ḥāḏThe other [son]H259

√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iArticleNumbermasculine singular

וְשֵׁ֥םwə·šêmwas namedH8034

√ shêm — an appellation, as amark or memorial of individualityConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct

אֱלִיעֶ֑זֶר’ĕ·lî·‘e·zerEliezerH461

√ ʼĔlîyʻezer — Eliezer, the name of a Damascene and of ten IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

Eliezer — Ellicott: probably the boy Zipporah circumcised in the wilderness (Exodus 4:25); his line ran on to Rehabiah (1 Chronicles 23:17). The name records a deliverance from “the sword of Pharaoh” who “sought to slay him” (Exodus 2:15).

כִּֽי־kî-for [Moses had said]H3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

אֱלֹהֵ֤י’ĕ·lō·hêThe GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural construct

’ĕ·lō·hê ’ā·ḇî — “the God of my father”; the formula of patriarchal continuity (Genesis 31:5; Exodus 3:6), grounding Moses' rescue in Abraham's God, not Midian's.

אָבִי֙’ā·ḇîof my fatherH1

√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationNounmasculine singular constructfirst person common singular

בְּעֶזְרִ֔יbə·‘ez·rîwas my helperH5828

√ ʻêzer — aidPreposition-bNounmasculine singular constructfirst person common singular

‘ez·rî (H5828) — “my help.” The noun is the theological heart of the name; Benson hears in it either past rescue from the slain-Egyptian flight, or a forward-looking confidence, “the Lord is my help, and will deliver me.”

וַיַּצִּלֵ֖נִיway·yaṣ·ṣi·lê·nîand delivered meH5337

√ nâtsal — to snatch away, whether in a good or a bad senseConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singularfirst person common singular

nâtsal (H5337) — the deliverance-verb that knits the whole unit together (vv.8, 9, 10). Moses' testimony in his son's name anticipates Jethro's doxology over Israel's rescue.

מֵחֶ֥רֶבmê·ḥe·reḇfrom the swordH2719

√ chereb — droughtPreposition-mNounfeminine singular construct

פַּרְעֹֽה׃par·‘ōhof PharaohH6547

√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsNounpropermasculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-the-name of-the-other was-Eliezer, for: “The-God of-my-father was-my-help, and-He-delivered-me from-the-sword of-Pharaoh.”

Where the English smooths the original

אֱלִיעֶ֑זֶר “Eliezer” renders ’ĕ·lî·‘e·zer (H461) — the Pulpit Commentary spells it out: “My God (is my) help,” God-name + help-word fused into one. The English keeps the name and supplies its meaning only in the explanatory clause that follows.
בְּעֶזְרִ֔י “was my helper” renders bə·‘ez·rî (H5828, ʻêzer, “aid, help”) — the same root buried inside the name Eliezer. The Hebrew name and its reason rhyme; the verse is the name unpacked into a confession.
וַיַּצִּלֵ֖נִי “and delivered me” renders way·yaṣ·ṣi·lê·nî (H5337, nâtsal Hifil) — to snatch away, rescue. This is the unit's signature verb: it returns of Israel in v.8, v.9, and twice in Jethro's blessing (v.10). Moses' private rescue becomes the template for the nation's.
אֱלֹהֵ֤י “The God of my father” renders the construct ’ĕ·lō·hê ’ā·ḇî (H430 + H1) — Cambridge ties it to Exodus 3:6 and the Song (15:2). Moses names not a tribal deity but the patriarchal covenant God who answered him at the bush and the Sea.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

The wilderness - i. e., according to the view which seems on the whole most probable, the plain near the northern summit of Horeb, the mountain of God. The valley which opens upon Er Rahah on the left of Horeh is called "Wady Shueib" by the Arabs, i. e. the vale of Hobab.

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

Horeb is called the mount of God, because God did many miracles there. So Peter calls the mount where Christ was transfigured, the holy mount: for by Christ's presence it was holy for a time, 2Pe 1:18.

Defines what makes Horeb “the mountain of God” — divine acts and presence, not the place itself.

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Jethro came, not at this time, but after the delivery of the law at Mount Sinai

States the displacement theory plainly; we note it but follow the canonical order — see the apparatus.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

It is quite possible that “the mount of God” may be here used, in a broad sense, of the entire Sinaitic mountain-region

Offers the harmonizing reading that lets the chapter stand where it is.

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Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, along with Moses’ wife and sons, came to him in the desert, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ḥō·ṯên yiṯ·rōw mō·šeh wə·’iš·tōw ū·ḇā·nāw way·yā·ḇō ’el- mō·šeh ’el- ham·miḏ·bār ’ă·šer- hū ḥō·neh šām har hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm

Word by word16 · parsed

חֹתֵ֥ןḥō·ṯênMoses’ father-in-lawH2859

√ châthan — to give (a daughter) away in marriageNounmasculine singular construct

יִתְר֨וֹyiṯ·rōwJethroH3503

√ Yithrôw — Jethro, Moses' father-in-lawNounpropermasculine singular

מֹשֶׁ֛הmō·šehalong with Moses’H4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

וְאִשְׁתּ֖וֹwə·’iš·tōwwifeH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanConjunctive wawNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular

וּבָנָ֥יוū·ḇā·nāwand sonsH1121

√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular

וַיָּבֹ֞אway·yā·ḇōcameH935

√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·yā·ḇō (H935) — “came”: the verb of Jethro's arrival, repeated in v.7 (“they came into the tent”) and v.12 (“Aaron came”). The Gentile keeps coming nearer to Israel's God.

אֶל־’el-toH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition

מֹשֶׁ֑הmō·šehhimH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

אֶל־’el-inH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition

הַמִּדְבָּ֗רham·miḏ·bārthe desertH4057

√ midbâr — a pasture (iArticleNounmasculine singular

midbâr (H4057) — Barnes locates it as the plain near Horeb's northern summit, the Wady Shueib (“vale of Hobab”) of the Arabs, binding the geography to Jethro/Hobab himself.

אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-whereH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

ה֛וּאhūheH1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person masculine singular

חֹנֶ֥הḥō·nehwas encampedH2583

√ chânâh — properly, to inclineVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

chânâh (H2583), participle — the encamping that frames the chronology problem; Poole, Cambridge, and Ellicott debate whether the chapter sits out of sequence (see the apparatus), the parse simply records the settled camp.

שָׁ֖םšām. . .H8033

√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenAdverb

הַ֥רharat the mountainH2022

√ har — a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figuratively)Nounmasculine singular construct

har hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm — “mount of God” = Horeb (Exodus 3:1). Geneva draws the analogy: as Peter calls the Transfiguration hill “the holy mount” (2 Peter 1:18), so Horeb is holy by God's presence and acts there.

הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃hā·’ĕ·lō·hîmof GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseArticleNounmasculine plural

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-he-came, Jethro the-father-in-law of-Moses, with-his-sons and-his-wife, to Moses — into the-wilderness where he was-encamping there, at the-mountain of-God.

Where the English smooths the original

הַמִּדְבָּ֗ר “the desert” renders ham·miḏ·bār (H4057, midbâr) — properly a pasture-land for driving flocks, not a sand-waste. The article matters: Ellicott reads it broadly of the whole Sinaitic region; the Pulpit Commentary, “in that wide sense.”
הַ֥ר הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ “the mountain of God” renders har hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm (H2022 + H430) — Horeb, called the mount of God, Geneva says, “because God did many miracles there.” This place-tag is the chronological crux: Israel does not formally reach Sinai until Exodus 19:2, which drives the rearrangement debate.
חֹנֶ֥ה “was encamped” renders the participle ḥō·neh (H2583, chânâh, “to incline, to pitch a tent”). The durative participle pictures a settled camp, not a passing halt — the very point Keil presses against those who place Jethro's visit only after the long Sinai stay.

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

He spoke, not by word of mouth, as the next verse showeth, but either by a letter, or by a messenger, as that word is used, Matthew 8:6 ,8 , compared with Luke 7:3 ,6 .

Grounds the “sent word” of BSB in the messenger-idiom — why “he said” need not mean spoke in person.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

am come ] rather, am coming (the ptcp.; cf. Genesis 29:6 cometh,’ lit is coming ).

Fixes the tense of bā (H935) as a present participle and notes the LXX/Sam./Pesh. “Behold” variant for ’ă·nî.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

the explanation, that Jethro, on arriving in the vicinity of Moses, sent a messenger to him, who spoke in his name (Rosenmuller, Patrick, Pool, Kalisch, Keil, etc.) is at any rate plausible, and removes all necessity of altering the text.

Prefers the messenger reading over the textual emendation — the conservative resolution we follow.

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He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·yō·mer ’el- mō·šeh ’ă·nî ḥō·ṯen·ḵā yiṯ·rōw bā ’ê·le·ḵā wə·’iš·tə·ḵā ‘im·māh ū·šə·nê ḇā·ne·hā

Word by word12 · parsed

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙way·yō·merHe sent wordH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

ʼâmar (H559) — Poole compares the messenger-idiom of Matthew 8:6, 8 with Luke 7:3, 6: one is said to “say” what is said in one's name by another. The grammar of representation, not a contradiction with v.7.

אֶל־’el-toH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition

מֹשֶׁ֔הmō·šehMosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

אֲנִ֛י’ă·nîIH589

√ ʼănîy — IPronounfirst person common singular

’ă·nî (H589) — the emphatic “I,” foregrounding Jethro's own person and rank, which Moses will honor in the obeisance of v.7.

חֹתֶנְךָ֥ḥō·ṯen·ḵāyour father-in-lawH2859

√ châthan — to give (a daughter) away in marriageNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular

יִתְר֖וֹyiṯ·rōwJethroH3503

√ Yithrôw — Jethro, Moses' father-in-lawNounpropermasculine singular

בָּ֣אbāam comingH935

√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)VerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

bā (H935), participle — durative, “coming,” matching v.5's “came.” The narrator tracks Jethro's approach in stages: announced, then met, then seated in the tent.

אֵלֶ֑יךָ’ê·le·ḵātoH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPrepositionsecond person masculine singular

וְאִ֨שְׁתְּךָ֔wə·’iš·tə·ḵāyou with your wifeH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanConjunctive wawNounfeminine singular constructsecond person masculine singular

עִמָּֽהּ׃‘im·māhand herH5973

√ ʻim — adverb or preposition, with (iPrepositionthird person feminine singular

וּשְׁנֵ֥יū·šə·nêtwoH8147

√ shᵉnayim — twoConjunctive wawNumbermasculine dual construct

בָנֶ֖יהָḇā·ne·hāsonsH1121

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-he-said to Moses: “I, your-father-in-law Jethro, am-coming to-you — and-your-wife, and-her-two sons with-her.”

Where the English smooths the original

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ “He sent word” interprets the bare verb way·yō·mer (H559, ʼâmar, “he said”). The Hebrew only says he said; since v.7 has Moses go out to meet him, Geneva and Keil supply the messenger: “that is, he sent messengers to say to him.” The English smooths a known interpretive gap.
בָּ֣א “am coming” rightly renders the participle bā (H935) — Cambridge insists: “am coming” (the participle), not the perfect “am come,” for face-to-face meeting only happens in v.7. The participle keeps Jethro on the road.
אֲנִ֛י The emphatic pronoun ’ă·nî (H589, “I”) opens the message — though the LXX, Samaritan, and Peshitta, Cambridge notes, read hin·nēh (“Behold”) instead: “Behold, thy father-in-law… is come.” A single letter divides a self-announcement from a herald's report.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

The obeisance was wholly voluntary, and marks the humility of Moses, who, now that he was the prince of his nation, might well have required Jethro to bow down to him.

Reads the prostration of word 4 (H7812) as the deliberate humility of a ruler toward his guest.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

the one going out to "meet" the other, the "obeisance," the "kiss" on each side of the head, the silent entrance into the tent for consultation

Reconstructs the full Oriental greeting-sequence the verbs trace.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

Asked each other of their welfare - Addressed each other with the customary salutation, "Peace be unto you."

Identifies the shalom-greeting behind the idiom of words 7–10.

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Of their welfare, Heb. of their peace , i.e. prosperity and all happiness, which also they wished one to the other, as this phrase implies. See 1 Samuel 10:4 Psalm 122:6 .

Confirms šā·lō·wm (H7965) as the full content of the greeting, with the OT parallels.

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So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

mō·šeh liq·raṯ way·yê·ṣê ḥō·ṯə·nōw way·yiš·ta·ḥū way·yiš·šaq- lōw way·yiš·’ă·lū lə·šā·lō·wm ’îš- lə·rê·‘ê·hū way·yā·ḇō·’ū hā·’ō·hĕ·lāh

Word by word13 · parsed

מֹשֶׁ֜הmō·šehSo MosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

לִקְרַ֣אתliq·raṯ. . .H7122

√ qârâʼ — to encounter, whether accidentally or in a hostile mannerPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

וַיֵּצֵ֨אway·yê·ṣêwent out to meetH3318

√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

חֹֽתְנ֗וֹḥō·ṯə·nōwhis father-in-lawH2859

√ châthan — to give (a daughter) away in marriageNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

וַיִּשְׁתַּ֙חוּ֙way·yiš·ta·ḥūand bowed downH7812

√ shâchâh — to depress, iConjunctive wawVerbHitpaelConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

shâchâh (H7812), Hitpael — the verb of worship and homage. Here directed to a man: Gill calls it civil reverence, “bowed unto him… in a civil way, after the manner of the east.” The same form is reserved elsewhere for God; context distinguishes the act.

וַיִּשַּׁק־way·yiš·šaq-and kissedH5401

√ nâshaq — to kiss, literally or figuratively (touch)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

ל֔וֹlōwhim

Prepositionthird person masculine singular

וַיִּשְׁאֲל֥וּway·yiš·’ă·lūThey greetedH7592

√ shâʼal — to inquireConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

way·yiš·’ă·lū (H7592, shâʼal) + šā·lō·wm (H7965) — the Hebrew greeting-formula; Poole cites 1 Samuel 10:4 and Psalm 122:6. To “ask after peace” is to wish prosperity and all happiness, each to the other.

לְשָׁל֑וֹםlə·šā·lō·wm. . .H7965

√ shâlôwm — safe, iPreposition-lNounmasculine singular

אִישׁ־’îš-eachH376

√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular

לְרֵעֵ֖הוּlə·rê·‘ê·hūotherH7453

√ rêaʻ — an associate (more or less close)Preposition-lNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

rêaʻ (H7453) — “neighbor/fellow.” The mutual phrasing dignifies the meeting as a fellowship of equals before the sacrificial fellowship of v.12.

וַיָּבֹ֖אוּway·yā·ḇō·’ūand wentH935

√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

הָאֹֽהֱלָה׃hā·’ō·hĕ·lāhinto the tentH168

√ ʼôhel — a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance)ArticleNounmasculine singularthird person feminine singular

hā·’ō·hĕ·lāh (H168) — “into the tent”; JFB hears the “silent entrance into the tent for consultation,” the private setting for the testimony Moses gives in v.8.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-Moses went-out to-meet his-father-in-law, and-he-bowed-down, and-he-kissed him; and-they-asked, each of-his-neighbor, after peace — and-they-came into the-tent.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיִּשְׁתַּ֙חוּ֙ “bowed down” renders way·yiš·ta·ḥū (H7812, shâchâh Hitpael) — to prostrate, do homage. Ellicott marks it as wholly voluntary: Moses, now “the prince of his nation,” bows to Jethro as to a superior. The English “bowed down” undersells the homage of a ruler to a guest.
וַיִּשְׁאֲל֥וּ לְשָׁל֑וֹם “They greeted each other” flattens the idiom way·yiš·’ă·lū… lə·šā·lō·wm (H7592 + H7965) — literally “they asked, each of his neighbor, after peace / welfare.” Barnes: the customary salutation, “Peace be unto you.” The Hebrew names the content of the greeting — shalom — not just its fact.
לְרֵעֵ֖הוּ “each other” renders lə·rê·‘ê·hū (H7453, rêaʻ, “neighbor, companion”). The reciprocity idiom ʼîš lə·rê·‘ê·hū (“a man to his fellow”) casts Moses and Jethro as companions, not ruler and subject — the mutual courtesy the parse preserves.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Moses now gave him a full and complete narrative (misphar) of the transactions. Compare Genesis 24:66 ; Joshua 2:23 ; where the same verb is used. All the travail . Literally, "the weariness."

Confirms the “full recital” force of çâphar (H5608) and the “weariness” sense of tᵉlâʼâh (H8513).

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

the travail ] lit. weariness : cf. Numbers 20:14 (in a similar connexion), Lamentations 3:5 , Nehemiah 9:32 †.

Lists the three other occurrences of the rare tᵉlâʼâh (H8513) — the exact basis for the “weariness/hardship” thread.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

Moses begins with what the Lord had done to Pharaoh, how he had inflicted his plagues upon him one after another, and at last slew his firstborn, and destroyed him and his host in the Red sea

Fills in the content of the recital Moses “numbered out” to Jethro.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Jethro had only heard previously a very imperfect account of the transactions. (See Note 2 on Exodus 18:1 .) Moses now told him all the particulars.

Marks the move from Jethro's report-knowledge (v.1) to firsthand testimony — the ground of his confession in v.11.

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Then Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships they had encountered along the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

mō·šeh way·sap·pêr lə·ḥō·ṯə·nōw ’êṯ kāl- ’ă·šer Yah·weh ‘ā·śāh lə·p̄ar·‘ōh ū·lə·miṣ·ra·yim ‘al yiś·rā·’êl ’êṯ ’ō·w·ḏōṯ kāl- hat·tə·lā·’āh ’ă·šer mə·ṣā·’ā·ṯam bad·de·reḵ Yah·weh way·yaṣ·ṣi·lêm

Word by word21 · parsed

מֹשֶׁה֙mō·šehThen MosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

וַיְסַפֵּ֤רway·sap·pêrrecountedH5608

√ çâphar — properly, to score with a mark as a tally or record, iConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

çâphar (H5608), Piel — the verb of full recital; the same verb of recounting God's deeds in Psalm 9:1; 78:4. Moses' testimony to Jethro is the model for Israel's later confessional storytelling.

לְחֹ֣תְנ֔וֹlə·ḥō·ṯə·nōwto his father-in-lawH2859

√ châthan — to give (a daughter) away in marriagePreposition-lNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

אֵת֩’êṯH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

כָּל־kāl-allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

אֲשֶׁ֨ר’ă·šerthatH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

יְהוָה֙Yah·wehthe LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

עָשָׂ֤ה‘ā·śāhhad doneH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

לְפַרְעֹ֣הlə·p̄ar·‘ōhto PharaohH6547

√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

וּלְמִצְרַ֔יִםū·lə·miṣ·ra·yimand the EgyptiansH4714

√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iConjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounproperfeminine singular

עַ֖ל‘alforH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לyiś·rā·’êlIsrael’sH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

אֵ֤ת’êṯH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

אוֹדֹ֣ת’ō·w·ḏōṯsakeH182

√ ʼôwdôwth — turnings (iNounfeminine plural construct

כָּל־kāl-allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

הַתְּלָאָה֙hat·tə·lā·’āhthe hardshipsH8513

√ tᵉlâʼâh — distressArticleNounfeminine singular

tə·lā·’āh (H8513) — “weariness,” a rare noun shared with Numbers 20:14 (Israel's word to Edom), Lamentations 3:5, and Nehemiah 9:32. The same vocabulary will frame the nation's later prayers of memory.

אֲשֶׁ֣ר’ă·šerH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

מְצָאָ֣תַםmə·ṣā·’ā·ṯamthey had encounteredH4672

√ mâtsâʼ — properly, to come forth to, iVerbQalPerfectthird person feminine singularthird person masculine plural

mâtsâʼ (H4672) — “found.” The hardship as agent: trouble that comes forth to meet a traveler (cf. Genesis 44:34). The road itself is an adversary God overcomes.

בַּדֶּ֔רֶךְbad·de·reḵalong the wayH1870

√ derek — a road (as trodden)Preposition-b, ArticleNouncommon singular

יְהוָֽה׃Yah·wehand how the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

וַיַּצִּלֵ֖םway·yaṣ·ṣi·lêmhad delivered themH5337

√ nâtsal — to snatch away, whether in a good or a bad senseConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singularthird person masculine plural

nâtsal (H5337), Hifil — the deliverance keyword, fourfold across vv.4–10. Moses' last word in the recital is not the trouble but the rescue: and Yahweh delivered them.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-Moses recounted to-his-father-in-law all that Yahweh had-done to-Pharaoh and-to-Egypt for the-sake of-Israel — all the-hardship that had-found them on-the-way, and-that Yahweh had-delivered them.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיְסַפֵּ֤ר “recounted” renders way·sap·pêr (H5608, çâphar Piel) — properly to score with a mark, to tally, to number out, hence to narrate in full detail. The Pulpit Commentary: Moses gave “a full and complete narrative.” Not a summary but an itemized telling, mark by mark.
הַתְּלָאָה֙ “the hardships” renders hat·tə·lā·’āh (H8513, tᵉlâʼâh) — Cambridge: “lit. weariness,” a rare word (only four occurrences). The Hebrew names not events but the exhaustion of the road — the felt toll of the journey, which English pluralizes into mere “hardships.”
מְצָאָ֣תַם “they had encountered” renders mə·ṣā·’ā·ṯam (H4672, mâtsâʼ, “to find”) — literally “that had found them.” The hardship is the subject: the weariness finds Israel on the way, an idiom of trouble overtaking, that the active English “they encountered” reverses.
וַיַּצִּלֵ֖ם “had delivered them” renders way·yaṣ·ṣi·lêm (H5337, nâtsal Hifil) — the same rescue-verb as Eliezer's name (v.4) and Jethro's blessing (v.10). The Septuagint, the Pulpit Commentary notes, adds “from the hand of Pharaoh and from the hand of the Egyptians,” anticipating v.10's wording.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

rejoiced ] A very rare word in Heb., occurring besides only Job 3:6 , and (in the causative conj.) Psalm 21:6 b; but common in Aramaic. delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians ] cf. Exodus 3:8 .

The rare-word note that grounds the Psalm 21:6 / Job 3:6 thread — the verifier confirms châdâh (H2302) in only three verses.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel,.... In giving them the manna and the well

Names the concrete mercies summed up in the abstract “goodness” (H2896).

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

Jethro not only rejoiced in the honour done to his son-in-law, but in all the goodness done to Israel. Standers-by were more affected with the favours God had showed to Israel, than many were who received them.

Sharpens the irony: the outsider rejoices over deliverances the delivered themselves had murmured against (ch. 16–17).

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And Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had rescued from the hand of the Egyptians.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

yiṯ·rōw way·yi·ḥad ‘al kāl- haṭ·ṭō·w·ḇāh ’ă·šer- Yah·weh ‘ā·śāh lə·yiś·rā·’êl ’ă·šer hiṣ·ṣî·lōw mî·yaḏ miṣ·rā·yim

Word by word13 · parsed

יִתְר֔וֹyiṯ·rōwAnd JethroH3503

√ Yithrôw — Jethro, Moses' father-in-lawNounpropermasculine singular

וַיִּ֣חַדְּway·yi·ḥadrejoicedH2302

√ châdâh — to rejoiceConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

châdâh (H2302) — the rare joy-verb. Its only other occurrences (Job 3:6; Psalm 21:6) and its Aramaic home make it a marked, even exotic, choice; the Hebrew underlines that this is an outsider's joy entering Israel's story.

עַ֚ל‘aloverH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

כָּל־kāl-allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

הַטּוֹבָ֔הhaṭ·ṭō·w·ḇāhthe good thingsH2896

√ ṭôwb — good (as an adjective) in the widest senseArticleNounfeminine singular

haṭ·ṭō·w·ḇāh (H2896) — “the good(ness)”; the comprehensive term for covenant kindness (cf. the “goodness” paraded before Moses in Exodus 33:19). Jethro rejoices over the sum, not the parts.

אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-H834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

יְהוָ֖הYah·wehthe LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

עָשָׂ֥ה‘ā·śāhhad doneH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לlə·yiś·rā·’êlfor IsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular

אֲשֶׁ֥ר’ă·šerwhomH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

הִצִּיל֖וֹhiṣ·ṣî·lōwHe had rescuedH5337

√ nâtsal — to snatch away, whether in a good or a bad senseVerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singularthird person masculine singular

nâtsal (H5337), Hifil, singular suffix — “delivered him.” Cambridge ties the clause to Exodus 3:8, God's first promise to bring Israel up “out of the hand of the Egyptians.” The promise kept is now the Gentile's joy.

מִיַּ֥דmî·yaḏfrom the handH3027

√ yâd — a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etcPreposition-mNounfeminine singular construct

מִצְרָֽיִם׃miṣ·rā·yimof the EgyptiansH4714

√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iNounproperfeminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-Jethro rejoiced over all the-good that Yahweh had-done for-Israel, whom He-had-delivered from-the-hand of-Egypt.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיִּ֣חַדְּ “rejoiced” renders way·yi·ḥad (H2302, châdâh) — Cambridge: “A very rare word in Heb., occurring besides only Job 3:6 , and (in the causative conj.) Psalm 21:6 b; but common in Aramaic.” The narrator chose an unusual, almost foreign verb for the Gentile's joy — a word at home in Aramaic, fitting on a Midianite's lips.
הַטּוֹבָ֔ה “the good things” renders the singular abstract haṭ·ṭō·w·ḇāh (H2896, ṭôwb) — “the good / the goodness,” not a plurality of gifts. Hebrew names the whole saving kindness of God as one good; the English itemizes what Scripture totalizes.
הִצִּיל֖וֹ “whom He had rescued” renders hiṣ·ṣî·lōw (H5337, nâtsal Hifil) with a singular suffix — “delivered him,” Israel as one person. The same rescue-verb of vv.4 and 8; the nation is grammatically a single rescued man, the “him” of corporate Israel.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Jethro, however, understanding Moses to speak of the supreme God under that designation, adopted it from him, blessed His name, and expressed his conviction that Jehovah was exalted above all other gods.

Explains how the covenant name “Yahweh” comes to a Midianite's mouth — adopted from Moses' testimony.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

The heathen blessed God no loss than the Israelites; but Jethro's blessing the Lord ( i.e. Jehovah) is unusual As, however, Moses had attributed his own deliverance, and that of Israel, entirely to Jehovah (verse 8), Jethro, accepting the facts to be as stated, blessed the Lord.

Marks the unusual move: a Gentile blessing God by the covenant name, on the strength of the recital in v.8.

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

By this it is evident that he worshipped the true God, and therefore Moses did not refuse to marry his daughter.

Reads the doxology back as proof of Jethro's prior true worship.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

from under the hand ] as 2 Kings 8:20 ; 2 Kings 8:22 ; 2 Kings 13:5 ; 2 Kings 17:7 .

Pins the idiom “from under the hand” (H8478 + H3027) to its parallels of liberation from dominion.

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Jethro declared, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from the hand of the Egyptians.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

yiṯ·rōw way·yō·mer bā·rūḵ Yah·weh ’ă·šer hiṣ·ṣîl ’eṯ·ḵem mî·yaḏ miṣ·ra·yim ū·mî·yaḏ par·‘ōh ’ă·šer hiṣ·ṣîl ’eṯ- hā·‘ām mit·ta·ḥaṯ yaḏ- miṣ·rā·yim

Word by word18 · parsed

יִתְרוֹ֒yiṯ·rōwJethroH3503

√ Yithrôw — Jethro, Moses' father-in-lawNounpropermasculine singular

וַיֹּאמֶר֮way·yō·merdeclaredH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

בָּר֣וּךְbā·rūḵBlessed [be]H1288

√ bârak — to kneelVerbQalQalPassParticiplemasculine singular

bârak (H1288), Qal passive participle — “blessed (be).” The Pulpit Commentary compares Melchizedek's blessing (Genesis 14:20): a non-Israelite priest pronouncing benediction on the God of the covenant. The form is liturgical, not casual.

יְהוָ֔הYah·wehthe LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֲשֶׁ֨ר’ă·šerwhoH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

הִצִּ֥ילhiṣ·ṣîlhas deliveredH5337

√ nâtsal — to snatch away, whether in a good or a bad senseVerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singular

nâtsal (H5337) — repeated for the two objects, “you” and “the people.” Gill distinguishes them: Moses and Aaron the messengers, then the body of Israel. The rescue is total, leader and nation alike.

אֶתְכֶ֛ם’eṯ·ḵemyouH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markersecond person masculine plural

מִיַּ֥דmî·yaḏfrom the handH3027

√ yâd — a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etcPreposition-mNounfeminine singular construct

מִצְרַ֖יִםmiṣ·ra·yimof the EgyptiansH4714

√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iNounproperfeminine singular

וּמִיַּ֣דū·mî·yaḏH3027

√ yâd — a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etcConjunctive waw, Preposition-mNounfeminine singular construct

פַּרְעֹ֑הpar·‘ōhand of PharaohH6547

√ Parʻôh — Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kingsNounpropermasculine singular

אֲשֶׁ֤ר’ă·šerand whoH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

הִצִּיל֙hiṣ·ṣîlhas deliveredH5337

√ nâtsal — to snatch away, whether in a good or a bad senseVerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הָעָ֔םhā·‘āmthe peopleH5971

√ ʻam — a people (as a congregated unit)ArticleNounmasculine singular

מִתַּ֖חַתmit·ta·ḥaṯfromH8478

√ tachath — the bottom (as depressed)Preposition-m

mit·ta·ḥaṯ (H8478) — “from under”; the prepositional pile-up from-under the-hand intensifies the picture of Israel pinned beneath Egypt and lifted clear (cf. Exodus 6:7, “from under the burdens”).

יַד־yaḏ-the handH3027

√ yâd — a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etcNounfeminine singular construct

מִצְרָֽיִם׃miṣ·rā·yimof the EgyptiansH4714

√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iNounproperfeminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-Jethro said: “Blessed be Yahweh, who delivered you from-the-hand of-Egypt and-from-the-hand of-Pharaoh — who delivered the-people from-under the-hand of-Egypt.

Where the English smooths the original

בָּר֣וּךְ “Blessed be the LORD” renders the passive participle bā·rūḵ (H1288, bârak, root “to kneel”) — the doxological formula of Genesis 14:20; 24:27. Ellicott marks the surprise: a Midianite priest blesses Yahweh by His covenant name, adopting it from Moses' lips.
הִצִּ֥יל “has delivered” renders hiṣ·ṣîl (H5337, nâtsal Hifil) — now stated twice in one verse, of “you” and of “the people.” Jethro takes up the unit's keyword from v.8–9 and turns testimony into doxology.
מִתַּ֖חַת יַד־ “from” the people renders the heavier idiom mit·ta·ḥaṯ yaḏ (H8478 + H3027) — literally “from under the hand,” the language of escape from bondage and dominion (Cambridge: cf. 2 Kings 8:20). The first deliverance is from the hand; the people's is from under it — out from beneath an oppressor's grip.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

Now know I — He knew it before, but now he knew it better; his faith grew up to a full assurance, upon this fresh evidence

The exact sense of yâdaʻ (H3045) here — confirmation of prior faith, not first knowledge.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

Greater than all gods - See Exodus 15:11 . The words simply indicate a conviction of the incomparable might and majesty of Yahweh.

Links the confession thematically to the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:11) — a motif-tie, not a shared-word tie.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

The end of the sentence has accidentally dropped out; and something like he hath destroyed them must be supplied.

The text-critical ground for the broken-off clause that BSB completes as “He did this.”

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Now I know, viz. more clearly and by certain experience; as that phrase signifies, Genesis 22:12 1 Kings 17:18 ,24 .

Supplies the idiomatic parallels for “now I know” as experiential confirmation.

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Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

‘at·tāh yā·ḏa‘·tî kî- Yah·weh ḡā·ḏō·wl mik·kāl hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm kî ḇad·dā·ḇār ’ă·šer zā·ḏū ‘ă·lê·hem

Word by word12 · parsed

עַתָּ֣ה‘at·tāhNowH6258

√ ʻattâh — at this time, whether adverb, conjunction or expletiveAdverb

יָדַ֔עְתִּיyā·ḏa‘·tîI knowH3045

√ yâdaʻ — to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing)VerbQalPerfectfirst person common singular

yâdaʻ (H3045) — to know by ascertaining, by seeing. Poole's parallels (Genesis 22:12; 1 Kings 17:24) show the idiom: an existing faith confirmed by demonstration. Jethro's is a knowledge proven on the field of the Exodus.

כִּֽי־kî-thatH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

יְהוָ֖הYah·wehthe LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

גָד֥וֹלḡā·ḏō·wlis greaterH1419

√ gâdôwl — great (in any sense)Adjectivemasculine singular

gā·ḏō·wl (H1419) — “greater (than all gods).” Thematically this echoes the Song's “Who is like You among the gods?” (Exodus 15:11), though the two verses share no vocabulary — a motif-link, not a verbal one (see threads).

מִכָּל־mik·kālthan all otherH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholePreposition-mNounmasculine singular construct

הָאֱלֹהִ֑יםhā·’ĕ·lō·hîmgodsH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseArticleNounmasculine plural

כִּ֣יkîforH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

בַדָּבָ֔רḇad·dā·ḇārHe did thisH1697

√ dâbâr — a wordPreposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine singular

dā·ḇār (H1697) — “the matter.” Keil: ’ašer baddāḇār hangs not on “I know” but on “great” — God's greatness was displayed in the very matter of Egypt's proud pursuit at the Sea.

אֲשֶׁ֥ר’ă·šerwhen theyH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

זָד֖וּzā·ḏūtreated Israel with arroganceH2102

√ zûwd — to seetheVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural

zûwd (H2102) — “to seethe, to act presumptuously.” Cambridge ties it to the reminiscence in Nehemiah 9:10 (“they dealt proudly against them”). The boiling pride of Egypt is exactly the point where Yahweh's superiority is shown.

עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃‘ă·lê·hem. . .H5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionthird person masculine plural

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Now I-know that greater is Yahweh than-all the-gods — for in the-very-matter wherein they-dealt-proudly, against them.”

Where the English smooths the original

יָדַ֔עְתִּי “Now I know” renders ‘at·tāh yā·ḏa‘·tî (H6258 + H3045, yâdaʻ) — Poole: “more clearly and by certain experience,” as in Genesis 22:12. Jethro knew God before; now his faith, Benson says, “grew up to a full assurance, upon this fresh evidence.” Knowledge ripened, not begun.
גָד֥וֹל “greater” renders gā·ḏō·wl (H1419, gâdôwl, “great in any sense”) with comparative min — “greater than all the gods.” Keil: God “is great in the eyes of men only when He makes known His greatness through the display of His omnipotence.” The greatness is demonstrated, not merely asserted.
זָד֖וּ “treated Israel with arrogance” renders zā·ḏū (H2102, zûwd, root “to seethe, boil over”) — to act presumptuously, deal proudly. The Hebrew has the Egyptians' arrogance boil over precisely where God overthrew them; Geneva's gloss: “they that drowned the children of the Israelites, perished themselves by water.”
בַדָּבָ֔ר “for He did this” over-translates kî ḇad·dā·ḇār (H3588 + H1697, dâbâr, “the matter/word”). Cambridge and the Pulpit Commentary agree the sentence breaks off: “for in the very matter wherein they dealt proudly…” — the predicate (“He was above them” / “He destroyed them”) is supplied, not in the Hebrew.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

He occupied a position similar to that of Melchizedek ( Genesis 14:18 ), holding a priesthood of the most primitive character, probably as patriarch of his tribe, its head by right of primogeniture.

The Melchizedek parallel that anchors the Christ-section: a non-Israelite priest of the true God, acknowledged by Israel's leaders.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

And they did eat bread before God — Soberly, thankfully, in the fear of God: and their talk was such as became saints. Thus we must eat and drink to the glory of God, as those that believe God’s eye is upon us.

Reads “before God” (lip̄·nê hā·’ĕ·lōhîm) as a meal lived consciously under God's gaze.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

to eat bread ] i.e. to take part in the sacred meal accompanying the sacrifice: the ‘sacrifice’ here meant being of the nature of the later ‘peace-offering,’ an essential part of which was the accompanying sacred meal, in which the worshipper and his friends partook, and by which they entered symbolically into communion with the Deity

Defines the communion-meal force of “eat bread before God” — the basis of the table-fellowship reading.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

Eating bread before God signified the holding of a sacrificial meal, which was eating before God, because it was celebrated in a holy place of sacrifice, where God was supposed to be present.

Confirms lip̄·nê hā·’ĕ·lōhîm (H6440 + H430) as the cultic “before God” of the sacrificial table.

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Then Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

mō·šeh ḥō·ṯên yiṯ·rōw way·yiq·qaḥ ‘ō·lāh ū·zə·ḇā·ḥîm lê·lō·hîm ’a·hă·rōn way·yā·ḇō wə·ḵōl ziq·nê yiś·rā·’êl le·’ĕ·ḵāl- le·ḥem ‘im- mō·šeh ḥō·ṯên lip̄·nê hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm

Word by word19 · parsed

מֹשֶׁ֛הmō·šehThen Moses’H4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

חֹתֵ֥ןḥō·ṯênfather-in-lawH2859

√ châthan — to give (a daughter) away in marriageNounmasculine singular construct

יִתְר֨וֹyiṯ·rōwJethroH3503

√ Yithrôw — Jethro, Moses' father-in-lawNounpropermasculine singular

וַיִּקַּ֞חway·yiq·qaḥbroughtH3947

√ lâqach — to take (in the widest variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

lâqach (H3947) — the inclusio verb. Jethro took the family (v.2) and now takes the offering (v.12); the human gathering issues in worship. Poole: he offered not by himself, “which would have seemed a presumptuous and unwarrantable action for a stranger,” but through those appointed.

עֹלָ֥ה‘ō·lāha burnt offeringH5930

√ ʻôlâh — a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending)Nounfeminine singular

‘ō·lāh (H5930) — “burnt offering,” wholly ascending; paired with zᵉbāchîm (H2077, “slain sacrifices”). The two together make a complete worship: total surrender (the ‘olah) and shared communion (the peace-offerings).

וּזְבָחִ֖יםū·zə·ḇā·ḥîmand sacrificesH2077

√ zebach — properly, a slaughter, iConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural

לֵֽאלֹהִ֑יםlê·lō·hîmto GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary sensePreposition-lNounmasculine plural

lê·lō·hîm (H430) — “to God,” generic; the same name that framed Jethro's hearing in v.1. The unit's arc runs from a Gentile hearing of ʼĕlōhîm to a Gentile sacrificing to ʼĕlōhîm before Israel's elders.

אַהֲרֹ֜ן’a·hă·rōnand AaronH175

√ ʼAhărôwn — Aharon, the brother of MosesNounpropermasculine singular

וַיָּבֹ֨אway·yā·ḇōcameH935

√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

וְכֹ֣ל׀wə·ḵōlwith allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct

זִקְנֵ֣יziq·nêthe eldersH2205

√ zâqên — oldAdjectivemasculine plural construct

יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לyiś·rā·’êlof IsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

לֶאֱכָל־le·’ĕ·ḵāl-to eatH398

√ ʼâkal — to eat (literally or figuratively)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

לֶ֛חֶםle·ḥembreadH3899

√ lechem — food (for man or beast), especially bread, or grain (for making it)Nounmasculine singular

עִם־‘im-withH5973

√ ʻim — adverb or preposition, with (iPreposition

מֹשֶׁ֖הmō·šehMoses’H4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

חֹתֵ֥ןḥō·ṯênfather-in-lawH2859

√ châthan — to give (a daughter) away in marriageNounmasculine singular construct

לִפְנֵ֥יlip̄·nêin the presenceH6440

√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct

lip̄·nê (H6440) — “before the face of.” Keil: eating bread before God “signified the holding of a sacrificial meal… because it was celebrated in a holy place of sacrifice, where God was supposed to be present.” The first Gentile communion-meal at the mount of God.

הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃hā·’ĕ·lō·hîmof GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseArticleNounmasculine plural

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-took Jethro the-father-in-law of-Moses a-burnt-offering and-sacrifices for-God; and-Aaron came, and-all the-elders of-Israel, to-eat bread with the-father-in-law of-Moses before God.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיִּקַּ֞ח “brought” renders way·yiq·qaḥ (H3947, lâqach, “to take”) — Poole and the Pulpit Commentary: “took,” i.e. gave / offered, as in Psalm 68:18 / Ephesians 4:8. The same verb opened the visit in v.2 (“Jethro took Zipporah”); the unit closes as it began, with Jethro taking — now toward God.
עֹלָ֥ה “a burnt offering” renders ‘ō·lāh (H5930) — root “to ascend”: the offering that goes up wholly in fire (Leviticus 1:9), none of it eaten. Distinguished here from the zᵉbāchîm (peace-sacrifices) whose flesh furnishes the meal (Leviticus 7:15).
לֵֽאלֹהִ֑ים “to God” renders lê·lō·hîm (H430, ʼĕlōhîm) — the generic divine name, as in v.1, not the covenant Yahweh Jethro blessed in vv.10–11. The Gentile priest sacrifices to God; the narrator keeps the universal name for the act that gathers Israel and the nations at one altar.
לִפְנֵ֥י הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ “in the presence of God” renders lip̄·nê hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm (H6440 + H430) — literally “before the face of God.” Cambridge and Keil: to eat before God is the covenant-meal idiom — the sacrificial feast in which worshippers “entered symbolically into communion with the Deity.”

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. A Gentile hears — Amalek's counter-image — 1

The chapter opens on a single verb: way·yiš·ma‘ (H8085), Jethro heard — and heard, the Hebrew implies, with the kind of attention that moves a man to act. Keil reads the placement against chapter 17: The Amalekites had met Israel with hostility, as the prototype of the heathen who would strive against the people and kingdom of God — but in Jethro the first-fruits of the heathen, who would hereafter seek the living God, entered into religious fellowship with the people of God. Two sons of Abraham's wider house — Amalek and Midian — model the two postures the nations will take toward the kingdom. What Jethro heard, Ellicott insists against the BSB's and how, was one exegetical fact: in that the Lord had brought Israel out — the Exodus itself, named by the verb hō·w·ṣî (H3318), summing up all that God had done.

ii. The names that read a soul — Gershom and Eliezer — 2–4

The narrative halts to spell two names. Alexander Maclaren reads them as autobiography: The first child's name expresses his father's discontent, and suggests the bitter contrast between Sinai and Egypt; the court and the sheepfold. Gershom (H1647) puns on gêr (H1616), the resident-alien; Benson hears in it a memorandum to his son of his, for we are all strangers upon earth. The whole clause, Cambridge notes, is Repeated verbatim from Exodus 2:22 — a verbal echo the Verifier confirms by the shared rare lexemes Gershom, gêr, and nokrîy (H5237). Then the tone clears: Eliezer (H461), which the Pulpit Commentary parses My God (is my) help — the help-word ‘ez·rî (H5828) built into the name, witnessing the rescue-verb nâtsal (H5337) that will govern the rest of the unit.

iii. The meeting in the tent — homage, peace, and the recital — 5–8

Jethro arrives at har hā·’ĕ·lōhîm (H2022 + H430), the mount of God, called the mount of God, Geneva says, because God did many miracles there. The greeting is pure Eastern courtesy: Moses prostrates himself (shâchâh, H7812), an obeisance Ellicott marks as wholly voluntary, and marks the humility of Moses, who, now that he was the prince of his nation might have required it of Jethro instead. Then they ask one another after shalom — Barnes hears the customary salutation, Peace be unto you, and Poole expands it as prosperity and all happiness. In the tent Moses recounts (çâphar Piel, H5608) — the Pulpit Commentary: a full and complete narrative — all the road-weariness (tᵉlâʼâh, H8513), which the Pulpit renders literally the weariness and Cambridge ties to Numbers 20:14, Lamentations 3:5, and Nehemiah 9:32; the recital closes on the keyword nâtsal: and Yahweh delivered them.

iv. The outsider's joy, blessing, and confession — 9–11

Jethro's response runs through three intensifying notes. First he rejoices — châdâh (H2302), which Cambridge flags as A very rare word in Heb., occurring besides only Job 3:6 , and (in the causative conj.) Psalm 21:6 b; but common in Aramaic — a marked, almost foreign verb for a Gentile's gladness over the goodness (haṭ·ṭōwbāh, H2896). Then he blesses: bā·rūḵ Yahweh (H1288), a Midianite priest taking the covenant name from Moses' lips, which Ellicott explains he adopted it from him. Finally he confesses: Now I know (yâdaʻ, H3045), which Benson reads as ripened faith — He knew it before, but now he knew it better; his faith grew up to a full assurance, upon this fresh evidence — that Yahweh is greater (gādôwl, H1419) than all gods, shown in the very matter wherein they dealt proudly (zûwd, H2102) — a clause whose end, Cambridge holds, has accidentally dropped out.

v. The first Gentile communion at the altar — 12

The unit closes with the verb it opened on in v.2: Jethro took (lâqach, H3947) — but now a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. Ellicott sets him beside the priest-king of Salem: He occupied a position similar to that of Melchizedek ( Genesis 14:18 ), holding a priesthood of the most primitive character, probably as patriarch of his tribe, its head by right of primogeniture. Aaron and all Israel's elders come to eat bread before God, which Cambridge defines as taking part in the sacred meal accompanying the sacrifice — the peace-offering by which they entered symbolically into communion with the Deity — and which Keil glosses as eating in a holy place of sacrifice, where God was supposed to be present. The chapter that began with a Gentile hearing of God ends with a Gentile sacrificing to God and Israel's leaders at his table.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Reading under Sola Scriptura — and offering this as the tool's own fallible synthesis, to be tested against the text — the deliberate hinge between chapters 17 and 18 seems to be the point. Amalek, Abraham's blood, comes out to fight Israel; Midian, also Abraham's blood, comes out to bless Israel's God. The narrator frames the whole episode with two acts of taking (lâqach, vv.2, 12): Jethro takes the family toward Moses, then takes a sacrifice toward God — the natural movement from human reconciliation to shared worship. And the verbs of his response climb a ladder the Hebrew lets us see: he hears (v.1), rejoices with a word at home in Aramaic (v.9), blesses by the covenant name he has only just learned (v.10), knows by experience (v.11), and finally sacrifices and eats before God with Israel's elders (v.12). That is the shape of a Gentile being brought in — not by conquest but by hearing a true testimony, the very thing Israel itself so often failed to do. The text does not call Jethro a convert in so many words; it shows a man moving, verb by verb, from report to altar. We hold this reading loosely: the commentators rightly debate whether the chapter is even in chronological place (see the apparatus), and we let the canonical order, and its theology, stand.

Amalek came out to fight Israel's God; Midian came out to bless Him — and the difference is that one of them had truly listened.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

“A sojourner in a foreign land” — Gershom's name lifted from Exodus 2:22 verbal / quotation — confirmed

Exodus 18:3 repeats the naming of Gershom word-for-word from his birth-notice. Cambridge marks the line I have been a sojourner in a foreign land as Repeated verbatim from Exodus 2:22. The Verifier records the shared lexemes Gershom (H1647, in 13 vv), gêr (H1616, in 83 vv), nokrîy (H5237, in 45 vv), and shêm (H8034) — a true verbatim repetition within the Exodus narrative itself.

Exodus 18:3 · Exodus 2:22

basis: Verbatim repetition of the naming-formula; shared Strong's H1647 Gêrᵉshôm (in 13 vv), H1616 gêr, H5237 nokrîy, H8034 shêm (Verifier-confirmed). Cambridge explicitly: “Repeated verbatim from Exodus 2:22”.

Jethro the priest of Midian, at Horeb — the frame from the bush verbal / quotation — confirmed

The opening designation of Jethro (priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law) and the place (the mount of God) bind this episode back to Moses' first call. The Verifier links Exodus 18:1 to Exodus 3:1 and 4:18 by the shared names and titles. Keil and the Pulpit Commentary both route the reader to Exodus 3:1 for Jethro's identity and Horeb's location.

Exodus 18:1 · Exodus 3:1 · Exodus 4:18

basis: Shared Strong's H3503 Yithrôw (rare, in 9 vv), H2859 châthan (in 32 vv), H4080 Midyân (in 55 vv), H3548 kôhên (Verifier-confirmed). The rare proper name Yithrôw makes the verbal tie to the Horeb call narrative explicit.

“The weariness on the way” — a rare word for Israel's road-toil verbal / quotation — confirmed

Moses recounts the road-toil (tᵉlâʼâh, H8513) that found Israel on the way — a noun the Pulpit Commentary renders literally the weariness and Cambridge glosses the travail ] lit. weariness. Cambridge lists every occurrence of this rare noun: cf. Numbers 20:14 (in a similar connexion), Lamentations 3:5 , Nehemiah 9:32. The Verifier confirms the lexeme appears in only four verses total, with Numbers 20:14 also sharing mâtsâʼ (H4672, “found”). The same vocabulary of hardship recurs in Israel's later prayers of national memory.

Exodus 18:8 · Numbers 20:14 · Lamentations 3:5 · Nehemiah 9:32

basis: Shared rare Strong's H8513 tᵉlâʼâh (in only 4 vv total — Verifier-confirmed); Numbers 20:14 additionally shares H4672 mâtsâʼ. The low frequency makes this a genuine verbal link, as Cambridge independently catalogues.

Jethro's rare joy — “rejoiced” shared only with Job and the Psalter verbal / quotation — confirmed

Jethro's rejoicing (châdâh, H2302) is, in Cambridge's words, A very rare word in Heb., occurring besides only Job 3:6 , and (in the causative conj.) Psalm 21:6 b; but common in Aramaic. The Verifier confirms the lexeme in only three verses. In Psalm 21:6 the same verb (in its causative form) names the king's gladness made by the LORD's presence; in Job 3:6 it is, by contrast, the joy a cursed day must not share. Here it names a Gentile's gladness at Israel's deliverance — the rarity (and the verb's Aramaic affinity, fitting on a Midianite's lips) makes the lexical tie pointed, though the three contexts make no quotation of one another.

Exodus 18:9 · Psalm 21:6 · Job 3:6

basis: Shared rare Strong's H2302 châdâh (in only 3 vv total — Verifier-confirmed). The extreme rarity (and Aramaic affinity, per Cambridge) makes the lexical link pointed rather than incidental, though no quotation is claimed between the contexts.

“Greater than all gods” — the motif of the Song of the Sea structural / thematic — confirmed

Jethro's confession, Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods (Exodus 18:11), is read by Barnes and Cambridge against the Song of the Sea: Barnes annotates Greater than all gods - See Exodus 15:11, and Cambridge cross-references greater than all gods ] cf. Exodus 15:11. But the two verses share no original-language lexeme — 18:11 uses gādôwl… mik·kol ʼĕlōhîm, while 15:11 asks mî-kāmōkāh bā·’ēlim. The connection is a genuine theme (Yahweh's incomparability among the gods) carried by different words, so we tier it structural, not verbal.

Exodus 18:11 · Exodus 15:11

basis: No shared Strong's lexeme — the Verifier's mechanical default is therefore “flagged — verify source.” We upgrade to structural/thematic because the incomparability-motif (Yahweh above all gods) is independently asserted as a cross-reference by BOTH Barnes (“See Exodus 15:11”) and Cambridge (“cf. Exodus 15:11”); the link is real but carried by different vocabulary (18:11 gādôwl mik·kol ʼĕlōhîm vs. 15:11 mî-kāmōkāh bā·ʼēlim), so it is thematic, never verbal.

Zipporah's sending-away — the rare “dismissal” word and the bridegroom of blood verbal / quotation — confirmed

The single noun šil·lū·ḥe·hā (H7964, “her sending-away”) in Exodus 18:2 points back to the obscure night-scene of Exodus 4:25, where Zipporah circumcises her son. The Verifier registers shillûwach as a rare lexeme (in only 3 vv) and links the verse to Exodus 4:25 by the shared proper name Tsippôrâh (H6855, in only 3 vv) — itself among the rarest names in Scripture.

Exodus 18:2 · Exodus 4:25 · Exodus 2:21

basis: Shared rare Strong's H6855 Tsippôrâh (in only 3 vv — Verifier-confirmed) ties 18:2 to 4:25 and 2:21; the rare noun H7964 shillûwach (in 3 vv) names the dismissal these verses describe. Both lexemes are low-frequency, making the link verbal rather than thematic.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

Jethro and Melchizedek — the Gentile priest of the Most High ancient/widely-held

Ellicott sets Jethro beside Melchizedek directly: He occupied a position similar to that of Melchizedek ( Genesis 14:18 ), holding a priesthood of the most primitive character, probably as patriarch of his tribe, its head by right of primogeniture. As Abraham acknowledged rightly the priesthood of Melchizedek ( Genesis 14:19 ; Hebrews 7:2-9 ), so Moses and Aaron rightly acknowledged that of Jethro. Hebrews makes Melchizedek the type of a priesthood greater than Aaron's and fulfilled in Christ, the priest after that order (Hebrews 7:1-3). Jethro, a non-Israelite priest of the true God whose sacrifice and table Israel's own leaders share, stands in that same Melchizedek pattern — a figure pointing past the Levitical altar to the one eternal Priest. The Verifier finds one shared lexeme between Exodus 18:12 and Genesis 14:18 — H3899 lechem, the bread of Jethro's meal and of Melchizedek's offering — but because the Hebrews 7 reading is a Hebrew narrative interpreted through a Greek epistle, the link is typological, not a shared-word quotation.

Exodus 18:12 · Genesis 14:18 · Hebrews 7:1-3

The first-fruits of the nations — Gentiles at the table of Israel's God ancient/widely-held

Keil reads Jethro as the first-fruits of the heathen, who would hereafter seek the living God, entering into religious fellowship with the people of God. Matthew Henry presses the meal itself toward Christ: Jethro must see and taste that bread from heaven, and though a gentile, is welcome: the gentiles are welcomed to Christ the Bread of life. The Gentile priest blessing Yahweh, sacrificing, and eating bread before God with Aaron and the elders prefigures the in-gathering of the nations to the Messiah's table (Isaiah 25:6; Matthew 8:11; Ephesians 2:13-19). As a figural/typological reading across Testaments, it rests on the pattern of the meal, not on shared vocabulary.

Exodus 18:12 · Matthew 8:11 · Ephesians 2:13-19

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Chronology. A long-standing dispute, recorded here for transparency, holds that this chapter is out of chronological order — that Jethro's visit occurred after Sinai. Poole states it flatly (Jethro came, not at this time, but after the delivery of the law at Mount Sinai), and Cambridge agrees the chapter stood originally at a later point in the narrative, chiefly because Israel is already at the mount of God (v.5), which they do not formally reach until Exodus 19:1-2. Keil and Delitzsch argue at length for the canonical position (Rephidim, at Horeb), and Ellicott offers a harmonizing reading of mount of God in a broad regional sense. We follow the canonical order and read the chapter where it stands, while noting the genuine question.

Source-criticism. Cambridge attributes vv.2–4 to an addition of the compiler harmonizing the family details with the J narrative of chapters 2 and 4. We record this view but do not adopt the documentary reconstruction it presupposes; the divergences and notes are built from the received Hebrew text.

Father-in-law vs. brother-in-law. ḥōṯên (H2859) is rendered father-in-law throughout by BSB, but Barnes and the Pulpit Commentary argue for brother-in-law, noting the LXX's ambiguous γαμβρός and the Vulgate's cognatus. Our parse follows the dominant rendering; the alternative is flagged at v.1.

“He said” (v.6). The bare way·yō·mer sits awkwardly with Moses going out to meet Jethro in v.7. The LXX, Samaritan, and Peshitta read Behold (hinnēh) for I (ʼănî), turning a self-announcement into a herald's report. With the Pulpit Commentary we prefer the messenger-explanation, which removes all necessity of altering the text.

Broken clause (v.11). The sentence breaks off after for in (or by ) the thing wherein they dealt proudly against them (Cambridge's literal) without a predicate; Cambridge holds The end of the sentence has accidentally dropped out and that something like he hath destroyed them must be supplied. Benson supplies the sense — he was above them — so the divergence notes flag what is added rather than rendered.

Cross-Testament limits. The Melchizedek (Hebrews 7) and Gentile-ingathering links reach across Testaments — a Hebrew narrative read through a Greek epistle — and so can carry no shared Strong's number, since Hebrew and Greek lexemes are indexed separately. (Within the Old Testament, Exodus 18:12 and Genesis 14:18 do share H3899 lechem, “bread,” which the Verifier reports as a structural/thematic tie; the leap to Hebrews 7 is the typological step.) These cross-Testament readings are presented as typological, argued from pattern, deliberately not as verbal quotations.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)