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Texts -- Exodus 18:1-8 (NET)

Context
The Advice of Jethro
18:1 Jethro , the priest of Midian , Moses ’ father-in-law , heard about all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel , that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt . 18:2 Jethro , Moses ’ father-in-law , took Moses ’ wife Zipporah after he had sent her back , 18:3 and her two sons , one of whom was named Gershom (for Moses had said , “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land ”), 18:4 and the other Eliezer (for Moses had said, “The God of my father has been my help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh ”). 18:5 Jethro , Moses’ father-in-law , together with Moses ’ sons and his wife , came to Moses in the desert where he was camping by the mountain of God . 18:6 He said to Moses , “I , your father-in-law Jethro , am coming to you, along with your wife and her two sons with her.” 18:7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him; they each asked about the other’s welfare , and then they went into the tent . 18:8 Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to Egypt for Israel’s sake , and all the hardship that had come on them along the way , and how the Lord had delivered them.

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • JETHRO

    [ebd] 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 Israelites were encamped at Sinai...
    [isbe] JETHRO - jeth'-ro, je'-thro (yithro, "excellence," Ex 3:1; 4:18b; 18:1-12 (in 4:18a, probably a textual error, yether, "Iether," the King James Version margin, the Revised Version margin); Septuagint always Iothor): The prie...

  • Zipporah

    [ebd] a female bird. Reuel's daughter, who became the wife of Moses (Ex. 2:21). In consequence of the event recorded in Ex. 4:24-26, she and her two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, when so far on the way with Moses toward Egypt, were s...
    [isbe] ZIPPORAH - zi-po'-ra, zip'-o-ra (tsipporah; Sepphora): The Midianite wife of Moses, daughter of Jethro, also called Hobab, and probably grand-daughter of Reuel, a priest of Midian at the time Moses fled from Egypt, later suc...
    [nave] ZIPPORAH Wife of Moses, Ex. 2:16-22. Reproaches Moses, Ex. 4:25, 26. Separates from Moses, is brought again to him by her father, Ex. 18:2-6. Miriam and Aaron rebuke Moses concerning, Num. 12:1.

  • Moses

    [isbe] MOSES - mo'-zez, mo'-ziz (mosheh; Egyptian mes, "drawn out," "born"; Septuagint Mouse(s)). The great Hebrew national hero, leader, author, law-giver and prophet. I. LIFE 1. Son of Levi 2. Foundling Prince 3. Friend of the Pe...
    [nave] MOSES A Levite and son of Amram, Ex. 2:1-4; 6:20; Acts 7:20; Heb. 11:23. Hidden in an ark, Ex. 2:3. Discovered and adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh, Ex. 2:5-10. Learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, Acts 7:22. His loyalt...

  • EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 2

    [isbe] EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 2 - II. Structure of the Book According to the Scriptures and According to Modern Analyses. In the following section (a) serves for the understanding of the Biblical text; (b) is devoted to the discussio...

  • ISRAEL, HISTORY OF, 1

    [isbe] ISRAEL, HISTORY OF, 1 - INTRODUCTORY 1. Sources (1) The Old Testament (2) Josephus (3) The Monuments 2. Religious Character of the History I. ORIGINS OF ISRAEL IN PRE-MOSAIC TIMES 1. Original Home 2. Ethnographical Origin 3....

  • PENTATEUCH, 2B

    [isbe] PENTATEUCH, 2B - 3. Answer to the Critical Analysis: (1) The Veto of Textual Criticism. The first great objection that may be made to the higher criticism is that it starts from the Massoretic text (MT) without investigation...

  • Heathen

    [nave] HEATHEN Under this head are grouped all who are not embraced under the Abrahamic covenant. Cast out of Canaan, Lev. 18:24, 25; Psa. 44:2; and their land given to Israel, Psa. 78:55; 105:44; 135:12; 136:21, 22; Isa. 54:1-3. ...

  • COURTS, JUDICIAL

    [isbe] COURTS, JUDICIAL - joo-dish'-al, ju-dish'-al. 1. Their Organization: At the advice of Jethro, Moses appointed judges (shopheTim, Ex 18). In Egypt it appears that the Hebrews did not have their own judges, which, of course, w...

  • ISRAEL, RELIGION OF, 1

    [isbe] ISRAEL, RELIGION OF, 1 - || I. INTRODUCTION: HISTORICAL CONSIDERATION OF THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL II. HISTORICAL OUTLINE 1. Pre-Mosaic Religion of the Ancestors of Israel (1) The Traditional View (2) The Modern View (3) A High...

  • BLINDNESS, JUDICIAL

    [isbe] BLINDNESS, JUDICIAL - ju-dish'-al, joo-dish'-al: Among the ancient Israelites in the pre-Canaanite period disputes within the family or clan or tribe would be settled by the natural head of the family or clan or tribe. Accor...

  • WANDERINGS OF ISRAEL

    [isbe] WANDERINGS OF ISRAEL - won'-der-ingz: I. CONDITIONS 1. The Wilderness 2. Four Separate Regions Included 3. "The Sandy Tract" 4. Description of the Arabah 5. Physical Condition of the Wilderness 6. Difficulties Regarding the ...

  • Gershom

    [ebd] expulsion. (1.) The eldest son of Levi (1 Chr. 6:16, 17, 20, 43, 62, 71; 15:7)=GERSHON (q.v.). (2.) The elder of the two sons of Moses born to him in Midian (Ex. 2:22; 18:3). On his way to Egypt with his family, in obedience...
    [smith] (a stranger or exile). The first-born son of Moses and Zipporah. (Exodus 2:22; 18:3) (B.C. 1530.) The form under which the name GERSHON--the eldest son of Levi--is given in several passages of Chronicles, viz., (1 Chronic...
    [nave] GERSHOM 1. Son of Moses, Ex. 2:22; 18:3; 1 Chr. 23:15, 16; 26:24. 2. See: Gershon. 3. A descendant of Phinehas, Ezra 8:2. 4. A Levite, Judg. 18:30.

  • Eliezer

    [ebd] God his help. (1.) "Of Damascus," the "steward" (R.V., "possessor") of Abraham's house (Gen. 15:2, 3). It was probably he who headed the embassy sent by Abraham to the old home of his family in Padan-aram to seek a wife for ...
    [isbe] ELIEZER - el-i-e'-zer, e-li-e'-zer ('eli`ezer; Eliezer, "God is help"): (1) The chief servant of Abram (Gen 15:2); the American Standard Revised Version "Eliezer of Damascus," the English Revised Version "Dammesek Eliezer." ...
    [nave] ELIEZER 1. Abraham's servant, Gen. 15:2; 24. 2. Son of Becher, 1 Chr. 7:8. 3. Son of Moses, Ex. 18:4; 1 Chr. 23:15, 17. 4. A priest, 1 Chr. 15:24. 5. Son of Zichri, 1 Chr. 27:16. 6. A prophet, 2 Chr. 20:37. 7. Son of J...

  • Kiss

    [ebd] of affection (Gen. 27:26, 27; 29:13; Luke 7:38, 45); reconciliation (Gen. 33:4; 2 Sam. 14:33); leave-taking (Gen. 31:28,55; Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam. 19:39); homage (Ps. 2:12; 1 Sam. 10:1); spoken of as between parents and children ...
    [nave] KISS Of affection, Gen. 27:26, 27; 31:55; 33:4; 48:10; 50:1; Ex. 18:7; Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam. 14:33; 19:39; Luke 15:20; Acts 20:37. The feet of Jesus kissed by the penitent woman, Luke 7:38. Deceitful, Prov. 27:6; of Joab, when...

  • Tent

    [nave] TENT Used for dwelling, Gen. 4:20; by Noah, Gen. 9:21; by Abraham, Gen. 12:8; 13:18; 18:1; by Lot, Gen. 13:5; by Moses, Ex. 18:7; by children of Israel, Num. 24:5, 6; 2 Sam. 20:1; 1 Kin. 12:16; by the Midianites, Judg. 6:5; ...

  • ADORATION

    [smith] The acts and postures by which the Hebrews expressed adoration bear a great similarity to those still in use among Oriental nations. To rise up and suddenly prostrate the body was the most simple method; but, generally speaki...

  • ELIEZAR

    [smith] (God is his help). Abraham?s chief servant, called by him "Eliezer of Damascus." (Genesis 15:2) (B.C. 1857.) Second son of Moses and Zipporah (B.c. 1523), to whom his father gave this name because "the God of my father was m...

  • Children

    [nave] CHILDREN In answer to prayer: To Abraham, Gen. 15:2-5, with Gen. 21:1, 2; Isaac, Gen. 25:21; Leah, Gen. 30:17-22; Rachel, Gen. 30:22-24; Haah, 1 Sam. 1:9-20; Zacharias, Luke 1:13. Treatment of, at birth, Ezek. 16:4-6; Luke ...

  • ZIPPORAH, OR ZIPPORAH

    [smith] daughter of Reuel or Jethro, the priest of Midian, wife of Moses and mother of his two sons Gershom and Eliezer. (Exodus 2:21; 4:25; 18:2) comp. Exod 18:6 (B.C. 1530.) The only incident recorded in her life is that of the cir...

  • Helper

    [nave] HELPER Gen. 2:18, 20; Ex. 18:4; Deut. 33:29; Neh. 4:22; Psa. 10:14; 27:9; 118:7; Ezek. 30:8; Hos. 13:9; Acts 13:5; 19:22; Heb. 13:6
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. H...
  • Exodus embraces about 431 years of history, from the arrival of Jacob and his family in Egypt (ca. 1876 B.C.) to the erection of the tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai (ca. 1445 B.C.). However 1:1-7 is a review of Jacob's ...
  • I. The liberation of Israel 1:1-15:21A. God's preparation of Israel and Moses chs. 1-41. The growth of Jacob's family 1:1-72. The Israelites' bondage in Egypt 1:8-223. Moses' birth and education 2:1-104. Moses' flight from Eg...
  • This section introduces some of the secondary characters in Exodus and sets the stage for Moses' call. Its purpose is primarily transitional.Moses provided water for Jethro's daughters and their sheep in the wilderness (vv. 1...
  • 4:19-23 Moses did not return immediately to Egypt when he arrived back in Midian following his encounter with God at Horeb (v. 19). God spoke to him again in Midian and sent him back to Egypt assuring His servant that everyon...
  • As a Midianite, Jethro was a descendant of Abraham as was Amalek. Both were blood relatives of the Israelites. Nevertheless the attitudes of the Amalekites and Jethro were very different, though Midian as a nation was hostile...
  • The Israelites erected the tabernacle on the first day of the first month, almost exactly one year after the Israelites left Egypt (vv. 2, 17). This was about nine months after Israel had arrived at Mt. Sinai (cf. 19:1).First...
  • Adams, Dwayne H. "The Building Program that Works (Exodus 25:4--36:7 [31:1-11])."Exegesis and Exposition1:1 (Fall 1986):82-92.Aharoni, Yohanan. "Kadesh-Barnea and Mount Sinai."In God's Wilderness: Discoveries in Sinai, pp. 11...
  • Here begins the fourth and last leg of the Israelites' journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.1. From Egypt to Sinai (Exod. 12-19)2. From Sinai to Kadesh (Num. 11-12)3. From Kadesh back to Kadesh--38 years of wilderness wand...
  • God had promised the Israelites that if they departed from Him He would discipline them by sending famine on the Promised Land (Deut. 28:17, 23, 38-40, 42).16The famine on Israel at this time indicates God's judgment for unfa...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • This vision may have come to Jeremiah immediately after the preceding one or at some other time.1:13 The Lord next directed Jeremiah to view a boiling pot (cauldron used for cooking or washing, Heb. sir) that was tipped so th...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Exodus 18:3-4In old times parents often used to give expression to their hopes or their emotions in the names of their children. Very clearly that was the case in Moses' naming of his two sons, who seem to have been the whole...
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