Exodus 18:17-26

18:17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What ¹  you are doing is not good! 18:18 You will surely wear out, ²  both you and these people who are with you, for this is too ³  heavy a burden ⁴  for you; you are not able to do it by yourself. 18:19 Now listen to me, ⁵  I will give you advice, and may God be with you: You be a representative for the people to God, ⁶  and you bring ⁷  their disputes ⁸  to God; 18:20 warn ⁹  them of the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk ¹⁰  and the work they must do. ¹¹  18:21 But you choose ¹²  from the people capable men, ¹³  God-fearing, ¹⁴  men of truth, ¹⁵  those who hate bribes, ¹⁶  and put them over the people ¹⁷  as rulers ¹⁸  of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 18:22 They will judge ¹⁹  the people under normal circumstances, ²⁰  and every difficult case ²¹  they will bring to you, but every small case ²²  they themselves will judge, so that ²³  you may make it easier for yourself, ²⁴  and they will bear the burden ²⁵  with you. 18:23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, ²⁶  then you will be able ²⁷  to endure, ²⁸  and all these people ²⁹  will be able to go ³⁰  home ³¹  satisfied.” ³² 

18:24 Moses listened to ³³  his father-in-law and did everything he had said. 18:25 Moses chose capable men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 18:26 They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring ³⁴  to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.

Numbers 11:11-13

11:11 And Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you afflicted ³⁵  your servant? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that ³⁶  you lay the burden of this entire people on me? 11:12 Did I conceive this entire people? ³⁷  Did I give birth to ³⁸  them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your arms, as a foster father ³⁹  bears a nursing child,’ to the land which you swore to their fathers? 11:13 From where shall I get ⁴⁰  meat to give to this entire people, for they cry to me, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat!’ ⁴¹ 

Deuteronomy 1:9-14

1:9 I also said to you at that time, “I am no longer able to sustain you by myself. 1:10 The Lord your God has increased your population ⁴²  to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky. ⁴³  1:11 Indeed, may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are now, blessing you ⁴⁴  just as he said he would! 1:12 But how can I alone bear up under the burden of your hardship and strife? 1:13 Select wise and practical ⁴⁵  men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.” 1:14 You replied to me that what I had said to you was good.

Nehemiah 6:3

6:3 So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in ⁴⁶  an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?”

Nehemiah 6:2

6:2 Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying, “Come on! Let’s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim ⁴⁷  in the plain of Ono.” Now they intended to do me harm.

Nehemiah 2:4

2:4 The king responded, ⁴⁸  “What is it you are seeking?” Then I quickly prayed to the God of heaven

[18:17]  ¹ tn Heb “the thing.”

[18:18]  ² tn The verb means “to fall and fade” as a leaf (Ps 1:3). In Ps 18:45 it is used figuratively of foes fading away, failing in strength and courage (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 166). Here the infinitive absolute construction heightens the meaning.

[18:18]  ³ tn Gesenius lists the specialized use of the comparative min (מ) where with an adjective the thought expressed is that the quality is too difficult for the attainment of a particular aim (GKC 430 §133.c).

[18:18]  ⁴ tn Here “a burden” has been supplied.

[18:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “hear my voice.”

[18:19]  ⁶ tn The line reads “Be you to the people before God.” He is to be their representative before God. This is introducing the aspect of the work that only Moses could do, what he has been doing. He is to be before God for the people, to pray for them, to appeal on their behalf. Jethro is essentially saying, I understand that you cannot delegate this to anyone else, so continue doing it (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 219-20).

[18:19]  ⁷ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; following the imperative it will be instruction as well. Since the imperative preceding this had the idea of “continue to be” as you are, this too has that force.

[18:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “words”; KJV, ASV “the causes”; NRSV “cases”; NLT “questions.”

[18:20]  ⁹ tn The perfect tense with the vav (ו) continues the sequence of instruction for Moses. He alone was to be the mediator, to guide them in the religious and moral instruction.

[18:20]  ¹⁰ tn The verb and its following prepositional phrase form a relative clause, modifying “the way.” The imperfect tense should be given the nuance of obligatory imperfect – it is the way they must walk.

[18:20]  ¹¹ tn This last part is parallel to the preceding: “work” is also a direct object of the verb “make known,” and the relative clause that qualifies it also uses an obligatory imperfect.

[18:21]  ¹² tn The construction uses the independent pronoun for emphasis, and then the imperfect tense “see” (חָזָה, khazah) – “and you will see from all….” Both in Hebrew and Ugaritic expressions of “seeing” are used in the sense of choosing (Gen 41:33). See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220.

[18:21]  ¹³ tn The expression is אַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל (’anshe khayil, “capable men”). The attributive genitive is the word used in expressions like “mighty man of valor.” The word describes these men as respected, influential, powerful people, those looked up to by the community as leaders, and those who will have the needs of the community in mind.

[18:21]  ¹⁴ tn The description “fearers of God” uses an objective genitive. It describes them as devout, worshipful, obedient servants of God.

[18:21]  ¹⁵ tn The expression “men of truth” (אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת, ’anshe ’emet) indicates that these men must be seekers of truth, who know that the task of a judge is to give true judgment (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220). The word “truth” includes the ideas of faithfulness or reliability, as well as factuality itself. It could be understood to mean “truthful men,” men whose word is reliable and true.

[18:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “haters of bribes.” Here is another objective genitive, one that refers to unjust gain. To hate unjust gain is to reject and refuse it. Their decisions will not be swayed by greed.

[18:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “over them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:21]  ¹⁸ sn It is not clear how this structure would work in a judicial setting. The language of “captains of thousands,” etc., is used more for military ranks. There must have been more detailed instruction involved here, for each Israelite would have come under four leaders with this arrangement, and perhaps difficult cases would be sent to the next level. But since the task of these men would also involve instruction and guidance, the breakdown would be very useful. Deut 1:9, 13 suggest that the choice of these people was not simply Moses’ alone.

[18:22]  ¹⁹ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, making it equivalent to the imperfect of instruction in the preceding verse.

[18:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in every time,” meaning “in all normal cases” or “under normal circumstances.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[18:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “great thing.”

[18:22]  ²² tn Heb “thing.”

[18:22]  ²³ tn The vav here shows the result or the purpose of the instructions given.

[18:22]  ²⁴ tn The expression וְהָקֵל מֵעָלֶיךָ (vÿhaqel me’aleykha) means literally “and make it light off yourself.” The word plays against the word for “heavy” used earlier – since it was a heavy or burdensome task, Moses must lighten the load.

[18:22]  ²⁵ tn Here “the burden” has been supplied.

[18:23]  ²⁶ tn The form is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the same nuance as the preceding imperfect in the conditional clause.

[18:23]  ²⁷ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive now appears in the apodosis of the conditional sentence – “if you do this…then you will be able.”

[18:23]  ²⁸ tn Heb “to stand.” B. Jacob (Exodus, 501) suggests that there might be a humorous side to this: “you could even do this standing up.”

[18:23]  ²⁹ tn Literally “this people.”

[18:23]  ³⁰ tn The verb is the simple imperfect, “will go,” but given the sense of the passage a potential nuance seems in order.

[18:23]  ³¹ tn Heb “his place.”

[18:23]  ³² tn Heb “in peace.”

[18:24]  ³³ tn The idiom “listen to the voice of” means “obey, comply with, heed.”

[18:26]  ³⁴ tn This verb and the verb in the next clause are imperfect tenses. In the past tense narrative of the verse they must be customary, describing continuous action in past time.

[11:11]  ³⁵ tn The verb is the Hiphil of רָעַע (ra’a’, “to be evil”). Moses laments (with the rhetorical question) that God seems to have caused him evil.

[11:11]  ³⁶ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition is expressing the result of not finding favor with God (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 12-13, §57). What Moses is claiming is that because he has been given this burden God did not show him favor.

[11:12]  ³⁷ sn The questions Moses asks are rhetorical. He is actually affirming that they are not his people, that he did not produce them, but now is to support them. His point is that God produced this nation, but has put the burden of caring for their needs on him.

[11:12]  ³⁸ tn The verb means “to beget, give birth to.” The figurative image from procreation completes the parallel question, first the conceiving and second the giving birth to the nation.

[11:12]  ³⁹ tn The word אֹמֵן (’omen) is often translated “nurse,” but the form is a masculine form and would better be rendered as a “foster parent.” This does not work as well, though, with the יֹנֵק (yoneq), the “sucking child.” The two metaphors are simply designed to portray the duty of a parent to a child as a picture of Moses’ duty for the nation. The idea that it portrays God as a mother pushes it too far (see M. Noth, Numbers [OTL], 86-87).

[11:13]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew text simply has “from where to me flesh?” which means “from where will I have meat?”

[11:13]  ⁴¹ tn The cohortative coming after the imperative stresses purpose (it is an indirect volitive).

[1:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “multiplied you.”

[1:10]  ⁴³ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[1:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “may he bless you.”

[1:13]  ⁴⁵ tn The Hebrew verb נְבֹנִים (nÿvonim, from בִּין [bin]) is a Niphal referring to skill or intelligence (see T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:652-53).

[6:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “[am] doing.”

[6:2]  ⁴⁷ tn It is not entirely clear whether the Hebrew word כְּפִירִים (kÿfirim) is a place-name not mentioned elsewhere in the OT (as indicated in the present translation; so also NAB, NASB) or whether it means “in [one of] the villages” (so, e.g., NIV, NRSV, NLT; see BDB 499 s.v.; HALOT 493 s.v.). The LXX and Vulgate understand it in the latter sense. Some scholars connect this term with the identically spelled word כּפירים (“lions”) as a figurative description of princes or warriors (e.g., Pss 34:11; 35:17; 58:7; Jer 2:15; Ezek 32:2, 13; Nah 2:14; see HALOT 493 s.v.): “let us meet together with the leaders in the plain of Ono.”

[2:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “said to me.”