This chapter gives an account of Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, with Zipporah his daughter, the wife of Moses, and her two sons, meeting him in the wilderness, who was kindly received by him, Ex.

When Jethro the priest of Midian, Moses’s father-in-law The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call him the prince of Midian, and so the word [[4]] is rendered in some versions; whose daughter Moses had married, and so was his father-in-law, of which see more in .

Then Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’s wife When he had heard of the above things, he determined to pay Moses a visit, and congratulate him on that account; and he took his daughter, the wife of Moses, along with him, to deliver her to her husband, to share with him in his cares…

And her two sons Those also Jethro took along with him and his daughter: of which the name of the one was Gershom; which seems to be his firstborn, , his name signifies a desolate stranger, as some, or, “there I was a stranger”: the reason of which name follows agreeably thereunto: for he said, I…

And the name of the other was Eliezer Who seems to be his second son, and was that which was circumcised by Zipporah at the inn, and about which there was such a stir, , and signifies “my God is help”, or, his helper: for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword…

And Jethro, Moses’s father in law This is the third time he is so called in the chapter already, and many more times besides after in it; the reason of which seems to be, either to distinguish him from another of the same name, or to do him honour, that he should be in such a relation to so great…

And he said unto Moses By a messenger, as Jarchi: or by a written letter, as Aben Ezra: or, as the Septuagint version, “it was told to Moses, thy father” for as yet he was not come to him, as appears by Moses going forth to meet him: I thy father in law Jethro am come to thee: or, “am coming”…

And Moses went out to meet his father in law Out of the camp, at least out of his tent: the Targum of Jonathan says, from under the cloud of glory; how far he went is not certain, nor material to know: this was an instance of his great humility and modesty, and was doing Jethro a great deal of…

And Moses told his father in law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh After the proper civilities had passed, and Jethro had been refreshed with food and drink, as is highly probable, they entered into a conversation about what had lately passed, which Jethro had had a general report of, and…

And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel In giving them the manna and the well, as the above Targum, bread to eat when hungry, and water to drink when thirsty; to which Jarchi adds, and the law, for he supposes the meeting of Jethro and Moses was after the law was…

And Jethro said Like a truly good man, as one that knew the Lord and feared him, and was desirous of giving him the praise and glory of all the wonderful things he had done: blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians: and out of the hand of Pharaoh; meaning…

Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods He knew the Lord before, and that he was the only true God, and greater than all that were so called; but now he had a fresh instance of it, a clear proof and demonstration of it, and so more plainly and fully knew it, and was assured of it, that he…

And Jethro, Moses’s father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God The burnt offering, which was either of the flock or of the herd, was wholly consumed by fire, from whence it had its name; the peace offering for thanksgiving, which seemed to be meant by the sacrifices here, the flesh…

And it came to pass on the morrow The above Targum paraphrases it, “on the day after the day of atonement:” and so Jarchi observes the same, out of a book of theirs called Siphri; but rather this was either the day after the entertainment of Jethro with Aaron and the elders in the tent of Moses, or…

And when Moses’s father in law saw all that he did to the people Or for them [[15]]; for their information and instruction in the laws of God, and for the decision of cases brought before him, according to them; and what a deal of business was on his hands, and he went through for the good of the…

And Moses said unto his father in law In answer to his question; and there were two things, as Aben Ezra observes, he did to the people, and for which they came to him; the one is observed in this verse, and the other in the next: because the people come unto me to inquire of God; of his mind and…

When they have a matter, they come unto me This is the other thing he did for them, as the above writer observes; which being last mentioned, he speaks of first, as follows, meaning that when there was a matter in difference between two persons or more, and they could not agree upon it among…

And Moses’s father in law said unto him Having observed what he did, and heard his answer to the question he put to him: the thing that thou doest is not good; not meaning that it was not morally good, or that it was morally evil; for it was certainly a good thing to inquire of the mind and will of…

Thou wilt surely wear away His natural strength and animal spirits, and so his flesh; he feared his constant application and attendance to business would impair his health, break his constitution, and bring him into a consumption.

Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel Jethro being the elder man, and of some character and figure, being either a priest or prince of Midian, or both, might, without incurring a censure, take upon him to give advice to Moses, a younger man, and his son-in-law, though he was superior…

And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws Both with respect to things civil and religious, which he should receive from God: and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk; the path of faith and duty, the way of truth, holiness, and righteousness: and the work that they must do; both with…

Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people Or look out [[18]] from among them; see , able men; or “men of power” [[19]]; meaning not so much men of strong and robust constitutions, who, as Aben Ezra says, are able to bear labour; but men that have strength of heart, as Ben Gersom expresses…

And let them judge the people at all times In their several districts, whenever a matter of difference between man and man arises, and the case is brought before them, let them judge impartially between them, and determine what is right and wrong, and execute judgment and justice truly; which would…

If thou shall do this thing Hearken to the advice given, and put it in execution, by choosing out of the people, and placing over them, judges qualified, as directed: and God command thee so; for he did not desire him to follow his advice any further than it appeared to be according to the will of…

So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law Considered what he said, weighed it well in his mind, and judged it good advice, and determined to follow it: and did all that he had said; by choosing such men as he directed to, and committing the judgment of the people to them, as follows:

And Moses chose able men out of all Israel He looked among them, and selected the best of them, such as most answered to the qualifications it was requisite they should have; and though only one of them is here mentioned, which is the first Jethro gave, yet no doubt they were all attended to,…

And they judged the people at all seasons Any day in the week, or any time in the day, whenever there was any occasion for them, and cases were brought before them: the hard cases they brought unto Moses; that is, the judges brought them to Moses when such came before them which were too hard for…

And Moses let his father in law depart After he had been with him some time, and desired leave to go into his own country, which was granted; or he “dismissed” [[23]] him in an honourable way: and as he went out to meet him when he came, if he did not attend him, when he went, some way in person,…