Exodus 18

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 18:6

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", &c.; 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" F13 בא "veniens", Montanus. ; for, as yet, he was not in his presence, and they were not personally present face to face: the Targum of Jonathan adds, "to become a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 18:7

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 honour; that one who was in such great dignity, at the head of such a vast body of people, and superior to him both in natural and spiritual abilities, yet condescended to go forth in person to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 18:8

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 which had brought him hither, and therefore it would be very entertaining to him to have the particulars of it; and Moses begins with what the Lord had done to Pharaoh, how he had inflicted his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 18:9

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 given on Mount Sinai, though here recorded; but this goodness may be extended to other things, as the saving of their firstborn at the time of the Lord's passover, giving them favour in the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 18:10

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 particularly Moses and Aaron, the messengers of God, as Aben Ezra observes, who went to Pharaoh in the peril of their lives, and whom he sometimes threatened with death; but the Lord delivered... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 18:11

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 was greater than all the idols of the Gentiles, and particularly than the gods of the Egyptians; since he had saved his people Israel out of their hands, and when they could not protect and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 18:12

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 of them were to be eaten, Leviticus 7:15 and now a feast was kept, as the latter part of the verse shows: whether Jethro brought cattle along with him for such a purpose, and so "gave" ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 18:13

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 the day after Jethro's coming, as Aben Ezra: that Moses sat to judge the people ; though his father-in-law was come to visit him, yet he did not neglect the care of his people, and the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 18:14

And when Moses's father in law saw all that he did to the people ,.... Or for them F17 לעם "propter populum" Vatablus. ; 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 people: he said, what is this thing that thou doest to the people ? this question he put, not as being ignorant what he did, he saw what he did, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 18:15

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 will in certain cases, and of his statutes and laws, as the following verse shows; what they should observe, and according to which they should conduct themselves: they came to inquire... read more

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