Exodus 18

Fields' suggestion as a title for this chapter is "Jethro and the Judges"; and this is certainly acceptable in view of the fact that the whole chapter deals with the visit of Jethro to Moses in "the mountain of the Lord," Horeb-Sinai, the royal reception accorded him by Moses, and the ensuing advice from Jethro with reference to the judges. Jethro's arrival with Moses' wife and their two sons (Exodus 18:1-6); his conversation with Moses (Exodus 18:7-11); his worship of the true God (Exodus 18:12); his observance of Moses' work (Exodus 18:13-16); his advice to Moses (Exodus 18:17-23); Moses' acceptance of that advice (Exodus 18:18-26 and Deuteronomy 1:9-18); and Jethro's departure (Exodus 18:27) are subdivisions of the chapter.

Keil suggested that Jethro here appears as the first-fruits of the heathen world who would in time seek the kingdom of God and enter religious fellowship with the people of God. Jethro brought with him Moses' wife and two sons who had turned back from the journey to Egypt upon the occasion of the circumcision of Eliezer. He joyfully received the marvelous news of what Jehovah had done in the delivery of Israel from bondage, confessed his faith in Jehovah, offered burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and enjoyed a meal of religious fellowship with the leaders of Israel.

Both the Midianites and the Amalekites were descended from Abraham, therefore kinsmen of Israel; and those two peoples in the persons of Jethro and the army of the Amalekites thus demonstrated the two diverse attitudes of the non-Jewish world toward Israel. "They foreshadowed and typified the twofold attitude which the heathen world would assume toward the kingdom of God."[1]

Since Jethro is the principal character, except Moses, in this chapter, we shall note here at the outset the often cited problem regarding the names applied to him in the sacred text.

1. In Exodus 4:18 we have "Jethro his father-in-law," an expression found nine other times.
2. In Judges 4:11 (cf. Numbers 10:29), we have "Hobab the father-in-law of Moses," and
3. we read in Exodus 2:18 that Moses' wife and sisters-in-law returned to "their father Reuel."

The solution is quite simple: "All three names may refer to the same person."[2] "Reuel may be a tribal, rather than a personal appellation."[3] The father-in-law of Moses in Judges 4:11; and Jethro is called his father-in-law in Exodus 3:1, and here (Exodus 18:1), but as Rawlinson pointed out the Hebrew word rendered `father-in-law' actually means "almost any relationship by marriage."[4] Based on that, Rawlinson understood Jethro to be the brother-in-law of Moses, and a son of Reuel the actual father-in-law. These explanations are more than sufficient, and due to the preponderance in the ASV of the term father-in-law as applied to Jethro, we shall stick with that designation in the notes. Even if Reuel was the actual father-in-law and Jethro was the brother-in-law, it is evident that Jethro was the priest of Midian (having succeeded his father Reuel), and any fuller knowledge of the problem would not affect in any manner the message of the holy text.