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The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:3
And her two sons. That Zipporah had borne Moses at least two sons before his return to Egypt from Midian, had appeared from Exodus 4:20. The name of the one, Gershom, and the ground of it, had been declared in Exodus 2:…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:4
Eliezer. Eliezer had not been previously mentioned by name; but he was probably the son circumcised by Zipporah, as related in Exodus 4:25. We learn from 1 Chronicles 23:15-17, that he grew to manhood, and had an only s…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:5
Ye are come unto Mount Zion. The way in which we view facts depends a great deal on the eyes through which we look at them. Here, as regards Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness, we may look on them through the ey…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:5
The wilderness. This term, which has the article, seems to be here used in that wide sense with which we are familiar from Exodus 3:18; Exodus 4:27; Exodus 5:3; Exodus 7:16; etc. It is not" the wilderness of Sin," or "t…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:6-12
Friendship in its loftiest form. "They asked each other of their welfare." Exodus 18:7. The visit of Jethro comes between the agony of Rephidim and the solemnities of "Sinai," like the insertion of a sweet pastoral poem…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:6
And he said. It is suspected that the true reading here is, "and they said,"—i.e; some one said—"to Moses, behold thy father-in-law" (or "brother-in-law"), "Jethro, is come unto thee." So the LXX; and many moderns, as K…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:7
Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. Oriental ideas of politeness require such a movement in case of an honoured or even of a welcome visitor (see Genesis 18:2; Genesis 19:1; Genesis 32:6; Genesis 33:1; Luke 15:20;…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:8
Moses told his father-in-law. Jethro had heard in Midian the general outline of what had happened (Exodus 18:1). Moses now gave him a full and complete narrative (misphar) of the transactions. Compare Genesis 24:66; Jos…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:10
Blessed be the Lord. Compare Genesis 14:20; Genesis 24:27. The heathen blessed God no loss than the Israelites; but Jethro's blessing the Lord (i.e. Jehovah) is unusual As, however, Moses had attributed his own delivera…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:11
Now know I that the Lord is greater than all gods. It would seem that Jethro, like the generality of the heathen, believed in a plurality of gods, and had hitherto regarded the God of the Israelites as merely one among…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:12
Jethro took a burnt offering. Or "brought a burnt offering;" as the same verb is rendered in Exodus 25:2. It is not distinctly related that he offered the victim; but as no other offerer is mentioned, and as he was a pr…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:13-26
Jethro's advice. In considering this passage it is desirable to form some distinct opinion as to the time of Jethro's visit to Moses. How comes this episode to be mentioned at all, and what is its point of attachment to…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:13-26
EXPOSITION JETHRO'S ADVICE TO MOSES, AND ITS ADOPTION. The office of ruler in ancient times, whether exercised by a king, a prince, or a mere chieftain, was always understood to include within it the office of judge. In…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:13
On the morrow. The day after Jethro's arrival. Moses sat to judge the people. Moses, i.e; took his seat in an accustomed place, probably at the door of his tent, and. was understood to be ready to hear and decide causes…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:13-27
The appointment of judges. During the few days that Jethro was with Moses, he did the latter an essential service, and initiated nothing short of a revolution in the manner of conducting judicial business. Besides its i…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:13-16
The Christian in Public Paths. "Moses sat to judge the people: and the people," etc. (Exodus 18:13). Explain with accuracy the work of Moses. On such a text might be based a homily on the functions, work and bearing of…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:13-27
Good counsel well taken. I. ZEAL MAY OUTRUN DISCRETION. 1. Moses' strength was overtaxed, his spirit needlessly burdened. 2. There was delay for the people with its vexation and loss. The most self-sacrificing love will…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:14
Why sittest thou thyself alone etc. A perverse ingenuity has discovered that the emphatic words in this passage are "sittest" and "stand," Jethro having blamed Moses for humiliating the people by requiring them to stand…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:14-23
The unwisdom of a monopoly of power. The principle of the division of labour, which is essential to progress in the arts, was well known in Egypt, and was applied there, not to the arts only, but also to government and…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:15
And Moses said … Because the people come unto me, to inquire of God. To inquire of God is certainly not a mere "juridical phrase," meaning to consult a judge (Kalisch), nor, on the other hand, is it necessarily "to cons…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:16
I judge … and I do make them know the statutes of God. As the Israelites were, up to this time, without any code of written laws, Moses took the opportunity furnished by such cases as came before him, to lay down princi…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:17-27
The Economy of Force. "The thing that thou doest is not good," etc. Exodus 18:17, Exodus 18:18. In the error of Moses, and the amendment suggested by Jethro, are to be discovered most valuable lessons. This day in the l…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:18
Thou wilt surely wear away. Literally, "Wasting thou wilt waste away," Thy strength, i.e; will not long hold out, if thou continuest this practice. Both thou, and this people. The people's strength and patience will als…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 18:18
The thing … is not good—i.e; not expedient, and so not the right thing to do. It is a man's duty to have regard to his health, and not unnecessarily overtask his strength.