Exodus 18:1

1 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.

Exodus 18:1 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 18:1

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 F5 is rendered in some versions; whose daughter Moses had married, and so was his father-in-law, of which see more in ( Exodus 2:16-21 ) .

heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people;
the miracles he had wrought for them in Egypt, the dividing of the Red sea to make a way for them, the destruction of the Egyptians, providing them with bread and water in such a miraculous manner in the wilderness, and giving them victory over Amalek, and appearing always at the head of them in a pillar of cloud and fire:

[and] that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt:
which was the greatest blessing of all, and for the sake of which so many wonderful things had been done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. And now Midian being near to Egypt, it is not to be wondered at that Jethro should hear of these things, the fame of which went through all the countries round about, see ( Exodus 15:14 Exodus 15:15 ) , though it is not improbable that Moses might send messengers to Midian to acquaint his father-in-law, his wife, and sons, of what the Lord had done for him, and by him.


FOOTNOTES:

F5 (zhk) "praeses", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Exodus 18:1 In-Context

1 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro took her back,
3 along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, "I have been an alien in a foreign land"),
4 and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh").
5 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came into the wilderness where Moses was encamped at the mountain of God, bringing Moses' sons and wife to him.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.