tThatis, God of my father, ſaid he, was mine help, and deli- My God is yered me from the ſword of Pharaoh : |
"WP 5 And Jethro, Moſes father-in-law, came b with his ſons and his wife, unto Moſes into the wilderneſs,
*Chapry where he encamped at * the mount of God.
« 6 Not at this time, but after the delivery of the Law at Mount
Sinai ; as it may appear 1. becauſe he finds them encamped, as it here follows, at the mount of God, i: e: Sinai, whether rhey came not till Exod.19;2. 2. Becauſe the Iyws of Sacrifices were given before his coming,as appears from wer. 12. 3. Becauſe the Execution of this counſel here given about the choice of Magiſtrats, wer. 19. is rela- ted after the J7raelites departure from Sinai, Deut: 1: 7, &c. And therefore here is a tranſpoſal in this Hiſtory,which is alſo frequent in other places of holy Scripture.
6 And he faid c unto Moſes, I thy father-in-law Je- thro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two {ons with her. ;
c Not by word of mouth, as the next Verſe ſheweth, but either
only the order of the words is a little va- |
7 And Moſes went out to meet his father-in-law, . | and did obeiſance,and killed him : and they asked each '_. | other of their + welfare d; and they came into the tent. t Heb: - }
4 Heb. of their peace, 7. e. proſperity and all happineſs, which alſo Foun" they wiſhed one to the other, as this phraſe implies. See x Sam:10:;
4: and P/al: 122:6.
8 And Moſes told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh,and to the Egyprians for iſraels fake e, and ail the travail that had 4 come upon # xep. them by the way, and ho the LORD delivered chem. found
e Or, Concerning Iſrael's buſineſs, | them,
9 And Jethro rejoyced for all the goodneſs which tne LORD had done co [rae] ; whom he had delivered out of'the Hand of che Egyptians.
10 And Jethro ſaid,Bictled be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and our of the hand of Pharaoh ; who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyprians.
. 21 Now I know f that the LORD is greater than
- man
them know »o the Statutes of God, and his Laws. : his fellow.
o ( :: e: ) Do interpret and apply them to their ſeveral Cauſes and
Circumſtances. | : 17 And Moſes father-in-law ſaid unto him, The
thing that thou doeſt, is not good p. ? Not convenient either for thy telf, or for the people.
this people » that is with thee 3: for this thing is too aing rhow heavy for thee 3 * thou art not able to perform it thy wits fade. felf alone. *Num. q Waſte and deſtroy thy health and ſtrength by exceſſive labour of mind and body. r By tedious attendance and expe&ation ere their turn comes for the deciſion of their matters. 19 Hearken now unto my voice ; I will give thee counſel, and God thall be with thee sz Be thou for the | people to Ged-ward 7, that thou mayelt bring the cauſes
unto God : | O 3 s (i.e.)
14:
—
18 jt Thou wilt ſurely wear away q, both thou, and + Heb-fa-
Deurt: 1:9»
5 4 ITO ER FS
Ri : 'n :
j l
| * Deut:1: | 16; and - T6: 18:
7, 9-
c hap.
| 2Chro:19:
XIX. 5 (4...) I doubt not, God will affift and bleſs thee as well in the courſe which I propoſe to thee,as in that which thou now doſt ule, becauſe God is a God of order,and loves order; and he is a God of mercy, and would not have thee deſtroy thy {elf in his work. Or ir may be taken for a Prayer, and God be with thee, i.e. bleſs and aſſiſt thee therein. * Heb. before God, 7. e. in hard and weighty Cauſes, which the inferiour Judges cannot determine,as it is explained,ver: 22. where they need and ſeek dire&tion from God, there thou ſhalt be as a mediator between God and them, to bring their matters to God, as it here follows, and to receive direftions and commands from him. See Numb: 15: 33, 34.and 27: 5,6. _ |
20 And thou ſhait ceach chem ordinances and laws «,
and ſhalt ſhew them the way wherein they mult walk,
EXODUS
,
2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the deſert of Sinai c, and had pitched in the wilderneſs, and there Iſrael camped before the mount.
c ( i. e ) To that part of the Deſert which adjoyned ro Mount Sinai, as Rephidim, from whence they came, was in that part of the Wilderneſs adjoining to Horeb, which was another part of the ſame Mountain» See Exod: 17. 6. So they ſeem to have fetched a large compaſs, and to have come from one fide of the Mountain to the * other.
2 And * Moſes went up to God 4 ; called unto him out of the mountain, ſaying, Thus ſhalt thou ſay unto the houſe of Jacob, and tell che
children of 1{rael ;
and the work that they muſt do.
# Thou alone ſhalt deliver and explain God's Law to them, which they may apply to their particular Cauſes and Occaſions, and ſo end their Differences among themſelves without giving thee any trouble. X
21 Moreover thou ſhalt provide out of all the people
* able men x, ſuch as-feer God y ; men of truth z, ha- ting coverouſneſs s, and place ſuch over them to be ru- lers of thouſands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fif-
ties, and rulers of tens.
x Heb. men of might, not for ſtrength of body, but for greatneſs, reſolution, courage, and conſtancy of mind, which is the beſt pre- ſervative againſt partiality, and co:ruption in judgment, to which men of little minds, or narrow fouls, are eaſily ſwayed by fears,or hopes, or gifts. y Which will reſtrain them from all injuſiice, even when they have ability-and opportunity to do wrong ſo cunningly or powerfully, that they may eſcape the obſervation and cenſure of men. z Or, of faith, or faithful, ſuch as love the truth, and dili- gently labour to find it out in all cauſes, and then paſs a true and righteous ſentence ; not at all reſpe&ing perſons,burt only the truth and right of their Cauſes; ſuch as hate lies and flanders,and will ſe- verely rebuke and puniſh them. # This, though included in the former,is particularly expreſſed, becauſe gifts and bribes are the great corrupters of Judges and judgments.
22 And let chem judge the people at all ſeaſons : and it ſhall be that every great marcer they ſhall bring unto thee, but every ſmall matter they ſhall judge : fo 5 ic be caſier for thy ſelf, and they ſhall bear the bur- then with thee.
23 If thou ſhalt do this thing, and God command thee /o b, then thou ſhalt be able to endure, and all this
people ſhall alſo go to their place c in peace J.