The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 80

Ver. 1.-J'ethro, the priest of llrlidian, and found him. There is no trace of any lll[oees' father - in - law. Rather, "Jethro, previous " engagement" to meet at a par- priest of Midian, Moses' brother-in-law." See ticular spot. the comment on eh. iii. 1 : and note that the Ver. 6.-A.nd he said. It is suspected that Seventy use the e.mbiguou.s word "Yaµ.{Jpos, the true reading here is," and they said,"-i.e., while the Vulgate he.s cognatw. And that. some one said-" to Moses, behold thy father- Rather•· in that." The clause is exegetice.l of in-law" (or "brother-in-law"), "Jethro, is the preceding one. come unto thee." So the LXX., and many Ver. 2.-A.fter he ha.d sent her be.ck. modems, es Kennicott, Geddes, Boothroyd, Litere.llv "after her dismissal" It is curious Canon Cook, and others. But the explaua- t h.,t the fa.et of the dismissal he.d not been tion, that Jethro, on arriving in the vicinity rre"<"iously mentioned, yet is here &SSumed of Moses, sent a messenger to him, who spoke e.s kno=. Some commentators (as Knobel) in his name (Rosenmiiller, Patrick, Pool, find, in what is said of Zippora.h, the trace of Kalisch, Keil, etc.) is at any rate plausible, two distinct writers who give two contre.dic- anJ removes all necessity of altering the torv narratives ; hut the difficulties and ob- text. scnrities of the history are sufficiently intelli- Ver. 7.-Moses went out to meet his gible, if we bear in mind-I. That Moses was father-in-law. Oriental ideas of politeness addressing immediately those who knew the require such a movement in case of an honoured facts; and 2. The.t he was stndious of brevity. or even of a welcome visitor (see Gen. xviii. Ver. 3.-A..nd her two S<ln&. That Zippora.h 2; x.ix. 1 ; xxxii. 6; xxxiii. 1 ; Luke xv. 20; he.d borne Moses at least two sons before his etc.). It was evidently the intentic,n of Moses return to Egypt from Midian, had appeared to receive Jethro with all possible marks of from eh. iv. 20. The ns.me of the one, honour and respect. He not only went out to Gilrshom., and the ground of it, he.d been meet him, but did obeisance to him, as to a declared in eh. u. 22. The repetition here superior. They asked each other of their may be accounted for by the present chapter welfare. Rather "exchanged salutations ; " having been originally a distinct and separate addressed each other mutually with the cus- composition, written on a distinct roll, and tomary phrase "Peace be unto you." Came snbsequently incorporated by Moses into his into the tent-i.e., went together into the great work_ tent of Moses, which he.d been already glanced Ver. 4.-Eliezer. Eliezer had not been at in the word "encamped" (verse 5). previously mentioned by name; but he was Ver. S.-Moaes told his father-in-law. probably the son circumcised by Zipporah, as Jethro he.d heard in Midian the general out- related in eh. iv. 25. We learn from 1 Chr. line of what had happened (verse 1). Moses xxiii. 15--17, that he grew to manhood, and now gave him a full and complete narrative had an only son, Behabiah, whose descendants ( misphar) of the transactiona. Compare were in the time of Solomon very numerous. Gen. x.x.iv. 66; Josh. ii. 23; where the se.me :For the God of my father, said he, was my verb is used. All the travail. Literally, help. Eliezer means lit.erally, "My God (is "the weariness." Compare Male.chi i. 13, my) help." It would seem that Zippora.h, where the same word is used. The Lord de- when she circumcised her infant son, omitted livered them. The Septuagint e.dds "from to name him ; but Moses, before dismissing the hand of Pharaoh and from the hand of her, supplied the omission, ce.lling him the Egyptiana." Eliezer, because God had been his help against Ver. 10.-Bleaeed be the Lord. Compare the Pharaoh who he.d sought his life ( eh. ii. Gen. xiv. 20; xxiv. 27. The heathen blessed 1/i ), and of whose death he had recently had God no less than the Israelites ; but J ethro's intelligence (eh. iv. 19). Thus the names of blessing the Lord (i.e. Jehovah) is unusual the two sons expressed respectively, the des- As, however, Moses he.d attributed his own pondency nature.I to an exile, and the exultant deliverance, and that of Israel, entirely tC' gratitude of one who had just learned that by Jehovah (verse 8), Jethro, accepting the facts God's goodne.s, the term of his banishment to be as stated, blessed the LMd. Who hath was orer. delivered yon. Kalisch takes the plural Ver. 5. - The wildemess. This term, pronoun to refer to MoseR and Aaron ; but which haB the article, seems to be here used Aaron scems not to nave been present, since in 1hat wide seruie with which we are familiar he afterwards "came" ("""'" 12). It ia iron, eh. iii. 18 ; iv. 27; v. 3; vii. 16; etc. It better to regard Jethro as addressing all those 1s not" the wilderness of Sin," or "the wilder- who were in the tent with Moses, From ness of Sinai," that is inwnded, but generally them he goes on in the last claUBe to " the the tract between Egypt and Palestine. people." And out of the hand of Pharaoh.- Jethro, having entered this tract from Midian, i.e., eBpooiaUy out of the hand of Pharaoh, had no difticult_v in discovering from the who had especially sought their destruction inhabitants that Moses was encamped at the (eh. xiv. 6, 8, etc.). moWlt of God,--i.e., Sinai, and there sought Ver. 11.-Now know I that the Lord ill Cll. XVIII. 1-]2.) THE BOOK OF EXODUS. 83