Exodus 18:1-12

Exodus 18:1-12

[1] When Jethro,  the priest  of Midian,  Moses'  father in law,  heard  of all that God  had done  for Moses,  and for Israel  his people,  and that the LORD  had brought  Israel  out of Egypt;  [2] Then Jethro,  Moses'  father in law,  took  Zipporah,  Moses'  wife,  after  he had sent her back,  [3] And her two  sons;  of which the name  of the one  was Gershom;  for he said,  I have been an alien  in a strange  land:  [4] And the name  of the other  was Eliezer;  for the God  of my father,  said he, was mine help,  and delivered  me from the sword  of Pharaoh:  [5] And Jethro,  Moses'  father in law,  came  with his sons  and his wife  unto Moses  into the wilderness,  where he encamped  at the mount  of God:  [6] And he said  unto Moses,  I thy father in law  Jethro  am come  unto thee, and thy wife,  and her two  sons  [7] And Moses  went out  to meet  his father in law,  and did obeisance,  and kissed  him; and they asked  each  other  of their welfare;  and they came  into the tent.  [8] And Moses  told  his father in law  all that the LORD  had done  unto Pharaoh  and to the Egyptians  for Israel's  sake,  and all the travail  that had come  upon them by the way,  and how the LORD  delivered  [9] And Jethro  rejoiced  for all the goodness  which the LORD  had done  to Israel,  whom he had delivered  out of the hand  [10] And Jethro  said,  Blessed  be the LORD,  who hath delivered  you out of the hand  of Pharaoh,  who hath delivered  the people  from under the hand  [11] Now I know  that the LORD  is greater  than all gods:  for in the thing  wherein they dealt proudly  [12] And Jethro,  Moses'  father in law,  took  a burnt offering  and sacrifices  for God:  and Aaron  came,  and all the elders  of Israel,  to eat  bread  with Moses'  father in law  before  God. 

What does Exodus 18:1-12 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The names of Moses" sons ( Exodus 18:3-4) reflect his personal experiences in the providence of God. However, not all biblical names carry such significance.
"It is a very precarious procedure to attempt to analyze the character or disposition of an Old Testament character on the basis of the etymology of his name alone." [1]
Many names were significant (e.g, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel, etc.), but not all were.
The mount of God ( Exodus 18:5) is the mountain where God revealed Himself and His law to Israel, Mt. Sinai. The wilderness was the wilderness near Sinai.
"Moses" summary [2] is a proof-of-Presence summary, a confession of Yahweh"s powerful protection of and provision for Israel." [3]
Jethro acknowledged the sovereignty of God ( Exodus 18:11). This does not prove he was a monotheist, though he could have been. Jethro was a God-fearing Prayer of Manasseh , evidently part of a believing minority in Midian. He gave evidence of his faith by offering a burnt offering and by making sacrifices to Yahweh ( Exodus 18:12). The meal that Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite elders ate with Jethro was the sacrificial meal just mentioned. Eating together in the ancient Near East was a solemn occasion because it constituted the establishment of an alliance between the parties involved. That is undoubtedly what it involved here. The fact that Aaron and all the elders of Israel were also present demonstrated its importance.