Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back,
Parallel translations
- WEB Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, received Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her away,
- KJV Then Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back,
- BSB After Moses had sent back his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had received her,
- NASB And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took in Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away,
- NLT Earlier, Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and his two sons back to Jethro, who had taken them in.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jethro brought Zipporah, Moses' wife, whom Moses had earlier sent back. The family is reunited at the mountain of God.
Overview
Moses had apparently sent his wife to her father's household for safety during the Egyptian confrontation. Now Jethro restores her to Moses, reuniting the family as Israel encamps near Sinai. This personal detail grounds the larger narrative in real relationships and prepares for Jethro's wise counsel to follow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Exod 2:21Moses was content to dwell with the man. He gave Moses Zipporah, his daughter.
- Exod 4:25–26Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me.”
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 18:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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