Exodus 18

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¹Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ✦ ²And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took in Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away, ✦ ³and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.” ✦ ⁴And the other was named Eliezer, for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.” ✦ ⁵Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mountain of God. ✦ ⁶And he sent word to Moses: “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” ⁷Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other about their welfare, and went into the tent. ✦ ⁸Moses told his father-in-law everything that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had confronted them on the journey, and how the Lord had rescued them. ✦ ⁹And Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the Lord had done for Israel, in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. ✦ ¹⁰So Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ✦ ¹¹Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they acted insolently against the people.” ✦ ¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God. ✦ ¹³And it came about the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening. ✦ ¹⁴Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?” ¹⁵Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. ✦ ¹⁶When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between someone and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.” ✦ ¹⁷Moses’ father-in-law then said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. ¹⁸You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. ✦ ¹⁹Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God, ✦ ²⁰then admonish them about the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do. ✦ ²¹Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ✦ ²²Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that they will bring to you every major matter, but they will judge every minor matter themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will carry the burden with you. ✦ ²³If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their places in peace.” ✦ ²⁴So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything that he had said. ✦ ²⁵Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ✦ ²⁶Then they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult matter to Moses, but they would judge every minor matter themselves. ✦ ²⁷Then Moses said goodbye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went his way to his own land. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Exod 18 ·14 Exod 2 ·8 Neh 9 ·7 Deut 1 ·5 Exod 4 ·5 Deut 17 ·4 Exod 15 ·4 1 Sam 8 ·4

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical
On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"
★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical
Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.
DocumentaryPatterns of Evidence: The ExodusTim Mahoney · Paid · evangelical
Investigates the archaeological evidence for the Exodus. Note: it advances a minority biblical chronology that mainstream scholars dispute — engaging, but weigh its conclusions critically.

Pastoral

★ Start hereCommentaryExodus (New American Commentary)Douglas K. Stuart · Paid · evangelical
The best evangelical, semi-technical commentary on Exodus — accessible to pastors and serious students.
DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical
Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 18YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Exodus 18David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Exodus 18Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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