Exodus 18:10

Exo 18:10 And Jethro said, Blessed [be] the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

Ver. 10. And Jethro said, &c.] Cheerfulness makes thankfulness. {Luk 1:46 Jas 5:13}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. Jethro said — Lange regards this utterance of Jethro as lyrical. Exo_18:10-11 may be thrown into poetic form as follows: —

Blessed be Jehovah,

Who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians,

And from the hand of Pharaoh.

Who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

Now know I that Jehovah is greater than all the gods;

For [he magnified himself] in the thing

In which they acted proudly against them.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Whereby it is evident that he worshipped the true God, and therefore Moses refused not to marry his daughter.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(10, 11) Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord.—Heb., Jehovah. The Midianites, descendants of Abraham by Keturah, acknowledged the true God, and the Israelites could rightfully join with them in acts of worship. But it is scarcely likely that they knew God among themselves as “Jehovah.” Jethro, however, understanding Moses to speak of the supreme God under that designation, adopted it from him, blessed His name, and expressed his conviction that Jehovah was exalted above all other gods. The pure monotheism of later times scarcely existed as yet. The gods of the nations were supposed to be spiritual beings, really existent, and possessed of considerable power, though very far from omnipotent. (See Deu_32:16-17.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. from under the hand] as 2Ki_8:20; 2Ki_8:22; 2Ki_13:5; 2Ki_17:7.

10, 11. Jethro is moved to bless and praise Jehovah for Israel’s deliverance.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods,.... He knew the Lord before, and that he was the only true God, and greater than all that were so called; but now he had a fresh instance of it, a clear proof and demonstration of it, and so more plainly and fully knew it, and was assured of it, that he was greater than all the idols of the Gentiles, and particularly than the gods of the Egyptians; since he had saved his people Israel out of their hands, and when they could not protect and defend the Egyptians neither from plagues nor from destruction; nay, could not secure themselves, being all destroyed by the mighty Jehovah, see Exo 12:12, as also that he is greater than all that are called gods, kings, princes, and civil magistrates, than Pharaoh and all his nobles, generals, and captains, who were destroyed by him: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly, he was above them; the idol gods, the gods of the Egyptians, the evil demons, Satan and his principalities, who influenced them, presuming and boasting by their magicians what they could do; but in those things Jehovah in the wonders he wrought appeared to be above them; they were overcome by him, and obliged to acknowledge the finger of God; and this sense stands best connected with the preceding clause: or else in those things, in which the Egyptians dealt proudly with the Israelites, pursuing after them in the pride and vanity of their minds, and giving out that they should overtake them and divide the spoil, and satisfy their lust upon them, when God blew with his wind upon them, the sea covered them, and they sunk as lead in the mighty waters, see Exo 15:9, and to the drowning of the Egyptians in the Red sea, the Jews commonly apply this: thus the Targum of Jonathan,"wherein the Egyptians dealt wickedly in judging Israel, by the waters, judgment returned upon them that they might be judged by the waters;''and to the same sense Jarchi: they suppose here was a just retaliation, that as the Egyptians drowned the Hebrew infants in the waters of the Nile, they were in righteous judgment drowned in the Red sea; this is the very thing, or is the same way they in their pride and malice dealt with the people of Israel; God dealt with them, and showed himself to be both "against them" (o), as it may be rendered, and above them.

(o) "contra eos", Pagninus, Montanus; "contra illos", V. L. Tigurine version; so Reinbech "de accent". Heb. p. 314.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Blessed be the Lord. Compare Gen_14:20 Gen_24:27. The heathen blessed God no loss than the Israelites; but Jethro"s blessing the Lord (i.e. Jehovah) is unusual As, however, Moses had attributed his own deliverance, and that of Israel, entirely to Jehovah (verse 8), Jethro, accepting the facts to be.as stated, blessed the Lord. Who hath delivered you. Kalisch takes the plural pronoun to refer to Moses and Aaron; but Aaron seems not to nave been present, since he afterwards "came" (verse 12). It is better to regard Jethro as addressing all those who were in the tent with Moses. From them he goes on in the last clause to "the people." And out of the hand of Pharaoh. i.e. , especially out of the hand of Pharaoh, who had especially sought their destruction. (Exo_14:6, Exo_14:8, etc.)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

אשר הציל אתכם מיד מצרים WHO HATH DELIVERED YOU OUT OF THE HAND OF EGYPT, a hard people,

ומיד פרעה AND OUT OF THE HAND OF PHARAOH, a hard monarch.

מתחת יד מצרים — Translate this as the Targum does: from beneath the authority of Egypt, taking יד as an expression of domination and authority; “the hand” spoken of here is the hand which they imposed heavily upon them — referring to the hard bondage.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

BLESSED BE THE ETERNAL, WHO HATH DELIVERED YOU OUT OF THE HAND OF THE EGYPTIANS, AND OUT OF THE HAND OF PHARAOH; WHO HATH DELIVERED THE PEOPLE FROM UNDER THE HAND OF THE EGYPTIANS. mentioned twice? Why does Jethro first address himself directly to the people, saying, Who hath delivered you, etc., and then speaks of them in the third person, saying, Who hath delivered the people, etc.? Ramban first presents his interpretation, followed by that of Ibn Ezra. “He has done a great miracle for you in that Pharaoh and his people did not kill you, for it was on account of you that great plagues came upon them in their land.” This miracle was particularly great as far as Moses was concerned [because he frequently came to Pharaoh, as explained above at the end of Verse 1]. Therefore Jethro mentioned him [specifically] in the second person, together with everybody, saying, Who hath delivered you, meaning “you [Moses], and the people.” And He did another miracle: Who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians, since they were in Egypt and they went out of there to everlasting freedom.Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that Jethro first blessed G-d, Who hath delivered you, meaning Moses and Aaron, through whom the plagues came upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Afterwards, he blessed Him for how He hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians in Egypt and at the sea.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.