Exodus 18:6

Exo 18:6 And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.

Ver. 6. And he said.] That is, Sent him word. So God’s messages to us are to be received as his own immediate words; "He that heareth you, heareth me."

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.

That is, he sent messengers to say unto him.

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

and thy wife, and her two sons--See Exo 4:20.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 6. And he said unto Moses] That is, by a messenger; in consequence of which Moses went out to meet him, as is stated in the next verse, for an interview had not yet taken place. This is supported by reading הנה hinneh, behold, for אני ani, I, which is the reading of the Septuagint and Syriac, and several Samaritan MSS.; instead therefore of I, thy father, we should read, Behold thy father, &c. - Kennicott's Remarks.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. am come] rather, am coming (the ptcp.; cf. Gen_29:6 cometh,’ lit is coming). ‘Said’ must mean here, ‘said by the hand of messengers’: see the next verse. Perhaps it is better, however, to read, with LXX. Sam. Pesh., הנה, ‘Behold,’ for אני, ‘I’; i.e. ‘And the said (Gen_48:1 Heb.) unto Moses, Behold, thy father-in-law, Jethro, is come,’ &c.

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.

And he said unto Moses,.... By a messenger, as Jarchi: or by a written letter, as Aben Ezra: or, as the Septuagint version, "it was told to Moses, thy father", &c. for as yet he was not come to him, as appears by Moses going forth to meet him:

I thy father in law Jethro am come to thee: or, "am coming" (m); for, as yet, he was not in his presence, and they were not personally present face to face: the Targum of Jonathan adds, "to become a proselyte"; but it seems that before, as well as now, he had been a worshipper of the true God, and always speaks like one that had had the fear of God before him continually:

and thy wife, and her sons with her; this he thought fit to acquaint him of by messenger or letter, that he might be in expectation of them, and not be surprised at once with their appearance: besides, as some observe, and not amiss, after the late attack of the Amalekites upon their rear, guards or sentinels might be placed in the outer parts of the camp for its safety, and who would not easily, without order, let strangers pass into it, and therefore previous notice was necessary to get admission.

(m) "veniens", Montanus.

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

And he said ... - Or according to the Greek Version, “And it was told to Moses, saying, Lo, thy father in law Jether is come.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Word. Hebrew, "And he said unto Moses, I, &c. 7. And Moses went out to meet," &c., which seems very strange, after he had been just talking with him. The authors of the Septuagint and Syriac read behold, instead of I. "It was told Moses. Behold thy," &c. Kennicott observes, that five Samaritan copies retain ene, "behold," instead of ani, "I," and thus obviate the nonsense which disturbs the reader of the present Hebrew.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He spoke, not by word of mouth, as the next verse showeth, but either by a letter, or by a messenger, as that word is used, Mat 8:6,8, compared with Luk 7:3,6.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. He said unto Moses — That is, as the context shows, and as true Oriental custom required, he said this word to Moses by messengers sent before him to announce his coming. The Vulgate reads: He sent word (mandavit) to Moses, saying. Septuagint: It was told Moses, saying, Behold Jethro, thy father in law, is come to thee.

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

And he said. It is suspected that the true reading here is, "and they said,i.e. , some one said Moses, behold thy father-in-law" (or "brother-in-law"), "Jethro, is come unto thee." So the LXX, and many moderns, as Kennicott, Geddes, Boothroyd, Canon Cook, and others. But the explanation, that Jethro, on arriving in the vicinity of Moses, sent a messenger to him, who spoke in his name (Rosenmuller, Patrick, Pool, Kalisch, Keil, etc.) is at any rate plausible, and removes all necessity of altering the text.

HOMILIES BY H. T. ROBJOHNS Vers. 6-12. Friendship in its loftiest form.

asked each other of their welfare." Exo_18:7. The visit of Jethro comes between the agony of Rephidim and the solemnities of "Sinai," like the insertion of a sweet pastoral poem between two tragedies. Something may be learnt from it as to what should characterise friendship in its highest form, that is, between two devout souls, as consecrated and elevated by religion.

I CONSTANCY. Moses and Jethro met as in the earlier years; no assumption with Moses, no sycophancy with Jethro.

II COURTESY. Ver. 7. The nearer our relations to each other, the more indispensable this grace.

III MUTUAL SOLICITUDE. Ver. 7.

IV INTERCHANGE OF EXPERIENCE. Vers. 8-11. Happy time, when the deeper experiences (religious) can be exchanged to mutual advantage.

V COMMUNION IN WORSHIP. Ver. 12. It is clear that Jethro and Moses were one as to Monotheism, in their common possession of the great Divine traditions of the race. Jethro spiritually was in the descent of Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Melchisedek. For him but one God, the God of heaven and earth, and therefore the God of Israel. Contrast with Amalek! Hence the sacrifice and the sacrificial feast.

VI FIDELITY IN GIVING COUNCIL. Vers. 14, 17-23. Great courage required.

VII HUMILITY IN RECEIVING IT. This the moral attitude of Moses.

VIII AN ULTIMATE REFERENCE IN ALL INTERCOURSE TO THE DIVINE FRIEND. Ver. 23. "And God commanded thee so.

IX SYMPATHY AS TO GREAT OBJECT. Jethro knew the destiny of Israel, and was concerned for the realisation.

X PEACEFUL PARTING AT LIFE"S DIVERGING PATHS. Ver. 27. Apply this to moral and intellectual cross-roads; and to that which is so difficult agreeing to differ and that with mutual respect and affection. All in view and hope of the Perfect and immortal amity that is beyond the sky. R.

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

When Jethro announced his arrival to Moses ("he said," sc., through a messenger), he received his father-in-law with the honour due to his rank; and when he had conducted him to his tent, he related to him all the leading events connected with the departure from Egypt, and all the troubles they had met with on the way, and how Jehovah had delivered them out of them all. Jethro rejoiced at this, and broke out in praise to Jehovah, declaring that Jehovah was greater than all gods, i.e., that He had shown Himself to be exalted above all gods, for God is great in the eyes of men only when He makes known His greatness through the display of His omnipotence. He then gave a practical expression to his praise by a burnt-offering and slain-offering, which he presented to God. The second כּי in Exo 18:11 is only an emphatic repetition of the first, and אשׁר בּדּבר is not dependent upon ידעתּי, but upon גּדול nopu tub, or upon הגדּיל understood, which is to be supplied in thought after the second כּי: "That He has proved Himself great by the affair in which they (the Egyptians) dealt proudly against them (the Israelites)." Compare Neh 9:10, from which it is evident, that to refer these words to the destruction of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea as a punishment for their attempt to destroy the Israelites in the water (Exo 1:22) is too contracted an interpretation; and that they rather relate to all the measures adopted by the Egyptians for the oppression and detention of the Israelites, and signify that Jehovah had shown Himself great above all gods by all the plagues inflicted upon Egypt down to the destruction of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

ויאמר אל משה AND HE SAID UNTO MOSES through a messenger (Mekhilta).

אני חתנך יתרו וגו I, THY FATHER-IN-LAW, JETHRO etc. — If you will not come out for my own sake, come out for the sake of your wife; and if you will not come out for your wife’s sake, come out for the sake of your two sons (Mekhilta).

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.

AND HE SAID UNTO MOSES: ‘I THY FATHER-IN-LAW JETHRO AM COMING UNTO THEE.’ He sent him the message in a letter in which [the above words] were written. A messenger, [as Rashi would have it], could not say, I thy father-in-law. Instead, he would say, “Behold, Jethro your father-in-law is coming to you.” It is also not possible that Jethro told him so mouth to mouth, for in that case he would have said, “Behold, I have come to you.” Besides, it is not customary in such instances for the speaker to mention his name: “I, such and such a person,” for upon seeing him, he would recognize him. A similar case is the verse: Then Huram the King of Tyre said in writing, which he sent to Solomon.

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.