seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Exodus 18:1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom,[a] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4 and the other was named Eliezer,(b) for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”
2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom,[a] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; 4 and the other was named Eliezer,(b) for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”
The commentaries are not on the same page about why Zipporah left Egypt. It could have been that Moses sent them away because of the danger. It would have been horrible if they had been affected by the plagues. Then again it could have been that incident way back in Exodus 4 that caused her to take the sons back home.
This is from Biblehub.com.
2)After he had sent her back.—Heb., after her dismissal. The fact had not been previously stated, but is in harmony with the general narrative, which has been absolutely silent concerning Zipporah since Exodus 4:26. Moses had sent Zipporah back to her own relations, either in anger, on account of the scene described in Exodus 4:24-26, or simply that he might not be encumbered with wife and children during the dangers and troubles which he anticipated in Egypt. Jethro assumed that, as the main troubles were now over, he would be glad to have his wife and children restored to him.
Wait.... who is Zipporah's father? This is from bible-commentaries.com.
In all translations Jethro is called the father-in-law of Moses. As we mentioned in chapter 2 the change of name from Reuel to Jethro does not necessarily mean that we are dealing with two different persons. But the word chothen, which is translated with father-in-law has a rather extended meaning. According to Adam Clarke it simply means a "relative by marriage."
This comes from the easy English commentary.
Probably Moses had sent his wife and his two sons to her father. They would be safe there. ‘Gershom’ means ‘a stranger there’ (Exodus 2: 22). The name ‘Gershom’ shows how unhappy Moses was earlier. He had been happy in Egypt and then he had to leave his home there. Moses’ second son’s name does not appear anywhere else. But ‘Eliezer’ means ‘God is my helper’. By the time his son, Eliezer, was born, Moses understood God better. He had realised how much God had done for him. Moses had left Egypt a few years earlier. And God had helped him in so many ways since that time.
Moses and the people had moved east from Rephidim to ‘God’s mountain’. So they were probably in the lower area near Mount Sinai.
Moses and the people had moved east from Rephidim to ‘God’s mountain’. So they were probably in the lower area near Mount Sinai.
So Moses is near Mt. Sinai and his family is back with him. Jethro is a priest who knows God. So they have something in common.
