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Exodus 18:25

in Exodus 18

So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

KJV

And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

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This verse in Exodus 18

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

Moses listened to his father-in-law

on Exodus 18:24-25

Moses takes the advice, and the text reports it in one line with no word from God on either side of it. Israel's judiciary begins from counsel given by a Midianite priest, and the chapter lets that stand without comment.

This site's exposition

So Moses chose capable men from all Israel

The ranks of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens are the units of a mustered people. Albert Barnes reads them as roughly matching Israel's military and civil divisions. Deuteronomy 1:15 adds officers to the ranks, the title of the Israelite foremen whom Pharaoh's taskmasters beat at Exodus 5:14.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And Moses chose able men out of all Israel,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Moses sat to judge the people, &c.--We are here presented with a specimen of his daily morning occupations; and among the multifarious duties his divine legation imposed, it must be considered only a small portion of his official employments.

The words behind it

19 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיִּבְחַ֨רand he chose

    vaiyivcharH977 →171 times

  • מֹשֶׁ֤הMoses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

  • אַנְשֵׁי־men of

    ʾanshei-H582 →566 times

  • חַ֙יִל֙ability

    chayilH2428 →246 times

  • מִכָּל־from all

    mikolH3605 →5413 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • וַיִּתֵּ֥ןand he appointed

    vaiyitenH5414 →2011 times

  • אֹתָ֛ם<obj.> them

    ʾotamH853 →10935 times

  • רָאשִׁ֖יםchiefs

    rashimH7218 →599 times

  • עַל־over

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הָעָ֑םthe people of

    haamH5971 →1873 times

  • שָׂרֵ֤יicials of

    sareiH8269 →421 times

  • אֲלָפִים֙thousands

    ʾalafimH505 →505 times

  • שָׂרֵ֣יofficials of

    sareiH8269 →421 times

  • מֵא֔וֹתhundreds

    meotH3967 →581 times

  • שָׂרֵ֥יofficials of

    sareiH8269 →421 times

  • חֲמִשִּׁ֖יםfifties

    chamishimH2572 →163 times

  • וְשָׂרֵ֥יand officials of

    vesareiH8269 →421 times

  • עֲשָׂרֹֽת׃tens

    ʾasarotH6235 →176 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

14 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Deuteronomy 1:15So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your tribes.6 worksNumbers 1:16These men were appointed from the congregation; they were the leaders of the tribes of their fathers, the heads of the clans of Israel.5 worksExodus 18:21Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.3 worksNumbers 13:2“Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”3 worksNumbers 1:4And one man from each tribe, the head of each family, must be there with you.3 worksGenesis 47:6the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”3 works
The other 8 cross-references, with their words ▾
Acts 6:5This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.2 worksNumbers 30:1Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel, “This is what the LORD has commanded:2 works2 Chronicles 25:5Then Amaziah gathered the people of Judah and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and of hundreds. And he numbered those twenty years of age or older throughout Judah and Benjamin and found 300,000 chosen men able to serve in the army, bearing the spear and shield.2 worksJoshua 22:14With him they sent ten chiefs—one family leader from each tribe of Israel, each the head of a family among the clans of Israel.2 worksMicah 5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.2 works1 Chronicles 27:1This is the list of the Israelites—the heads of families, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in every matter concerning the divisions on rotating military duty each month throughout the year. There were 24,000 men in each division:2 worksNumbers 25:4Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that His fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”2 worksDeuteronomy 31:28Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officers so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Exodus 18:21

    Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

    it leads to

    • Acts 6:3

      Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will appoint this responsibility to them

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 2 Chronicles 19:5–10

      He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah.

    • Deuteronomy 1:13–17

      Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”

    • Deuteronomy 16:18–19

      You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.

    • 2 Samuel 23:3

      The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, ‘He who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,

  • Through

    Acts 6:5

    This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to…

    it leads to

    • Acts 11:24

      Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

    • Acts 21:8

      Leaving the next day, we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven.

    • Acts 8:5–40

      Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.

Where this verse is studied

About Exodus

The Israelites Leaving Egypt, David Roberts, 1829. Public domain.
The Israelites Leaving Egypt, David Roberts, 1829. Public domain.
Exodus: the study guide →Read Exodus 18 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Exodus 18 →