Exodus 18:5
in Exodus 18Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, along with Moses’ wife and sons, came to him in the desert, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the mount of God:
KJV
And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
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This verse in Exodus 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The wilderness - i. e., according to the view which seems on the whole most probable, the plain near the northern summit of Horeb, the mountain of God. The valley which opens upon Er Rahah on the left of Horeh is called “Wady Shueib” by the Arabs, i. e. the vale of Hobab.
This site's exposition
came with his sons and his wife
on Exodus 18:5-6
Jethro reaches Moses at the mount of God, which Exodus 3:1 calls Horeb and names as the place where Moses was keeping this same man's flock when he saw the bush. God's answer to Moses there was a token that could only be checked at the end of the errand, that when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. The people are camped at that mountain when Jethro walks in, so the sign of Exodus 3:12 has now come due.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Moses had now a great deal both of honour and care put upon him, and it was fit that his wife should be with him to share with him in both. Notice is taken of the significant names of his two sons. The eldest was called Gershom (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And Jethro, Moses's father in law,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Jethro . . . came . . . unto Moses, &c.--It is thought by many eminent commentators that this episode is inserted out of its chronological order, for it is described as occurring when the Israelites were "encamped at the mount of God." And yet they did not reach it till the third month after their departure from Egypt (Ex 19:1, 2; compare De 1:6, 9-15).
Jethro - came with his sons - There are several reasons to induce us to believe that the fact related here is out of its due chronological order, and that Jethro did not come to Moses till the beginning of the second year of the exodus, (see Num 10:11), some time after the tabernacle had been erected, and the Hebrew commonwealth established, both in things civil and ecclesiastical. This opinion is founded on the following reasons: - 1. On this verse, where it is said that Jethro came to Moses while he was encamped at the mount of God. Now it appears, from Exo 19:1, Exo 19:2, that they were not yet come to Horeb, the mount of God, and that they did not arrive there till the third month after their departure from Egypt; and the transactions with which this account is connected certainly took place in the second month; see Exo 16:1. 2. Moses, in Deu 1:6, Deu 1:9, Deu 1:10, Deu 1:12-15, relates that when they were about to depart from Horeb, which was on the 20th day of the second month of the second year from their leaving Egypt, that he then complained that he was not able to bear the burden alone of the government of a people so numerous; and that it was at that time that he established judges and captains over thousands and hundreds and fifties and tens, which appears to be the very transaction recorded in this place; the measure itself being recommended by Jethro, and done in consequence of his advice. 3. From Num 10:11, Num 10:29, etc., we find that when the cloud was taken up, and the Israelites were about to depart from Horeb, that Moses addressed Hobab, who is supposed to have been the same as Jethro, and who then was about to return to Midian, his own country, entreating him to stay with them as a guide while they traveled through the wilderness. […]
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֞א | vaiyavo' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| יִתְר֨וֹ | yitro | Jethro | H3503 → | 9 times |
| חֹתֵ֥ן | choten | [the] father-in-law of | H2859 → | 33 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֛ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וּבָנָ֥יו | uvanav | and sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וְאִשְׁתּ֖וֹ | veishto | and wife his | H802 → | 781 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֑ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמִּדְבָּ֗ר | hamidbar | the wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| ה֛וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| חֹנֶ֥ה | choneh | [was] encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| הַ֥ר | har | [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיָּבֹ֞אand he came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
יִתְר֨וֹJethro
yitroH3503 →9 times
חֹתֵ֥ן[the] father-in-law of
chotenH2859 →33 times
מֹשֶׁ֛הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וּבָנָ֥יוand sons his
uvanavH1121 →4930 times
וְאִשְׁתּ֖וֹand wife his
veishtoH802 →781 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֑הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמִּדְבָּ֗רthe wilderness
hamidbarH4057 →270 times
אֲשֶׁר־where
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
ה֛וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
חֹנֶ֥ה[was] encamped
chonehH2583 →143 times
שָׁ֖םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
הַ֥ר[the] mountain of
harH2022 →546 times
הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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 3:12“I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will…
it leads to
- Joshua 1:5
No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Deuteronomy 31:23
Then the LORD commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land that I swore to give them, and I will be with…
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Genesis 31:3
Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
- Joshua 1:5
Through
Exodus 3:1Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 19:8
So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
- Exodus 17:6
Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in…
- Psalms 78:70–72
He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
- 1 Kings 19:8
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.