Atlas Biblica

    Exodus · 27 verses

    Exodus 18

    Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

    The chapter

    What happens here

    Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

    Moses spends the day with an entire people standing around him, and Jethro, his visiting father-in-law, takes one look at the arrangement and says, “What you are doing is not good.”

    A family arrives at the mountainvv. 1–12

    Jethro, priest of Midian, hears what the LORD has done for Moses and Israel and comes into the desert with Zipporah, Gershom, and Eliezer. Moses goes out to meet him, bows, kisses him, and brings him into the tent. There Moses tells the story of Pharaoh, the Egyptians, the hardships along the way, and the LORD’s deliverance. Jethro rejoices, blesses the LORD, and declares that the LORD is greater than all other gods. Then he brings offerings, and Aaron and the elders eat bread with him in the presence of God—a remarkably full family reunion, with a sacrifice attached.

    The queue is reorganisedvv. 13–27

    The next day Moses sits to judge the people from morning until evening, while they stand around him. Jethro asks why he sits alone, and Moses explains that the people come to inquire of God, bringing disputes for him to judge and the statutes and laws of God to make known. Jethro calls the task too heavy for one man and proposes a tiered arrangement: capable, trustworthy men are to lead thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, judging ordinary cases while bringing the difficult ones to Moses. Moses listens and does everything Jethro says. The great human queue acquires several smaller queues, and then Jethro is sent home.

    The text

    Read it

    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. Exod 18:1Now Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about all that God had done for Moses and His people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

    2. Exod 18:2After Moses had sent back his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had received her,

    3. Exod 18:3along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”

    4. Exod 18:4The other son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my father was my helper and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

    5. Exod 18:5Moses’ 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.

    6. Exod 18:6He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

    7. Exod 18:7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent.

    8. Exod 18:8Then Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships they had encountered along the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.

    9. Exod 18:9And Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had rescued from the hand of the Egyptians.

    10. Exod 18:10Jethro declared, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from the hand of the Egyptians.

    11. Exod 18:11Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.”

    12. Exod 18:12Then Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

    13. Exod 18:13The next day Moses took his seat to judge the people, and they stood around him from morning until evening.

    14. Exod 18:14When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone as judge, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?”

    15. Exod 18:15“Because the people come to me to inquire of God,” Moses replied.

    16. Exod 18:16“Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me to judge between one man and another, and I make known to them the statutes and laws of God.”

    17. Exod 18:17But Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good.

    18. Exod 18:18Surely you and these people with you will wear yourselves out, because the task is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone.

    19. Exod 18:19Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their causes to Him.

    20. Exod 18:20Teach them the statutes and laws, and show them the way to live and the work they must do.

    21. Exod 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.

    22. Exod 18:22Have these men judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you any major issue, but all minor cases they can judge on their own, so that your load may be lightened as they share it with you.

    23. Exod 18:23If you follow this advice and God so directs you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people can go home in peace.”

    24. Exod 18:24Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.

    25. Exod 18:25So 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.

    26. Exod 18:26And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.

    27. Exod 18:27Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own land.

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 308 passages were voted onto 24 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 21Acts 6:3Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will assign this responsibility to them
    • 11Psalms 95:3For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.
    • 20Deuteronomy 5:1Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I declare in your hearing this day. Learn them and observe them carefully.
    • 21Deuteronomy 1:13–17Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”
    • 212 Chronicles 19:5–10He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah.
    • 11Exodus 15:11Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
    • 26Exodus 18:22Have these men judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you any major issue, but all minor cases they can judge on their own, so that your load may be lightened as they share it with you.
    • 3Exodus 2:22And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
    • 112 Chronicles 2:5The house that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.
    • 18Numbers 11:14–17I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me.
    • 19Numbers 27:5So Moses brought their case before the LORD,
    • 20Psalms 143:8Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.
    • 25Deuteronomy 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.
    • 1Psalms 77:14–15You are the God who works wonders; You display Your strength among the peoples.
    • 1Exodus 2:16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.
    • 1Exodus 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.

    Onward

    Keep reading

    Next chapterExodus 1925 verses.Named hereEgyptEverything the graph connects to this name.BookExodusAll 40 chapters.Every bookThe Bible66 books, 1,189 chapters.