Yesterday, 03:58 AM
The saga continues. The saga, that is, which is my project of going through Exodus chapter by chapter and posting my thoughts, asking questions, and giving commentary. Today, I am looking at Exodus 18. My primary source is chabad.org and my secondary source (for deciphering cryptic passages at chabad) is biblegateway.com. So here we go.
This passage sounds like I should be familiar with some background, but I don't remember any earlier passages in Exodus mentioning whether Jethro was among the Israelites who escaped Egypt or lived among the Midians in a land outside Egypt or apart from the slaves. Given that Midian is situated on the East side of the Gulf of Aqaba, it seems fair to assume Jethro wasn't among the Israelites who escaped Egypt and made a special trek from Midian to see Moses (that being said, I do vaguely recollect Zipporah being Midian being an issue, and maybe the answer is that Jethro and Zipporah's lineage was always Midian and therefore not Hebrew).
But the part about Zipporah being sent away especially makes me feel like I missed something. Why was Zipporah sent away? And when was this? Was there an earlier passage that accounts for this that I'm not remembering? The fact that verse 2 begins with "So Moses' father in law..." implying that Zipporah was sent away before Jethro heard about what God had done for the Israelites (it even reads as though Zipporah was sent away after Jethro heard about what God had done for the Israelites but before he took Zipporah and her sons). And where was Zipporah sent? It seems logical that she was sent to Midian as Jethro seems to now be taking her and her sons with him to meet Moses. The only additional information that biblegateway.com offers is that it was Moses who sent Zipporah away (presumably to protect her?).
And the names of the sons--Gershom and Eliezer--are so named, the passage implies, because of what Moses said. How are Moses' words and the names of his sons (are they his sons? Or were they fathered by a different man?) connected? Is this passage explaining the meaning of the names? So Gershom means "stranger in a foreign land"? And Eliezer means "he whose father's god came to his aid and rescued him from Pharaoh's sword"? And if so, does that mean Gershom was a stranger in a foreign land? Does it mean Eliezer was, like Moses, rescued from Pharaoh's sword by the God of Moses' father? And which father? Jethro or his biological father?
Are we already at the mountain of God? At Mt. Sinai? Chapter 17 open with:
And verse 7 has Moses naming the place Massah and Meribah:
It goes on to describe the battle with the Amalekites followed by Moses inscribing the event in a memorial and building an alter... all presumably at the same place. So did they travel since then or was this at the base of Mt. Sinai?
This theme seems to be a prominent one from the beginning. In the beginning, when Moses was testing Pharoah's resolve and the might of the Egyptian gods, there was a question lingering in the air: who was the mightier god? And indeed, I suspect the persistent skepticism of the Israelites since that point onwards revolves precisely on this question: is the God we are following really the most powerful, or should we be following another god? But in any case, Jethro seems to be convinced.
It's a rather long passage but I think it is important as it highlights two points: 1) that Jethro is acting just like a father (father or father-in-law, I don't think it matters)--he observes the work of his son and jumps in to offer advice based on wisdom and years of experience as leader of the Midians (I know this describes my father too a tee
). And 2) that Moses is, once again, being distanced from the people in order to be closer to God (it is true that Jethro's advice is to ease Moses's burden but as a consequence, Moses has more of a chance to consult directly with God on these matters as opposed to simply relaying the statutes and teachings of God to the people; and it even seems this was Jethro's intent as he says "you shall bring the matters to God"). In fact, he is distanced from the people by 4 degrees of separation (leaders over thousands, leaders over hundreds, leaders over fifties, and leaders over tens). So the matters that make their way to Moses must be complicated and heavy matters indeed.
I also wonder what Aaron's role in all this is. Does this hierarchy of leaders replace Aaron? Up to this point, Aaron did (sometimes) play the role of intermediary between the people and Moses, at least when it came to performing ritualistic/ceremonial rites. And maybe he still plays this role. After all, performing ritualistic/ceremonial rites is not the same as bringing a legal/judicial dispute before Moses or whoever is appointed leader of the disputants in question. But still, it seems that if such a massive hierarchical structure is warranted in the case of resolving legal/judicial disputes given the sheer number of people comprising the nation of Israel, surely a similar hierarchical structure would be warranted in the case of performing ritualistic/ceremonial rites (unless I've got Aaron's role wrong).
It's almost as if Jethro was brought to Moses for this express purpose--as if it was part of God's plan to have Jethro meet with Moses solely to establish the judicial order, and once established, it was time for Jethro to return home. (It would have been nice to know how Moses's reunion with his wife and sons went as well, but I guess that is left to the reader's imagination.)
Exodus 18:1-4 Wrote:1 Now Moses' father in law, Jethro, the chieftain of Midian, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, His people that the Lord had taken Israel out of Egypt. 2 So Moses' father in law, Jethro, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after she had been sent away, 3 and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom, because he [Moses] said, "I was a stranger in a foreign land," 4 and one who was named Eliezer, because [Moses said,] "The God of my father came to my aid and rescued me from Pharaoh's sword."
This passage sounds like I should be familiar with some background, but I don't remember any earlier passages in Exodus mentioning whether Jethro was among the Israelites who escaped Egypt or lived among the Midians in a land outside Egypt or apart from the slaves. Given that Midian is situated on the East side of the Gulf of Aqaba, it seems fair to assume Jethro wasn't among the Israelites who escaped Egypt and made a special trek from Midian to see Moses (that being said, I do vaguely recollect Zipporah being Midian being an issue, and maybe the answer is that Jethro and Zipporah's lineage was always Midian and therefore not Hebrew).
But the part about Zipporah being sent away especially makes me feel like I missed something. Why was Zipporah sent away? And when was this? Was there an earlier passage that accounts for this that I'm not remembering? The fact that verse 2 begins with "So Moses' father in law..." implying that Zipporah was sent away before Jethro heard about what God had done for the Israelites (it even reads as though Zipporah was sent away after Jethro heard about what God had done for the Israelites but before he took Zipporah and her sons). And where was Zipporah sent? It seems logical that she was sent to Midian as Jethro seems to now be taking her and her sons with him to meet Moses. The only additional information that biblegateway.com offers is that it was Moses who sent Zipporah away (presumably to protect her?).
And the names of the sons--Gershom and Eliezer--are so named, the passage implies, because of what Moses said. How are Moses' words and the names of his sons (are they his sons? Or were they fathered by a different man?) connected? Is this passage explaining the meaning of the names? So Gershom means "stranger in a foreign land"? And Eliezer means "he whose father's god came to his aid and rescued him from Pharaoh's sword"? And if so, does that mean Gershom was a stranger in a foreign land? Does it mean Eliezer was, like Moses, rescued from Pharaoh's sword by the God of Moses' father? And which father? Jethro or his biological father?
Exodus 18:5 Wrote:Now Moses' father in law, Jethro, and his [Moses'] sons and his wife came to Moses, to the desert where he was encamped, to the mountain of God.
Are we already at the mountain of God? At Mt. Sinai? Chapter 17 open with:
Exodus 17:1 Wrote:The entire community of the children of Israel journeyed from the desert of Sin to their travels by the mandate of the Lord. They encamped in Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.
And verse 7 has Moses naming the place Massah and Meribah:
Exodus 17:7 Wrote:He named the place Massah [testing] and Meribah [quarreling] because of the quarrel of the children of Israel and because of their testing the Lord, saying, Is the Lord in our midst or not?
It goes on to describe the battle with the Amalekites followed by Moses inscribing the event in a memorial and building an alter... all presumably at the same place. So did they travel since then or was this at the base of Mt. Sinai?
Exodus 18:11 Wrote:[Jethro said "]Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the deities, for with the thing that they plotted, [He came] upon them."
This theme seems to be a prominent one from the beginning. In the beginning, when Moses was testing Pharoah's resolve and the might of the Egyptian gods, there was a question lingering in the air: who was the mightier god? And indeed, I suspect the persistent skepticism of the Israelites since that point onwards revolves precisely on this question: is the God we are following really the most powerful, or should we be following another god? But in any case, Jethro seems to be convinced.
Exodus 18:13-23 Wrote:13 It came about on the next day that Moses sat down to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening. 14 When Moses' father in law saw what he was doing to the people, he said, "What is this thing that you are doing to the people? Why do you sit by yourself, while all the people stand before you from morning till evening?" 15 Moses said to his father in law, "For the people come to me to seek God. 16 If any of them has a case, he comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the statutes of God and His teachings." 17 Moses' father in law said to him, "The thing you are doing is not good. 18 You will surely wear yourself out both you and these people who are with you for the matter is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. 19 Now listen to me. I will advise you, and may the Lord be with you. [You] represent the people before God, and you shall bring the matters to God. 20 And you shall admonish them concerning the statutes and the teachings, and you shall make known to them the way they shall go and the deed[s] they shall do. 21 But you shall choose out of the entire nation men of substance, God fearers, men of truth, who hate monetary gain, and you shall appoint over them [Israel] leaders over thousands, leaders over hundreds, leaders over fifties, and leaders over tens. 22 And they shall judge the people at all times, and it shall be that any major matter they shall bring to you, and they themselves shall judge every minor matter, thereby making it easier for you, and they shall bear [the burden] with you. 23 If you do this thing, and the Lord commands you, you will be able to survive, and also, all this people will come upon their place in peace."
It's a rather long passage but I think it is important as it highlights two points: 1) that Jethro is acting just like a father (father or father-in-law, I don't think it matters)--he observes the work of his son and jumps in to offer advice based on wisdom and years of experience as leader of the Midians (I know this describes my father too a tee
). And 2) that Moses is, once again, being distanced from the people in order to be closer to God (it is true that Jethro's advice is to ease Moses's burden but as a consequence, Moses has more of a chance to consult directly with God on these matters as opposed to simply relaying the statutes and teachings of God to the people; and it even seems this was Jethro's intent as he says "you shall bring the matters to God"). In fact, he is distanced from the people by 4 degrees of separation (leaders over thousands, leaders over hundreds, leaders over fifties, and leaders over tens). So the matters that make their way to Moses must be complicated and heavy matters indeed.I also wonder what Aaron's role in all this is. Does this hierarchy of leaders replace Aaron? Up to this point, Aaron did (sometimes) play the role of intermediary between the people and Moses, at least when it came to performing ritualistic/ceremonial rites. And maybe he still plays this role. After all, performing ritualistic/ceremonial rites is not the same as bringing a legal/judicial dispute before Moses or whoever is appointed leader of the disputants in question. But still, it seems that if such a massive hierarchical structure is warranted in the case of resolving legal/judicial disputes given the sheer number of people comprising the nation of Israel, surely a similar hierarchical structure would be warranted in the case of performing ritualistic/ceremonial rites (unless I've got Aaron's role wrong).
Exodus 18:27 Wrote:Moses saw his father in law off, and he went away to his land.
It's almost as if Jethro was brought to Moses for this express purpose--as if it was part of God's plan to have Jethro meet with Moses solely to establish the judicial order, and once established, it was time for Jethro to return home. (It would have been nice to know how Moses's reunion with his wife and sons went as well, but I guess that is left to the reader's imagination.)