Exodus 4:18-10:29 NIV

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 4:18-31

Moses returns to Egypt (4:18-31)After meeting God, Moses returned to Jethro and then set out with his wife and sons for Egypt. God warned Moses of the stubbornness he could expect to meet in Pharaoh and of the disaster this would bring upon the Egyptian people (18-23). However, Moses could hardly instruct Israel to obey God when he himself had neglected the first requirement of the covenant, the circumcision of his son (cf. Genesis 17:10,Genesis 17:14). God sent Moses a near-fatal illness or... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Exodus 4:18

"And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren that are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.""Jethro his father-in-law ..." The Hebrew word here rendered father-in-law actually means any close kin by marriage; and brother-in-law would probably be a better rendition here. It is possible that Reuel was deceased and that his son Jethro had succeeded him as tribal leader.... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Exodus 4:18

Exodus 4:18. And Moses went, and returned, &c.— Thus commissioned by the Almighty, Moses determines immediately to enter upon his office: and, therefore, without informing Jethro of his main design, as that, perhaps, might have retarded it; he urges his desire to go and see whether his brethren (that is, most probably, not the Israelites in general, but those of his own family) were yet alive: to which Jethro readily consents. Moses in this instance, says Poole, has given us a rare example... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Exodus 4:18

18. Moses . . . returned to Jethro—Being in his service, it was right to obtain his consent, but Moses evinced piety, humility, and prudence, in not divulging the special object of his journey. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 4:1-18

6. Moses’ call 3:1-4:18 read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 4:18

Moses’ pessimism concerning the welfare of the Israelites comes out in his request that Jethro (Reuel of Exodus 2:18; cf. Exodus 3:1) let him return to Egypt. Moses apparently concluded, even after his experience at the burning bush, that there was no hope for the Israelites.This section makes it possible for us to gain great insight into Moses’ feelings about God’s promises to his forefathers and about his own life. Moses had become thoroughly disillusioned. He regarded himself as a failure,... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 4:1-31

Signs Attesting the Commission of Moses. His Return to EgyptMoses still hesitates, and now objects that the péople will not believe him when he tells them that Jehovah has sent him. He is granted the power of working three signs by way of substantiating his commission.2. A rod] probably his shepherd’s staff.3. Fled from before it] A graphic trait, showing that the change was real, and that Moses was not prepared for it. 4. By the tail] Snake charmers usually take snakes by the neck to prevent... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Exodus 4:18

Moses . . . returned to Jethro.—Heb., to Jether. When Moses married Zipporah, he was probably adopted into the tribe, of which Reuel, and after him Jethro, was the head. The tribal tie was close, and would make the asking of permission for even a temporary absence the proper, if not even the necessary, course Apart from this, Moses would have had to “return,” in order to restore the flock, which he was tending, to its owner. (See Exodus 3:1.)My brethren.—Not “my nation,” for Moses could not... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Exodus 4:1-31

The Rod That Is in Thine Hand Exodus 4:2 ; Exodus 4:17 I. God often does His greatest works by the humblest means. The great forces of nature are not in the earthquake which tumbles cities into ruins. This power passes in a moment; the soft silent light, the warm summer rain, the stars whose voice is not heard these are the majestic mighty forces which fill the earth with riches, and control the worlds which constitute the wide universe of God. II. So in Providence. The founders of... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Exodus 4:18-31

MOSES OBEYS.Exodus 4:18-31.Moses is now commissioned: he is to go to Egypt, and Aaron is coming thence to meet him. Yet he first returns to Midian, to Jethro, who is both his employer and the head of the family, and prays him to sanction his visit to his own people.There are duties which no family resistance can possibly cancel, and the direct command of God made it plain that this was one of them. But there are two ways of performing even the most imperative obligation, and religious people... read more

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 4:18-31

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Exodus 4:18

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Exodus 4:18

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Exodus 4:18

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 4:1-18

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 4:18

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 4:1-31

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Exodus 4:18

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Exodus 4:1-31

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Exodus 4:18-31

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