Verse seven

7 And Moses went out to encounter meet (encounter) his father-in-law, and bowed, and kissed to him; and they asked a man for the peace (welfare) to his neighbor; And they came to the tent.

Uh, what about Moses' wife and sons? Why didn't he ask them of their welfare? Why didn't Moses kiss his wife and his sons? Didn't Moses care about his children? Was there a disconnect between he and his sons? It was not as if Moses was away for many years, for it was approximately, at most, one year since he last saw them. There must have still been a riff between Moses and Zipporah that still was not settled regarding the circumcision account.



Verse eight

8 And Moses accounted (enumerated, enrolled, scrolled, numbered) to his father-in-law את all whch יהוה did to Pharaoh and to Egypt upon the occasions (sake, concern, pokings) of Israel, and את all of the weariness (trouble, travail, distress) which had found them among the way, and יהוה delivered them.

It is like Jacob telling Laban in Padan Aram saying that everything happened to him back in Hebron, which is noted in the Torah portion of Vay-Yeytsey, in the book of Genesis

Genesis 29:13 And was, as Laban heard את-the hearing (report) of Jacob, son of his sister, and ran to meet (encounter) him, and embraced to him, and kissed to him, and brought him to his house. And accounted (recorded, enumerated, scrolled) to Laban את all of these words. 

It's all in the blabber mouthing family.



Verses nine through twelve

9 And Jethro was joined (united?) over (upon) all of the goodness which יהוה had done to Israel which He had delivered from the hand of Egypt. 10 And Jethro said, Blessed be יהוה which has delivered you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of Pharaoh which delivered את-the People from under the hand of Egypt. 11 Now I know for יהוה is greater than all of the elohim: For in the word which they were proud upon (over, above) them. 12 And Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, took an Elevation Offering (Ascension Offering, Burnt Offering) and Sacrifices to Elohim: And Aaron and all of the Elders of Israel came to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses to the face of The Elohim.

Jethro recognized that יהוה is the Elohim from the stories he had heard from sources, and noted it to Moses. Jethro made an Elevation Offering to show his dedication and acknowledgment to יהוה, and fulfilled it through the Food Covenant by eating bread with Moses, Aaron and the Elders of Israel before יהוה. What a sight that must have been. This should be a scene for a movie in which directors should stick to the Biblical text.



Verse thirteen

JETHRO AT MOUNT SINAI 

SECOND DAY: MORNING

13 And was from the morrow, and Moses sat to judge (ordinate) את-the People: and the People stood upon (over) Moses from the breaking period (morning) unto the mixing period (evening).

Anyone want Moses' job? Moses took all of the day to hear case after case. How did he take a lunch break? By the end of this verse, it took the time line to the end of the second day of Jethro's visit.



Verses fourteen through sixteen

JETHRO AT MOUNT SINAI

THIRD DAY: EARLY DURING THE NIGHT

14 And the father-in-law of Moses saw את all which he was doing to the People, and said, What is this word which you are doing to the people? Why were you sitting by your aloneness, and all of the people were standing upon (over) you from breaking period (morning) unto mixing period (evening)? 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, For the People have come to me to seek (inquire) Elohim: 16 For a word shall be to them, have come to me; and I judge (ordinate) between a man and between his neighbor, and I make known את-the Statutes of The Elohim, and את-His Teachings (Torahs).

This is Jethro, being a true father to Moses, playing another role, and his role is based on the meanings of Jethro's name, which noted earlier means "excellence" and "superiority" regarding Moses' way of handling the matters toward the people all day long. It shows a side of Jethro that he cared about his son-in-law. I wished Zipporah would show that she cared for her husband as well.



Verses seventeen and eighteen

17 And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, The word which you are doing is not good. 18 Wearing (Fainting), you will wear out (faint), also you, also this People which are with you: for the word is heavy from (with) you; You are not able to do him by your aloneness.


This is Jethro's response in his role play based on the "excellence" of his observation toward Moses, which I will show in a moment.

In verse eighteen of this week's Torah portion passage, It is probable the phrase that Jethro said to Moses, "...for the word is heavy from (with) you;...",  is the phrase Edward G. Robinson, playing Dathan in The Ten Commandments movie, said to Moses at Mount Sinai by saying "You take too much upon yourself". The script writer took Jethro's words and applied it to Dathan instead. Jethro should have sued Cecil B. DeMille for copyright infringment. :)

Notice that in verse eighteen of this week's Torah portion passage that the word "you" is bold in pink. In the Hebrew text, the you is in the feminine gender which tells us that Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, was speaking to Moses' "soul", in which the soul, whether of a man or of a woman is "feminine".



Verses nineteen and twenty

19 Now listen in my voice. I will counsel (consult, advise) you, and Elohim shall be with you: You will be for the People opposite (at the front of, a circumcision of) The Elohim, and you, you will bring את-the words to The Elohim: 20 And you shall delegate (admonish, enlighten, warn) them את-the Statutes and את-the Teachings (Torahs), and you shall make known to them את-the way they shall walk (go) in her and את-the doings (work) which they should do.

Jethro continues with the other meaning of his name

Looking at the word JETHRO

The Hebrew word for Jethro is "Yeeth-roh"- Yod, Tav, Resh, Vav (יתרו). It is from Strong's Concordance number 3503, and its definition

From H3499 with pronominal suffix; his excellence; Jethro, Moses’ father in law: - Jethro. Compare H3500.

from 3499 "yeh-thehr" (יתר), and its defintion

Properly an overhanging, that is, (by implication) an excess, superiority, remainder; also a small rope (as hanging free): -    + abundant, cord, exceeding, excellency (-ent), what they leave, that hath left, plentifully, remnant, residue, rest, string, with.

Jethro was giving his "excellence" and "superiority"- through his counsel to Moses.

The first Aleph-Tav is next to the phrase "the way". This phrase is noted in the Gospel of John

John 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Yeshua saith unto him, I am the Way...

Yeshua revealed to them that He, the Aleph and the Tav, is "the Way".

The second Aleph-Tav is next to the phrase "the work". This phrase is also noted in the Gospel of John

John 4:34 Yeshua saith unto them, My Meat is to do the Will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His Work.

John 6:29 Yeshua answered and said unto them, This is the Work of יהוה, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.

John 9:4 I must work the Works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.


John 17:4 I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the Work which Thou gavest Me to do.

Yeshua is the Aleph and the Tav who is "the Work", which was "the Father's Work".

 Also, in the first century, there is notion that the believers of Yeshua were called "Followers of The Way".

Notice that in verse nineteen of this week's Torah portion passage that the word "you" is bold in pink. In the Hebrew text, the you is in the feminine gender which tells us that Jethro was speaking to Moses' "soul", in which the soul, whether of a man or of a woman is "feminine". It means that Jethro is saying to Moses that Elohim will be with his "soul".



Verses twenty-one through twenty three

21 And you, you shall provide (perceive, envision, gaze) from all of the People men of valor (valiance), revering (aweing, fearing) Elohim, men of truth, haters of gain (profit, covetousness, unjust gain); and you will set over (upon) them of princes of thousands, princes of hundreds, princes of fifties, and princes of tens: 22 And they will judge את-the People in all times: And shall be, they shall bring (come) to you any of the great word, and any of the small word they, they shall judge (ordinate): And shall be easier (lighter) from upon yourself, and they shall bear (carry, lift up) with you. 23 If you do את-this word, and Elohim commands you, and you shall be able at standing, and also all of this People shall go over (upon) their place in peace.

In other words, Moses was to set different levels of authority to hear cases. This is just like the United States judicial system, or so it is supposed to be. Nevertheless, we have a local court, followed by a District or County Court, then a state court, then a Federal Circut court, and finally the Supreme Court. These U.S. courts were based on the rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. It has been working that way, more or less, for a long time, until the U.S. went overboard with the system saying "We will take it all the way to the Supreme Court, no matter what the results are from the lower courts". This is an act of abuse of the Judicial system.

Indirectly related, this principle of the princes of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens was used during Yeshua's life, which is noted in the Gospel of Mark

Mark 6:34 And Yeshua, when He came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and He began to teach them many things. 35 And when the day was now far spent, His disciples came unto Him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: 36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. 37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto Him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? 38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? Go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. 39 And He commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41 And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, He looked up to the heavens, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42 And they did all eat, and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.

Yeshua honored the basis of Jethro's suggestion that Moses honored through separating the people into groups of hundreds and fifties.

Notice that in verse twenty two of this week's Torah portion passage that the word "you" is bold in pink. In the Hebrew text, the you is in the feminine gender which tells us that Jethro was speaking to Moses' "soul", in which the soul, whether of a man or of a woman is "feminine". What it tells us is Jethro was saying to Moses that the various rulers will bear Moses' "soul". We as believers in Yeshua are bearing Yeshua's "Soul" via the Ruakh HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) in doing His Work.

!!!כבד לך יהוה



Verses twenty four through twenty six

24 And Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all which was said. 25 And Moses chose men of valor (valiance) from all of Israel, and gave them of heads over (upon) the People, of princes of Thousands, of princes of Hundreds, of princes of Fifties, and of princes of Tens. 26 And they judged (ordinated) את-the People in all times: They brought to Moses את-the hard (severe, fierce) word, and they judged (ordinated) themselves any of the small word.

There were two different matter later in the Torah of hard cases that came to Moses. One matter was the case of a father having no male heirs, which is noted in the Torah portion of Pinkhas, in the book of Numbers

Numbers 27:1 And the daughters of Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, of the family of Manasseh, son of Joseph, they came near: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood to the face of Moses, and to the face of Eleazar, the Priest, and to the face of the Rulers and all of the Congregation, at the Entrance of the Tent of Appointment, to say, 3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the midst of the Congregation that were appointed upon (over) יהוה in the congregation of Korah; that had died in his sin, and there were no sons to him. 4 To why should the name of our father be scraped away (shaved away) from the midst of his family, for was not to him a son?! Give to us a possession (seize) among the midst of the brothers of our father. 5 And Moses brought near את-their charge (cause, custom issue) to the Face of יהוה.

6 And יהוה spoke to Moses, to say, 7 Thus the daughters of Zelophehad had spoken: Giving, you shall give to them a scraping (shaving) of an inheritance in the midst of the brothers of their father; and you shall have את-the inheritance of their father go over to them. 8 And you shall speak to the Sons of Israel, to say, When a man shall die, and has not a son to him, And you shall have את-his inheritance go over to his daughter. 9 And if has not a daughter to him, and you shall give את-his inheritance to his brother. 10 And if has not to him brothers, and you shall give את-his inheritance to the brother of his father. 11 And if have no brothers to his father, and you shall give את-his inheritance to his relative that is near to him from his family, and shall possess her: and she shall be to the Sons of Israel for a Statute of Judgment, as the which יהוה commanded את-Moses.

Another matter was a follow-up case regarding daughters being heirs of one tribe potentially marrying a man from another tribe and the tribe losing that part of the territory, which is noted in the Torah portion of Masei, in the book of Numbers

Numbers 36:1 And came near the heads of the fathers of the families of the sons of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the families of the sons of Joseph, and they spoke to the face of Moses, and to the face of the Rulers, the Heads of the Fathers of the Sons of Israel: 2 and they said, יהוה commanded את-my lord (master) to give את-the land among an inheritance on the lot to the Sons of Israel: and my lord (master) was commanded on יהוה to give את-the inheritance of Zelophehad, our brother, to his daughters. 3 And they shall be to one from the sons of the tribes of the Sons of Israel for wives, and their inheritance shall be scraped away (shaved away, removed) from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be added upon the inheritance of the tribe which they shall belong to them: and our inheritance from the lot shall be scraped away (shaved away, removed). 4 And if the Jubilee shall be to the Sons of Israel, and their inheritance shall be added upon the inheritance of the tribe which they shall belong to them: and from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers, their inheritance shall be scraped away (shaved away, removed). 5 And Moses commanded את-the Sons of Israel upon (over) the Mouth of יהוה, to say, Thus, the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks. 6 This is the Word which יהוה commanded to the daughters of Zelophehad, to say, For the goodness in their eyes, they shall surely (only) be wives to the family of the tribe of their father, they shall be for wives. 7 And she shall not circumvent (revolve) the inheritance of the Sons of Israel from tribe to tribe: for a man of the Sons of Israel shall cling on the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers, 8 and any daughter possessing an inheritance from the tribes of the Sons of Israel, she shall be for a wife to one from the families of the tribe of her father, by that, the Sons of Israel, they shall possess a man an inheritance of his fathers. 9 and she shall not circumvent (revolve) the inheritance from a tribe to another tribe, for the tribes of the Sons of Israel, they shall cling a man on his inheritance. 10 As the which יהוה commanded את-Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad, they did: 11 And Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, they were for wives to the sons of their uncles (father brothers): 12 they were for wives with the families of the sons of Manasseh, son of Joseph. and she was their inheritance upon (over) the tribe of the family of their father. 13 These are the Commandments and the Judgments, which יהוה commanded on the hand of Moses to the Sons of Israel, in the plains (going overs) of Moab, upon Jordan at Jericho [(Jordan-Jericho)].



Verse twenty seven

JETHRO AT MOUNT SINAI

THIRD DAY: DURING THE EARLY MORNING

27 And Moses sent away את-his father-in-law; and went by himself to his land.

Jethro stayed three days with Moses at Mount Sinai before returning to his land. As noted earlier, there is a strong probability that the duration of Jethro's stay with Moses was the same three days time that the Sons of Israel were told to sanctify themselves for the third day that יהוה was to come down on Mount Sinai, which I will note later.

At times, we in Messiah need some Jethros in our lives to give us some "experience" and expertise to better our lives, and make our lives easier, so that we don't wear ourselves out.