Exodus 18:4

4 and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh").

Exodus 18:4 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 18:4

And the name of the other was Eliezer
Who seems to be his second son, and was that which was circumcised by Zipporah at the inn, and about which there was such a stir, ( Exodus 4:24-26 ) , and signifies "my God [is] help", or, his helper:

for the God of my father, [said he], was mine help, and delivered me
from the sword of Pharaoh;
who, on hearing that Moses had killed an Egyptian, was wroth with him, and sought to slay him; and perhaps drew his sword for that purpose, but was prevented: however, this, in all human probability, would have been the case, that he would have fallen by his sword either in a private or public manner, had it not been for the interposition of divine Providence, and therefore he gave this name to his child, to be a standing memorial of it.

Exodus 18:4 In-Context

2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro took her back,

3 along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, "I have been an alien in a foreign land"),

4 and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh").

5 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came into the wilderness where Moses was encamped at the mountain of God, bringing Moses' sons and wife to him.

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

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb [Eli,] my God; [ezer,] help