Exodus 18:7

7 And Moses went out into the coming of his ally, and worshipped, and kissed him, and they greeted themselves together with peaceable words. And when Jethro had entered into the tabernacle, (And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed before him, and kissed him, and they greeted each other with friendly words. And when Jethro had gone into the tent,)

Exodus 18:7 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 18:7

And Moses went out to meet his father in law
Out of the camp, at least out of his tent: the Targum of Jonathan says, from under the cloud of glory; how far he went is not certain, nor material to know: this was an instance of his great humility and modesty, and was doing Jethro a great deal of honour; that one who was in such great dignity, at the head of such a vast body of people, and superior to him both in natural and spiritual abilities, yet condescended to go forth in person to meet him, when he might have sent a guard of his men to escort him to his camp, which would have been honour sufficient; and it is not said he went out to meet his wife and children; for Aben Ezra says it was not usual for honourable men so to do:

and did obeisance:
to Jethro, bowed unto him and worshipped him in a civil way, after the manner of the eastern nations, who used to make very low bows to whom they paid civil respect:

and kissed him;
not to make him a proselyte, as the above Targum, nor in token of subjection, but of affection and friendship; it being usual for relations and friends to kiss each other at meeting or parting:

and they asked each other of their welfare;
or "peace" ^F14; of their prosperity and happiness, temporal and spiritual, of their peace, inward and outward, and of the bodily health of them and their families:

and they came into the tent;
the Targum of Jonathan says,

``into the tabernacle of the house of doctrine,''

or school room; which is not likely, since Jethro was a man well instructed in divine things, and needed not to be put to school; and if he did, it can hardly be thought that as soon as Moses met him he should set about the instruction of him; but into his tent where he dwelt; that, as Aben Ezra says, which was the known tent of Moses, though it is not expressly said his tent.

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 (Mwlvl) "ad pacem", Montanus; "de pace", Munster, Fagius, Drusius, Piscator; so Ainsworth.

Exodus 18:7 In-Context

5 Therefore Jethro, ally of Moses, came, and the sons of Moses and his wife came to Moses, into desert, where Jethro set tents beside the hill of God; (And so Jethro, Moses? father-in-law, came with Moses? wife and their sons, into the wilderness, where Moses had pitched the tents beside God's mountain;)

6 and he sent to Moses, and said, I Jethro, thine ally, come to thee, and thy wife, and thy two sons with her. (and he sent word to Moses, and said, I Jethro, thy father-in-law, have come to thee, with thy wife, and thy two sons with her.)

7 And Moses went out into the coming of his ally, and worshipped, and kissed him, and they greeted themselves together with peaceable words. And when Jethro had entered into the tabernacle, (And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed before him, and kissed him, and they greeted each other with friendly words. And when Jethro had gone into the tent,)

8 Moses told to him all (the) things which God had done to Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians, for Israel, and he told to him all the travail that befell to them in the way, of which the Lord had delivered them (and he told him of all the tribulation that had befallen them on the way, and how the Lord had saved them).

9 And Jethro was glad on all the goods which the Lord had done to Israel, for he [had] delivered Israel from the hand of [the] Egyptians. (And Jethro was glad for all the good things that the Lord had done for Israel, for he had saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians.)