Exodus 18:4

4 The other son was named Eliezer, ^[a] for Moses had said, “The God of my father was my helper 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 back his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had received her,

3 along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”

4 The other son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my father was my helper and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

5 Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, along with Moses’ wife and sons, came to him in the desert, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.

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] Eliezer means God is my helper.