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Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXἘξαπέστειλε δὲ Μωυσῆς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ γαμβρὸν, καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ. (Exapesteile de Mōusaʸs ton heautou gambron, kai apaʸlthen eis taʸn gaʸn autou. )
BrTrAnd Moses dismissed his father-in-law, and he returned to his own land.
ULTAnd Moses let his father-in-law go, and he went into his own land.
USTThen Moses said goodbye to his father-in-law, and Jethro returned home.
BSB § Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own land.
JPSAnd Moses let his father-in-law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
ASVAnd Moses let his father-in-law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
DRAAnd he let his kinsman depart: and he returned and went into his own country.
YLTAnd Moses sendeth his father-in-law away, and he goeth away unto his own land.
DrbyAnd Moses sent away his father-in-law, and he departed into his land.
RVAnd Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
WbstrAnd Moses let his father-in-law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
KJB-1769¶ And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
KJB-1611¶ And Moses let his father in law depart, and he went his way into his owne land. (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
BshpsAnd Moyses let his father in lawe depart: and he went into his owne lande. (And Moses let his father in law depart: and he went into his own land.)
GnvaAfterward Moses let his father in law depart, and he went into his countrey. (Afterward Moses let his father in law depart, and he went into his country. )
CvdlSo Moses let his father in lawe departe in to his owne londe. (So Moses let his father in law depart in to his own land.)
WyclAnd Moises lefte `his alie, which turnede ayen, and yede in to his lond. (And Moses left `his alie, which turned again, and went in to his land.)
LuthAlso ließ Mose seinen Schwäher in sein Land ziehen. (So let Mose his Schwäher in his Land ziehen.)
ClVgDimisitque cognatum suum: qui reversus abiit in terram suam. (Dimisitque cognatum suum: who returned he_is_gone in the_earth/land suam. )
18:13-27 Jethro’s wise advice is a further example of God’s providence, although it was not given in a miraculous way. Jethro introduced Moses to a style of leadership that involved delegation of authority. It appears that Moses had been following an Egyptian style of leadership that was heavily hierarchical and based on circumstances. No Egyptian law code has yet been discovered. It appears that all authority flowed downward from the pharaoh, who ruled by fiat. Jethro proposed a structure of delegation that would make Moses’ life easier.
Like several other events recorded in Scripture, the Bible’s account of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai includes an abundance of geographical references, yet it remains one of the most hotly debated topics among scholars, and numerous theories have been offered. The vast majority of geographical references provided in the story are disputed, including the place where the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the location of Mount Sinai (see Proposed Locations for Mount Sinai map), and the various stops along the Israelites’ journey. A few locations have been established with some degree of scholarly consensus, but even these are not without opposing viewpoints. Amidst this incredible diversity of opinion, however, a single verse provides one of the most helpful clues for weighing the merits of one viewpoint over another: “By the way of Mount Seir it takes eleven days to reach Kadesh-barnea from Horeb” (Deuteronomy 1:2). For those who assume the Bible’s account to be trustworthy, this verse appears to require the following for any theory to be considered viable: 1) Kadesh-barnea and Mount Sinai must have been located at a distance from each other that could reasonably have been expected to take eleven days for an entire nation of people with small children, flocks, equipment, and perhaps even elderly members to travel on foot; and 2) the pace established by this distance over eleven days should most likely be considered the typical pace for the Israelites as they traveled from place to place along the other parts of the journey. This two-pronged test clearly strains many of the theories put forth to this point, especially when one factors in the time references given for the start of the journey (Exodus 12:6; Numbers 33:3), the middle of the journey (Exodus 16:1; Numbers 33:8), and the end of the journey (Exodus 19:1). In short, the journey from Rameses to the Wilderness of Sin took 31 days, since it included the 15th day of the second month, and the rest of the journey took another 16 days, assuming they arrived at Mount Sinai on the 15th day (not the first day, etc.) of the third month. Along with these criteria, a theory’s overall congruence with other established geographical and archeological data should bolster its credibility over other proposals. Another consideration is the extreme similarity between the events at Rephidim (Exodus 17) and the events at Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 20:1-13; 27:12-14; Deuteronomy 32:51; Ezekiel 47:19; 48:28), raising the question of whether Rephidim (meaning “resting places”) is in fact Kadesh-barnea. With these things in mind, the map below proposes a route for the exodus that meets virtually all of these criteria. A careful analysis and explanation of all the elements of the map is far beyond the scope of this article, but a few key points should be noted. The term Red Sea, in addition to referring to what we now regard it, must have also applied to the interconnected lakes and marshlands that lay along what is now the Suez Canal. Also, the portion of the journey that passed through the wilderness for three days without water (Exodus 15:22; Numbers 33:8) may have been comprised of a partial first day, a full second day, and a partial third day, much like Jesus’ time in the tomb is reckoned as three days in Matthew 12:40. Most notably, Mount Sinai is placed on this map at Gebel Khashm et-Tarif, which is appropriately located near, but not in, Midian (Exodus 3:1; 18:5; Numbers 10:29-30). It is also located 89 miles from Kadesh-barnea (assuming Kadesh is at Tall al-Quderat), which establishes a reasonable pace of 7.6 miles (12.2 km) per day to travel between them in 11 days. This lines up well with several known sources of water along that route (e.g., `Ain Qedeis [Hazar-addar?], Tamilat Suwelima [Hor-haggiggad?], and the spring at Kuntillet al-Girafi [unknown ancient identification]). This general pace then synchronizes very well with the timetable and distances required by this map for the other parts of the journey. The distance from Rameses to the Wilderness of Sin (where it is located here) could be completed in under 26 days, leaving an acceptable buffer of about 5 days for the parting of the Red Sea and perhaps a slower pace through the Wilderness of Shur/Etham. The entire journey took about 60 days, and the journey from the Wilderness of Sin to Mount Sinai took about 29 days. This leaves an acceptable buffer of time to complete the rest of the journey (about 16 days of travel) with a very adequate two weeks of extra time for Jethro to visit Moses and the Israelites to do battle with the Amalekites (Exodus 17-18). It should be noted that this timetable generally assumes (but does not necessarily require) that travel continued on sabbath days, but Scripture does not make clear whether travel was prohibited as work prior to the giving of the law at Mount Sinai.
