Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Key: khaki:verbs, blue:Elohim.
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).
BrLXXΚαὶ ἐξῆλθεν Ἰοθὸρ ὁ γαμβρὸς Μωυσῆ καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ πρὸς Μωυσῆν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, οὗ παρενέβαλεν ἐπʼ ὄρους τοῦ Θεοῦ. (Kai exaʸlthen Yothor ho gambros Mōusaʸ kai hoi huioi kai haʸ gunaʸ pros Mōusaʸn eis taʸn eraʸmon, hou parenebalen epʼ orous tou Theou. )
BrTrAnd Jothor the father-in-law of Moses, and his sons and his wife, went forth to Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped on the mount of God.
ULTAnd Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, came, and his sons and his wife, to Moses, to the wilderness where he was camping, at the mountain of God.
USTWhile Moses and the Israelites camped in the wilderness near Sinai, God’s holy mountain, Jethro (Moses’s father-in-law) came to him, bringing along Moses’ wife and two sons.
BSB § 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.
NETJethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and his wife, came to Moses in the desert where he was camping by the mountain of God.
LSVAnd Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, comes, and his sons, and his wife, to Moses, to the wilderness where he is encamping—the mountain of God;
FBVMoses' father-in-law Jethro, together with Moses' wife and sons, came to see him in the desert at the camp near the mountain of God.
T4TWhile Moses/I was camped with the Israeli people in the desert near Sinai, God’s sacred/holy mountain, Jethro came to him/me, bringing along Moses’/my wife and our two sons.
LEBAnd Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, came and his sons and his wife to Moses, to the desert where he was camping there at the mountain of God.
BBEAnd Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to where Moses had put up his tent in the waste land, by the mountain of God.
RVand Jethro, Moses’ father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the mount of God:
WbstrAnd Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
KJB-1769And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
KJB-1611And Iethro Moses father in law came with his sonnes and his wife vnto Moses into the wildernes, where he encamped at the mount of God. (And Yethro Moses father in law came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wildernes, where he encamped at the mount of God.)
BshpsAnd Iethro Moyses father in lawe, came with his two sonnes, & his wife, vnto Moyses into ye wildernesse, where he abode by the mounte of God. (And Yethro Moses father in law, came with his two sons, and his wife, unto Moses into ye/you_all wilderness, where he abode by the mounte of God.)
GnvaAnd Iethro Moses father in law came with his two sonnes, and his wife vnto Moses into the wildernes, where he camped by ye mout of God. (And Yethro Moses father in law came with his two sons, and his wife unto Moses into the wildernes, where he camped by ye/you_all mout of God. )
CvdlNow wha Iethro Moses father in lawe, and his sonnes and his wife came vnto him in the wyldernes by the mount of God where he had pitched his tent, (Now wha Yethro Moses father in law, and his sons and his wife came unto him in the wilderness by the mount of God where he had pitched his tent,)
WyclTherfor Jetro, `alie of Moises, cam, and the sones of Moises and his wijf camen to Moises, in to deseert, where Jetro settide tentis bisidis the hil of God; (Therefore Yetro, `alie of Moses, came, and the sons of Moses and his wife came to Moses, in to deseert, where Yetro set tents besides the hill of God;)
LuthDa nun Jethro, Moses Schwäher, und seine Söhne und sein Weib zu ihm kamen in die Wüste, an den Berg Gottes, da er sich gelagert hatte, (So now Yethro, Moses Schwäher, and his sons and his woman to him came in the desert, at the mountain/hill God’s, there he itself/yourself/themselves gelagert had,)
ClVgVenit ergo Jethro cognatus Moysi, et filii ejus, et uxor ejus ad Moysen in desertum, ubi erat castrametatus juxta montem Dei.[fn] (Venit therefore Yethro cognatus of_Moses, and children his, and wife his to Moysen in desert, where was castrametatus next_to montem of_God. )
18.5Venit ergo Jethro, etc. ORIG., hom. 11 in Exod. Alia littera: Post hæc venit ad montem Dei Moyses, et Jethro sibi occurrenti exiit obviam de castris, nec duxit eum ad montem Dei, sed ad tabernaculum suum. Non enim poterat sacerdos Madian ascendere in montem Dei, sed nec in Ægyptum descendere, nec uxor Moysi, sed nunc ad eum venit cum filiis. Non enim poterat descendere in Ægyptum, et subire agones Ægyptiorum, nisi athleta probabilis, et qui in agone contendens ab omnibus se abstinet. Moyses, quia magnus et potens athleta, descendit in Ægyptum ad agones et exercitia virtutum; Abraham et Jacob quoque, qui ipso nomine athleta est, cum descendisset in Ægyptum, factus est sicut stellæ cœli in multitudine. Aliis in contrarium cedit descendisse in Ægyptum. Scio Hieroboam fugientem a Salomone descendisse in Ægyptum, et scidisse et corrupisse populum Dei; quia descendens in Ægyptum accepit a Susachim rege uxorem Tethimenem uxoris ejus sororem.
18.5Venit therefore Yethro, etc. ORIG., hom. 11 in Exod. Alia littera: Post these_things he_came to montem of_God Moyses, and Yethro sibi occurrenti exiit obviam about castris, but_not duxit him to montem of_God, but to tabernaculum his_own. Non because poterat priest Madian ascendere in montem of_God, but but_not in Ægyptum descendere, but_not wife of_Moses, but now to him he_came when/with childrens. Non because poterat descendere in Ægyptum, and subire agones Ægyptiorum, nisi athleta probabilis, and who in agone contendens away to_all se abstinet. Moyses, because big and powerful athleta, descendit in Ægyptum to agones and exercitia virtutum; Abraham and Yacob quoque, who ipso nomine athleta it_is, when/with descendisset in Ægyptum, factus it_is like stellæ cœli in multitudine. Aliis in contrarium cedit descendisse in Ægyptum. Scio Hieroboam fugientem from Salomone descendisse in Ægyptum, and scidisse and corrupisse the_people of_God; because descendens in Ægyptum accepit from Susachim rege wife Tethimenem uxoris his sororem.
18:1-12 Moses had apparently sent his wife and children back from Egypt at some point to stay with his father-in-law. In the intense confrontation with Pharaoh, Moses might have been afraid for their lives. Jethro now came to meet Moses and the Israelites, bringing Moses’ family with him (18:2-6). In the context of the visit, Moses gave him a report, and Jethro was brought to faith through the testimony of the Lord’s work.
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.
