Welcome to my Hebrew reading & language series.

Exodus 18:1-5

We switch gears this week as we start chapter 18. We hear about Jethro, the father-in-law of Moshe (Moses) and that he is the priest of Midian. He and Moshe are sharing of information about all the God did in Mitsraim (Egypt).

We also hear a little about the back story of how Moshe, his wife Tsip-o-Rah (Zipporah), and how he had sent her to be with Jethro while he was doing the work of El Shaddai, probably due to the hostility Far'oh (Pharaoh) may have shown to Moshe while he orders the release of the people.

We heard that Moshe has his wife coming but the rest of the family is coming too. We learn that he has two children, we learn their names and why they were given those names. We have Gershom who received his name after his father said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land" Normally the name will be somewhere in that statement but the only thing I hear is "ger" which means foreigner or alien and the rest of his sentence has no -sh- or -m- sound in Hebrew.

The other child was named Eli-ezer (Eliezer) because, "The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh" - This one definitely conforms to the naming norms.

Eli - My God
Ezer - verb: Help

I am sure more details about the man, his family and his father-in-law next week.

Today's Reading

English

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of
all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how YHVH had brought Israel out of Egypt. Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land"), 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"). Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God.

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Hebrew

Next week, we Moshe goes out to meet Jethro...

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Info on each letter starting at the beginning

If you are just starting, my lessons are all here starting at Alef, adding vowels (the dots and lines) as we go. I explain the meaning of each letter and its numerical value. Just go to my blog and scroll to the bottom or click here

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Thanks for reading.

Shabbat Shalom