# Exodus 18.4

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-06-05 | updated: 2026-06-05 -->

**Book:** [Exodus](/codex/exodus/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 2. And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away, 3. and her two sons; of whom the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land:
>
> **4. and the name of the other was Eliezer; for he said, The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.**
>
> 5. And 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: 6. and he said unto Moses, I, thy father-in-law Jethro, am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. (Exodus 18:2-6, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 2. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, received Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her away, 3. and her two sons. The name of one son was Gershom, for Moses said, “I have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land”.
>
> **4. The name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my help and delivered me from Pharaoh’s sword.”**
>
> 5. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the Mountain of God. 6. He said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, have come to you with your wife, and her two sons with her.” (Exodus 18:2-6, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 2. Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, 3. And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: <sup>Gershom: that is A stranger there</sup>
>
> **4. And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh: <sup>Eliezer: that is, My God is an help</sup>**
>
> 5. And 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: 6. And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. (Exodus 18:2-6, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 2. and Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, taketh Zipporah, wife of Moses, besides her parents, 3. and her two sons, of whom the name of the one [is] Gershom, for he said, 'a sojourner I have been in a strange land:'
>
> **4. and the name of the other [is] Eliezer, for, 'the God of my father [is] for my help, and doth deliver me from the sword of Pharaoh.'**
>
> 5. And Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, cometh, and his sons, and his wife, unto Moses, unto the wilderness where he is encamping, the mount of God; 6. and he saith unto Moses, 'I, thy father-in-law, Jethro, am coming unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.' (Exodus 18:2-6, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Misogyny in the Bible Objection Defeater](/codex/misogyny-in-the-bible-objection-defeater/)

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_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.