Exodus chapter 18

After reading chapter 18:

*Apparently, Moses had sent his wife and two sons back to Zipporah's father, Jethro, the priest of Midian. Jethro had received the news of the Israelites' exit from Egypt and was pleased. He took his daughter and grandsons back to Moses. When he arrived at the camp, Moses told him about everything that had happened. Jethro praised Yahweh and said that now he knew Yahweh was greater than all the other gods. A funny thing about the Hebrew word ha-elohim, translated as " other gods" in this passage. In almost every other passage in the Old Testament, it is translated as the singular God with a capital G. What if all those other passages should have been translated as gods, plural, instead? At any rate, it is obvious from verse 11 that other gods were believed to exist.

*Jethro, being a priest, brings a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God. Wait! This God is the hebrew word Elohim, a plural word usually translated as singular. Was Jethro sacrificing to "the gods" or to "God?" It doesn't say he was sacrificing to "the lord" which is how Yahweh is translated into English. Even more telling is the next line that says Jethro, Moses, Aaron, and the elders ate bread in the presence of God. God here is the same Hebrew word, ha-elohim, that was translated as "other gods" in verse 11. You can see this for yourself if you look up the text in an online interlinear version. I usually use Bible Hub. First do a search for the verse, then click on INT in the version selection bar.

*Why would translators choose to make the word mean gods in one instance and God in another? Is there any chance they were not willing to show that the early Hebrews believed in other gods as well as Yahweh?

*The next day, Moses began to act as a judge for the Israelites. He was bombarded with cases of disputes from morning to night. Jethro asked him why he was doing this. Moses replied that the people came to him to seek God's will. ( Elohim, not Yahweh.) Moses would judge the cases and inform the people of God's laws. (Ha-Elohim, not Yahweh.) Whose laws was Moses dispensing?

*Anyway, Jethro told Moses he was working too hard and micromanaging over a million people. He needed to delegate authority. He explained how to go about it and Moses took his advice. Capable men were made leaders over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Moses only got the hard cases. Then Jethro returned to his own country.

Edited.