Roma 12:8

12:8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

Keluaran 18:13-27

18:13 On the next day ¹  Moses sat to judge ²  the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning until evening. 18:14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this ³  that you are doing for the people? ⁴  Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”

18:15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire ⁵  of God. 18:16 When they have a dispute, ⁶  it comes to me and I decide ⁷  between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the decrees of God and his laws.” ⁸ 

18:17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What ⁹  you are doing is not good! 18:18 You will surely wear out, ¹⁰  both you and these people who are with you, for this is too ¹¹  heavy a burden ¹²  for you; you are not able to do it by yourself. 18:19 Now listen to me, ¹³  I will give you advice, and may God be with you: You be a representative for the people to God, ¹⁴  and you bring ¹⁵  their disputes ¹⁶  to God; 18:20 warn ¹⁷  them of the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk ¹⁸  and the work they must do. ¹⁹  18:21 But you choose ²⁰  from the people capable men, ²¹  God-fearing, ²²  men of truth, ²³  those who hate bribes, ²⁴  and put them over the people ²⁵  as rulers ²⁶  of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 18:22 They will judge ²⁷  the people under normal circumstances, ²⁸  and every difficult case ²⁹  they will bring to you, but every small case ³⁰  they themselves will judge, so that ³¹  you may make it easier for yourself, ³²  and they will bear the burden ³³  with you. 18:23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, ³⁴  then you will be able ³⁵  to endure, ³⁶  and all these people ³⁷  will be able to go ³⁸  home ³⁹  satisfied.” ⁴⁰ 

18:24 Moses listened to ⁴¹  his father-in-law and did everything he had said. 18:25 Moses chose capable men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 18:26 They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring ⁴²  to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.

18:27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, ⁴³  and so Jethro ⁴⁴  went ⁴⁵  to his own land. ⁴⁶ 

Ulangan 1:9-17

1:9 I also said to you at that time, “I am no longer able to sustain you by myself. 1:10 The Lord your God has increased your population ⁴⁷  to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky. ⁴⁸  1:11 Indeed, may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are now, blessing you ⁴⁹  just as he said he would! 1:12 But how can I alone bear up under the burden of your hardship and strife? 1:13 Select wise and practical ⁵⁰  men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.” 1:14 You replied to me that what I had said to you was good. 1:15 So I chose ⁵¹  as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials. 1:16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they ⁵²  should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens ⁵³  and judge fairly, ⁵⁴  whether between one citizen and another ⁵⁵  or a citizen and a resident foreigner. ⁵⁶  1:17 They ⁵⁷  must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly ⁵⁸  and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.

Ulangan 1:1

The Covenant Setting

1:1 This is what ⁵⁹  Moses said to the assembly of Israel ⁶⁰  in the Transjordanian ⁶¹  wastelands, the arid country opposite ⁶²  Suph, ⁶³  between ⁶⁴  Paran ⁶⁵  and Tophel, ⁶⁶  Laban, ⁶⁷  Hazeroth, ⁶⁸  and Di Zahab ⁶⁹ 

1 Samuel 7:16-17

7:16 Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, ⁷⁰  Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all of these places. 7:17 Then he would return to Ramah, because his home was there. He also judged ⁷¹  Israel there and built an altar to the Lord there.

1 Samuel 7:2

Further Conflict with the Philistines

7:2 It was quite a long time – some twenty years in all – that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people ⁷²  of Israel longed for ⁷³  the Lord.

1 Samuel 8:5

8:5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons don’t follow your ways. So now appoint over us a king to lead ⁷⁴  us, just like all the other nations have.”

1 Samuel 8:1

Israel Seeks a King

8:1 In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

1 Samuel 18:14

18:14 Now David achieved success in all he did, ⁷⁵  for the Lord was with him.

Ayub 29:7-17

29:7 When I went out to the city gate

and secured my seat in the public square, ⁷⁶ 

29:8 the young men would see me and step aside, ⁷⁷ 

and the old men would get up and remain standing;

29:9 the chief men refrained from talking

and covered their mouths with their hands;

29:10 the voices of the nobles fell silent, ⁷⁸ 

and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

Job’s Benevolence

29:11 “As soon as the ear heard these things, ⁷⁹  it blessed me, ⁸⁰ 

and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,

29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,

and the orphan who ⁸¹  had no one to assist him;

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, ⁸² 

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ⁸³ 

29:14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me, ⁸⁴ 

my just dealing ⁸⁵  was like a robe and a turban;

29:15 I was eyes for the blind

and feet for the lame;

29:16 I was a father ⁸⁶  to the needy,

and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;

29:17 I broke the fangs ⁸⁷  of the wicked,

and made him drop ⁸⁸  his prey from his teeth.

[18:13]  ¹ tn Heb “and it was/happened on the morrow.”

[18:13]  ² sn This is a simple summary of the function of Moses on this particular day. He did not necessarily do this every day, but it was time now to do it. The people would come to solve their difficulties or to hear instruction from Moses on decisions to be made. The tradition of “sitting in Moses’ seat” is drawn from this passage.

[18:14]  ³ tn Heb “what is this thing.”

[18:14]  ⁴ sn This question, “what are you doing for the people,” is qualified by the next question. Sitting alone all day and the people standing around all day showed that Moses was exhibiting too much care for the people – he could not do this.

[18:15]  ⁵ tn The form is לִדְרֹשׁ (lidrosh), the Qal infinitive construct giving the purpose. To inquire of God would be to seek God’s will on a matter, to obtain a legal decision on a matter, or to settle a dispute. As a judge Moses is speaking for God, but as the servant of Yahweh Moses’ words will be God’s words. The psalms would later describe judges as “gods” because they made the right decisions based on God’s Law.

[18:16]  ⁶ tn Or “thing,” “matter,” “issue.”

[18:16]  ⁷ tn The verb שָׁפַט (shafat) means “to judge”; more specifically, it means to make a decision as an arbiter or umpire. When people brought issues to him, Moses decided between them. In the section of laws in Exodus after the Ten Commandments come the decisions, the מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishppatim).

[18:16]  ⁸ tn The “decrees” or “statutes” were definite rules, stereotyped and permanent; the “laws” were directives or pronouncements given when situations arose. S. R. Driver suggests this is another reason why this event might have taken place after Yahweh had given laws on the mountain (Exodus, 165).

[18:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “the thing.”

[18:18]  ¹⁰ tn The verb means “to fall and fade” as a leaf (Ps 1:3). In Ps 18:45 it is used figuratively of foes fading away, failing in strength and courage (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 166). Here the infinitive absolute construction heightens the meaning.

[18:18]  ¹¹ tn Gesenius lists the specialized use of the comparative min (מ) where with an adjective the thought expressed is that the quality is too difficult for the attainment of a particular aim (GKC 430 §133.c).

[18:18]  ¹² tn Here “a burden” has been supplied.

[18:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “hear my voice.”

[18:19]  ¹⁴ tn The line reads “Be you to the people before God.” He is to be their representative before God. This is introducing the aspect of the work that only Moses could do, what he has been doing. He is to be before God for the people, to pray for them, to appeal on their behalf. Jethro is essentially saying, I understand that you cannot delegate this to anyone else, so continue doing it (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 219-20).

[18:19]  ¹⁵ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; following the imperative it will be instruction as well. Since the imperative preceding this had the idea of “continue to be” as you are, this too has that force.

[18:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “words”; KJV, ASV “the causes”; NRSV “cases”; NLT “questions.”

[18:20]  ¹⁷ tn The perfect tense with the vav (ו) continues the sequence of instruction for Moses. He alone was to be the mediator, to guide them in the religious and moral instruction.

[18:20]  ¹⁸ tn The verb and its following prepositional phrase form a relative clause, modifying “the way.” The imperfect tense should be given the nuance of obligatory imperfect – it is the way they must walk.

[18:20]  ¹⁹ tn This last part is parallel to the preceding: “work” is also a direct object of the verb “make known,” and the relative clause that qualifies it also uses an obligatory imperfect.

[18:21]  ²⁰ tn The construction uses the independent pronoun for emphasis, and then the imperfect tense “see” (חָזָה, khazah) – “and you will see from all….” Both in Hebrew and Ugaritic expressions of “seeing” are used in the sense of choosing (Gen 41:33). See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220.

[18:21]  ²¹ tn The expression is אַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל (’anshe khayil, “capable men”). The attributive genitive is the word used in expressions like “mighty man of valor.” The word describes these men as respected, influential, powerful people, those looked up to by the community as leaders, and those who will have the needs of the community in mind.

[18:21]  ²² tn The description “fearers of God” uses an objective genitive. It describes them as devout, worshipful, obedient servants of God.

[18:21]  ²³ tn The expression “men of truth” (אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת, ’anshe ’emet) indicates that these men must be seekers of truth, who know that the task of a judge is to give true judgment (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220). The word “truth” includes the ideas of faithfulness or reliability, as well as factuality itself. It could be understood to mean “truthful men,” men whose word is reliable and true.

[18:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “haters of bribes.” Here is another objective genitive, one that refers to unjust gain. To hate unjust gain is to reject and refuse it. Their decisions will not be swayed by greed.

[18:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “over them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:21]  ²⁶ sn It is not clear how this structure would work in a judicial setting. The language of “captains of thousands,” etc., is used more for military ranks. There must have been more detailed instruction involved here, for each Israelite would have come under four leaders with this arrangement, and perhaps difficult cases would be sent to the next level. But since the task of these men would also involve instruction and guidance, the breakdown would be very useful. Deut 1:9, 13 suggest that the choice of these people was not simply Moses’ alone.

[18:22]  ²⁷ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, making it equivalent to the imperfect of instruction in the preceding verse.

[18:22]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in every time,” meaning “in all normal cases” or “under normal circumstances.” The same phrase occurs in v. 26.

[18:22]  ²⁹ tn Heb “great thing.”

[18:22]  ³⁰ tn Heb “thing.”

[18:22]  ³¹ tn The vav here shows the result or the purpose of the instructions given.

[18:22]  ³² tn The expression וְהָקֵל מֵעָלֶיךָ (vÿhaqel me’aleykha) means literally “and make it light off yourself.” The word plays against the word for “heavy” used earlier – since it was a heavy or burdensome task, Moses must lighten the load.

[18:22]  ³³ tn Here “the burden” has been supplied.

[18:23]  ³⁴ tn The form is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the same nuance as the preceding imperfect in the conditional clause.

[18:23]  ³⁵ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive now appears in the apodosis of the conditional sentence – “if you do this…then you will be able.”

[18:23]  ³⁶ tn Heb “to stand.” B. Jacob (Exodus, 501) suggests that there might be a humorous side to this: “you could even do this standing up.”

[18:23]  ³⁷ tn Literally “this people.”

[18:23]  ³⁸ tn The verb is the simple imperfect, “will go,” but given the sense of the passage a potential nuance seems in order.

[18:23]  ³⁹ tn Heb “his place.”

[18:23]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in peace.”

[18:23]  sn See further T. D. Weinshall, “The Organizational Structure Proposed by Jethro to Moses (Ex. 18:17),” Public Administration in Israel and Abroad 12 (1972): 9-13; and H. Reviv, “The Traditions Concerning the Inception of the Legal System in Israel: Significance and Dating,” ZAW 94 (1982): 566-75.

[18:24]  ⁴¹ tn The idiom “listen to the voice of” means “obey, comply with, heed.”

[18:26]  ⁴² tn This verb and the verb in the next clause are imperfect tenses. In the past tense narrative of the verse they must be customary, describing continuous action in past time.

[18:27]  ⁴³ tn The verb וַיְשַׁלַּח (vayshallakh) has the same root and same stem used in the passages calling for Pharaoh to “release” Israel. Here, in a peaceful and righteous relationship, Moses sent Jethro to his home.

[18:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jethro) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:27]  ⁴⁵ tn The prepositional phrase included here Gesenius classifies as a pleonastic dativus ethicus to give special emphasis to the significance of the occurrence in question for a particular subject (GKC 381 §119.s).

[18:27]  ⁴⁶ sn This chapter makes an excellent message on spiritual leadership of the people of God. Spiritually responsible people are to be selected to help in the work of the ministry (teaching, deciding cases, meeting needs), so that there will be peace, and so that leaders will not be exhausted. Probably capable people are more ready to do that than leaders are ready to relinquish control. But leaders have to be willing to take the risk, to entrust the task to others. Here Moses is the model of humility, receiving correction and counsel from Jethro. And Jethro is the ideal adviser, for he has no intention of remaining there to run the operation.

[1:10]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “multiplied you.”

[1:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[1:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “may he bless you.”

[1:13]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew verb נְבֹנִים (nÿvonim, from בִּין [bin]) is a Niphal referring to skill or intelligence (see T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:652-53).

[1:15]  ⁵¹ tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”

[1:16]  ⁵² tn Or “you.” A number of English versions treat the remainder of this verse and v. 17 as direct discourse rather than indirect discourse (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:16]  ⁵³ tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.

[1:16]  ⁵⁴ tn The Hebrew word צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “fairly”) carries the basic idea of conformity to a norm of expected behavior or character, one established by God himself. Fair judgment adheres strictly to that norm or standard (see D. Reimer, NIDOTTE 3:750).

[1:16]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “between a man and his brother.”

[1:16]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “his stranger” or “his sojourner”; NAB, NIV “an alien”; NRSV “resident alien.” The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger) commonly means “foreigner.”

[1:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[1:17]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature.

[1:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “These are the words.”

[1:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[1:1]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “on the other side of the Jordan.” This would appear to favor authorship by someone living on the west side of the Jordan, that is, in Canaan, whereas the biblical tradition locates Moses on the east side (cf. v. 5). However the Hebrew phrase בְּעֵבֶר הַיּרְדֵּן (bÿ’ever hayyrÿden) is a frozen form meaning “Transjordan,” a name appropriate from any geographical vantage point. To this day, one standing east of the Jordan can describe himself as being in Transjordan.

[1:1]  ⁶² tn The Hebrew term מוֹל (mol) may also mean “in front of” or “near” (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[1:1]  ⁶³ sn This place is otherwise unattested and its location is unknown. Perhaps it is Khirbet Sufah, 4 mi (6 km) SSE of Madaba, Jordan.

[1:1]  ⁶⁴ tn The Hebrew term בֵּין (ben) may suggest “in the area of.”

[1:1]  ⁶⁵ sn Paran is the well-known desert area between Mount Sinai and Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num 10:12; 12:16).

[1:1]  ⁶⁶ sn Tophel refers possibly to et£-T£afîleh, 15 mi (25 km) SE of the Dead Sea, or to Da‚bîlu, another name for Paran. See H. Cazelles, “Tophel (Deut. 1:1),” VT 9 (1959): 412-15.

[1:1]  ⁶⁷ sn Laban. Perhaps this refers to Libnah (Num 33:20).

[1:1]  ⁶⁸ sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to àAin Khadra. See Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 199-200.

[1:1]  ⁶⁹ sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast.

[7:16]  ⁷⁰ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:17]  ⁷¹ tn Or perhaps “settled disputes for” (cf. NLT “would hear cases there”; NRSV “administered justice there”).

[7:2]  ⁷² tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).

[7:2]  ⁷³ tn Heb “mourned after”; NIV “mourned and sought after”; KJV, NRSV “lamented after”; NAB “turned to”; NCV “began to follow…again.”

[8:5]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “judge” (also in v. 6).

[18:14]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “in all his ways.”

[29:7]  ⁷⁶ sn In the public square. The area referred to here should not be thought of in terms of modern western dimensions. The wide space, plaza, or public square mentioned here is the open area in the gate complex where legal and business matters were conducted. The area could be as small as a few hundred square feet.

[29:8]  ⁷⁷ tn The verb means “to hide; to withdraw.” The young men out of respect would withdraw or yield the place of leadership to Job (thus the translation “step aside”). The old men would rise and remain standing until Job took his seat – a sign of respect.

[29:10]  ⁷⁸ tn The verb here is “hidden” as well as in v. 8. But this is a strange expression for voices. Several argue that the word was erroneously inserted from 8a and needs to be emended. But the word “hide” can have extended meanings of “withdraw; be quiet; silent” (see Gen 31:27). A. Guillaume relates the Arabic habi’a, “the fire dies out,” applying the idea of “silent” only to v. 10 (it is a form of repetition of words with different senses, called jinas). The point here is that whatever conversation was going on would become silent or hushed to hear what Job had to say.

[29:11]  ⁷⁹ tn The words “these things” and “them” in the next colon are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[29:11]  ⁸⁰ tn The main clause is introduced by the preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive (see GKC 327 §111.h); the clause before it is therefore temporal and circumstantial to the main clause.

[29:12]  ⁸¹ tn The negative introduces a clause that serves as a negative attribute; literally the following clause says, “and had no helper” (see GKC 482 §152.u).

[29:13]  ⁸² tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).

[29:13]  ⁸³ tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.

[29:14]  ⁸⁴ tn Both verbs in this first half-verse are from לָבַשׁ (lavash, “to clothe; to put on clothing”). P. Joüon changed the vowels to get a verb “it adorned me” instead of “it clothed me” (Bib 11 [1930]: 324). The figure of clothing is used for the character of the person: to wear righteousness is to be righteous.

[29:14]  ⁸⁵ tn The word מִשְׁפָּטִי (mishpati) is simply “my justice” or “my judgment.” It refers to the decisions he made in settling issues, how he dealt with other people justly.

[29:16]  ⁸⁶ sn The word “father” does not have a wide range of meanings in the OT. But there are places that it is metaphorical, especially in a legal setting like this where the poor need aid.

[29:17]  ⁸⁷ tn The word rendered “fangs” actually means “teeth,” i.e., the molars probably; it is used frequently of the teeth of wild beasts. Of course, the language is here figurative, comparing the oppressing enemy to a preying animal.

[29:17]  ⁸⁸ tn “I made [him] drop.” The verb means “to throw; to cast,” throw in the sense of “to throw away.” But in the context with the figure of the beast with prey in its mouth, “drop” or “cast away” is the idea. Driver finds another cognate meaning “rescue” (see AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 163).