Exodus 18:1

וַיִּשְׁמַע יִתְרוֹ כֹהֵן מִדְיָן חֹתֵן מֹשֶׁה אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אֱלֹהִים לְמֹשֶׁה וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵל עַמּוֹ כִּֽי־הוֹצִיא יְהוָה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃

✦ Hebrew interlinear

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✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וַיִּשְׁמַ֞ע יִתְר֨וֹ כֹהֵ֤ן מִדְיָן֙ חֹתֵ֣ן מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֵת֩ כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשָׂ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ לְמֹשֶׁ֔ה וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל עַמּ֑וֹ כִּֽי־הוֹצִ֧יא יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃

Greek (Septuagint)

Ἤκουσεν δὲ ’1οθὸρ ὁ ἱερεὺς Μαδιὰμ ὁ γαμβρὸς Μωυσῆ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησεν κύριος Ἰσραὴλ τῷ ἑαυτοῦ λαῷ· ἐξήγαγεν γὰρ κύριος τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου.

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

Cumque audisset Jethro, sacerdos Madian, cognatus Moysi, omnia quæ fecerat Deus Moysi, et Israëli populo suo, et quod eduxisset Dominus Israël de Ægypto,

Spanish

Jetro, el sacerdote de Madián y suegro de Moisés, se enteró de todo lo que Dios había hecho por Moisés y por su pueblo Israel, y de cómo Yehová los había sacado de Egipto.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Y OYÓ Jethro, sacerdote de Madián, suegro de Moisés, todas las cosas que Dios había hecho con Moisés, y con Israel su pueblo, y cómo Jehová había sacado á Israel de Egipto:

English

Now Moses ’ father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about all that God had done for Moses and His people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

✦ What the text says

Summary

The verse reports that Jethro, priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard about everything God had done for Moses and for Israel, specifically that Yehovah had brought Israel out of Egypt. It functions as the narrative opening that sets up Jethro's visit to Moses.

Key words

va-yish.Ma' ("and he heard", H8085G) — qal narrative verb form; the initial vav plus prefix conjugation marks this as the next event in the story sequence, opening the chapter with Jethro's action of hearing.
cho.Ten ("father-in-law of", H2859A) — qal participle in construct state; describes Jethro's relationship to Moses as an ongoing role ("the one who is father-in-law"), grammatically linked to Mo.Sheh that follows.
'a.Sah ("he had done", H6213A) — qal perfect; marks completed action prior to the main narrative moment, describing what God accomplished before Jethro's hearing of it.
'E.lo.Him ("God", H0430G) — plural noun form used as the subject of 'a.Sah, the general term for the deity in the first clause of what was done.
ho.Tzi' ("he had brought out", H3318H) — hiphil (causative) perfect; the causative stem indicates Yehovah as the one causing Israel's departure, distinct from a simple "going out."

What the text says

The verse is built as a single long sentence introduced by the narrative va-yish.Ma', with Jethro identified through two construct chains: kho.Hen Mid.Yan ("priest of Midian", H3548/H4080H) and cho.Ten Mo.Sheh ("father-in-law of Moses", H2859A/H4872). What Jethro hears is marked by the object marker 'et (H0853) followed by the relative clause kol 'a.Sher 'a.Sah 'E.lo.Him ("all that God had done", H3605/H0834A/H6213A/H0430G), using the generic term for God rather than the covenant name.

The sentence then shifts, marked by the particle ki (H3588A, "that"), to a second reported fact: that Yehovah (H3068G), using the personal covenant name rather than 'E.lo.Him, "brought out" Israel from Egypt with the hiphil verb ho.Tzi'. This causative form emphasizes an agent actively causing the exodus, rather than Israel leaving on its own. The two clauses together present what Jethro heard in two parts: general divine action for Moses and Israel (using 'E.lo.Him), and the specific act of the exodus (using Yehovah).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'E.lo.Him as kyrios ("Lord") in the first clause, where the Hebrew uses the more general term 'E.lo.Him rather than the divine name; the Hebrew reserves Yehovah for the second clause about the exodus, while the LXX uses kyrios in both clauses, collapsing the distinction between the two divine designations present in the Hebrew text.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.