Exodus 18:19

Summary

Exodus 18:19 records Jethro's advice to Moses, instructing him to listen to counsel, to act as intermediary between the people and God, and to bring legal matters before God. The verse combines imperatives, a jussive wish, and a sequential verb form to outline a structured course of action.

Key words

• shema' ("listen", H8085H) — qal imperative, a direct command to Moses to hear/obey.
• 'i'atzekha ("let me advise you", H3289) — qal imperfect first person, expressing Jethro's intended future action of counseling.
• vihi ("may he be", H1961) — qal jussive, expressing a wish ("may God be...") rather than a statement of fact.
• heyeh ("be", H1961) — qal imperative second person, a direct command distinct from the jussive form of the same root used earlier in the verse.
• heveta ("you will bring", H0935P) — hiphil sequential perfect, a causative form ("cause to come/bring") continuing the sequence of instructions after the imperatives.

What the text says

The verse is structured as a chain of directives from Jethro to Moses, marked by shifts in verbal mood. It opens with the adverb 'atah ("now", H6258) followed by the imperative shema' ("listen", H8085H), constructing the phrase be-qoli ("to my voice", H6963A with H9020 suffix) — literally "listen to my voice," a common Hebrew idiom for "listen to me." This is followed by 'i'atzekha ("let me advise you", H3289), an imperfect form indicating Jethro's proposed action following compliance.

The clause vihi 'Elohim 'immakh ("may God be with you") uses the jussive vihi (H1961), which grammatically expresses a wish or hope, distinct from a simple declarative statement. This contrasts with the second occurrence of the same root, heyeh ("be", H1961), which appears as an imperative — a direct command that Moses himself "be for the people in front of God" (heyeh 'atah la'am mul ha'Elohim). The repetition of the root H1961 in two different grammatical moods (jussive vs. imperative) within a few words creates a distinction not visible in translation: one is a wish concerning God, the other a command concerning Moses.

The final clause uses ve-heveta (H0935P), a hiphil sequential perfect, which continues the narrative sequence begun by the imperatives, describing what Moses will subsequently do: bring ha-devarim ("the matters", H1697L) to ha-'Elohim ("God", H0430G).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'i'atzekha ("let me advise you") as symbouleuso soi ("I will counsel you"), matching the future/imperfect sense. Where the Hebrew has vihi 'Elohim 'immakh (jussive, "may God be with you"), the LXX has estai ho theos meta sou ("God will be with you"), a future indicative rather than a wish form. The Vulgate similarly reads erit Deus tecum ("God will be with you"), also shifting the Hebrew jussive into a future declarative statement.