Bible Strands
Exodus 18:16
“Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me to judge between one man and another, and I make known to them the statutes and laws of God.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses explains his current judicial role to his father-in-law Jethro during a conversation about the people's complaints. He describes this practice as the ongoing routine before Jethro warns him that the system is unsustainable.
The words — The text highlights דָּבָר (davar), meaning “a matter,” and שָׁ֣פַטְתִּי (shafati), meaning “and I judge,” to describe how disputes are brought directly to him for resolution.
The thread — The theme of mediating disputes and teaching divine statutes recurs in Exodus 24:14, where Moses delegates to elders, and in Deuteronomy 4:5 and 5:1, where he instructs Israel in the laws he received.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to recognize that judicial authority and the transmission of divine law depend on direct access to God’s instruction rather than human tradition.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
Cross-references
- Exodus 24:14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute can go to them.”
- Deuteronomy 4:5 See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land that you are about to enter and possess.
- Deuteronomy 5:1 Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I declare in your hearing this day. Learn them and observe them carefully.
- 2 Samuel 15:3 Absalom would say, “Look, your claims are good and right, but the king has no deputy to hear you.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:1 If any of you has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints!
- Exodus 2:13 The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”
- Exodus 23:7 Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.
- Leviticus 24:15 And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If anyone curses his God, he shall bear the consequences of his sin.
- Numbers 15:35 And the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death. The whole congregation is to stone him outside the camp.”
- Numbers 27:6 and the LORD answered him,