What Does Exodus 18:24 Mean?
So Moses heard and responded to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.THE KEY
The Hebrew for “hearkened” leans toward response, and the next phrase shows what Moses’ listening becomes: he does what he hears.
THE MEANING
Your hearing takes shape in how you respond. This verse shows listening and action as one movement: counsel is received, then carried out.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that receiving counsel diminishes a leader’s authority dissolves here: Moses listens to another’s voice and acts on what he says.
THE ROOT
וַיִּשְׁמַע
vayishma
GROWS FROM
שמע
Hear, listen, heed.
“heard and responded” in this verse is vayishma. The verb comes from שמע, a root that can carry listening that attends and responds. The verse makes that response visible in Moses doing all that was said, joining hearing to action in a single sequence.
ALSO GROWS
shema: Hear and respond.
שְׁמַע
The imperative form makes hearing an active reception, like Moses’ attentive response to counsel.
shemuah: Report, tidings; what is heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch names what reaches the hearer, while the verse shows Moses carrying what he hears into action.
shomea: One who hears; a listener.
שׁוֹמֵעַ
The listener is not merely exposed to a voice; Moses’ response shows listening taking effect.
THE PATTERN
Hearing becomes complete as it is received and carried into action.
And Moses called all Israel, and said to them, Hear and respond, O Israel, to the statutes and the judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that you may learn them, and guard them, and do them.But he said, Rather, flourishing are those who hear and respond to the word of God and guard it.But be makers of the word, and not hearers only, miscounting yourselves.THE THREAD
Now hear and respond to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you. Be for the people before the face of God, and bring the words to God.Jethro first says, “Hearken now unto my voice”; the same Hebrew root שמע appears when Moses hearkens to that voice. The response invited here becomes visible in verse 24, where Moses does all that Jethro said.
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