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Exodus 18: 13-27 Analysis

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For this essay I chose the bible passage Exodus 18:13-27 which is about Moses’ Father-in-law, Jethro, advising him on appointing judges and people under him to help take care of and make decisions for the people. This was because Moses was trying to do it all by himself and Jethro helpfully points out that there is no way he can do this by himself day in and day out. He will tire himself out because there are simply too many people for him to settle all disputes and keep everyone aware of all of God’s laws. In this passage there are three levels, the literary level which explores the dialogue between Moses and his Father-in-law Jethro, the ideological level which explores the ideas of God’s laws and the power Moses currently possesses, and the communal level which explores why Israel needed judges and the importance of their appointing. This passage is interesting on the literary level because of the dialogue between Moses and Jethro. Jethro’s dialogue with Moses …show more content…

His position is very important, and this passage emphasizes that. However even though he has so much power, his position does not make him arrogant or self-righteous in a way where he is not willing to listen to anyone else. He still listens to his Father-in-law and takes his advice. This is an important idea because it shows the qualities of a good leader. He is ruling Israel, and now has the power to appoint people under him to help. This leads into the purpose of the passage as a whole.
On the communal level the purpose of the passage is about why Israel has judges and the importance of them in the daily lives of the Israelites. They are there for a reason. Moses and any leader of Israel cannot possibly complete all the responsibilities of a leader well with only themselves. They need help and a system in place for Israel to thrive and be successful along the road. This passage shows how Israel organized itself and

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