4:18 53 So Moses went back54 to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Let me go, so that I may return55 to my relatives56 in Egypt and see57 if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”
sn This last section of the chapter reports Moses’ compliance with the commission. It has four parts: the decision to return (18–20), the instruction (21–23), the confrontation with Yahweh (24–26), and the presentation with Aaron (27–31).
54
tn The two verbs form a verbal hendiadys, the second verb becoming adverbial in the translation: “and he went and he returned” becomes “and he went back.”
55
tn There is a sequence here with the two cohortative forms: אֵלְכָה נָּא וְאָשׁוּבָה (’elékhah nna’ vé’ashuva)—“let me go in order that I may return.”