What is the meaning of Exodus 18:4?

The other son was named Eliezer

• Moses’ family story is preserved in two sons: Gershom (“I have been a foreigner,” Exodus 2:22) and Eliezer (“My God is help”).

• Naming a child after God’s help fixed a testimony in every introduction of that boy’s life, echoing Psalm 124:8 “Our help is in the name of the Lord.”

• This act mirrors patriarchal patterns—e.g., Isaac’s altar “The Lord Will Provide” (Genesis 22:14)—where names become memorial stones.

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for Moses had said

• Moses personally explains the name; it is not hearsay. Like Joshua 4:6-7, verbal testimony accompanies a physical reminder so later generations grasp God’s work.

• Deuteronomy 6:20-21 shows the same pattern: when children ask “What do these testimonies mean?” parents recount God’s mighty acts.

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“The God of my father was my helper

• Moses ties present deliverance to the covenant God of his ancestors (Exodus 3:6). The faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not a relic but an active lifeline.

• “Helper” highlights God’s ongoing, hands-on aid. Psalm 46:1 calls Him “a very present help in trouble,” and Hebrews 13:6 repeats, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.”

• Moses echoes earlier songs of redemption—see Exodus 15:2 “The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.”

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and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

• God protected Moses twice from Pharaoh:

– As an infant from decree of death (Exodus 2:3-10).

– As a fugitive when Pharaoh sought to kill him (Exodus 2:15; cf. Exodus 4:19).

• Later, the entire nation experienced that same rescue when “Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore” (Exodus 14:30-31).

• 2 Corinthians 1:10 captures the pattern: “He has delivered us… He will deliver us again.” God’s past rescue fuels present confidence.

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summary

Exodus 18:4 shows Moses planting a living testimony in his son’s name. By calling the boy Eliezer, he forever links his family story to the faithful God of his fathers, the God who stepped in as Helper and Shield against Pharaoh’s sword. The verse invites every reader to remember, retell, and rely on that same delivering Lord.