What Does Exodus 18:9 Mean?

And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God, when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws." Moses' explanation of his judicial practice has two elements: (1) he is the dispute-resolution mechanism (deciding between disputants), and (2) he is the covenant-instruction transmitter (making them know God's statutes and laws).

Both functions are legitimate and necessary: the community needs both dispute resolution and Torah instruction. But Moses' answer shows he understands his judicial role as directly connected to his prophetic function: he decides disputes on the basis of God's statutes, not his own preference.

The "inquire of God" (lidrosh elohim) is the technical term for seeking divine guidance or oracular instruction: Moses is rather than applying known law but is functioning as a prophetic oracle for legal cases. The judicial function Moses describes is more than a legal court: it is a prophetic consultation service where people bring their legal questions to the prophet who inquires of God. This explains why Moses could not simply delegate all judicial work: the prophetic-oracular dimension of his judging requires direct divine access, which only Moses has.

The "statutes of God and his laws" (chukei ha'elohim ve'et torotav) that Moses transmits through the judicial process is the pre-Sinai covenant instruction: before the formal law-giving at Sinai, Moses is already making Israel "know God's statutes." The legal instruction function of Moses' judging is the pedagogical dimension of the judicial office: every dispute resolution is also a Torah-teaching moment. The people who brought their case to Moses left not only with a decision but with instruction about YHWH's standards. Judicial process and covenant education are combined in Moses' pre-Sinai judging.