Wyjścia 18:23 Komentarz: Rashi, Chizkuni, Kli Yakar & Sforno

וצוך אלהים ויכלת עמד This implies: Consult the Almighty; if He commands thee to do this, thou wilt be able to stand, and if He prevents thee thou wilt be unable to stand (Mekhilta).

על מקומו, “to his tent.”

“If you do this thing and God commands you.” Certainly Moses would not do this thing until after God commands him, and he needs to consult with the Divine Power first. If so, he [Jethro] should have reversed the order and said “God commands you” before “if you do this thing.” It appears that this refers to what was written [earlier]: And you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, etc., and afterward And you shall select from all the people, etc. For you need to teach them God’s judgments first, as it is not appropriate to appoint a judge who has not learned and does not understand. Regarding this he said, If you do this thing — to teach them first the statutes of God and His laws, then God will command you — it is possible that the Holy One, blessed be He, will agree with your action, but before this He certainly will not agree.

וגם כל העם הזה AND ALL THIS PEOPLE ALSO — Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and the seventy elders who are now associated with you (Mekhilta).