Before Moses can begin the Exodus, he has to say goodbye to the family that took him in. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the scene's restraint. Moses does not march out. He returned unto Jethro his father in law and asked permission.
And what Moses says is remarkably understated: I will now go to my brethren who are in Mizraim, to see how they now live. He does not say: I am going to confront Pharaoh with ten plagues. He does not mention the burning bush, the signs, the sapphire staff waiting in Jethro's chamber. He simply says he wants to check on his brothers.
Why Moses Keeps Jethro in the Dark
The sages of the Targumic tradition notice Moses' caution. Why withhold the full commission from his father-in-law? Some say: out of modesty — the mission is too large to announce. Others say: out of respect — Jethro had given him forty years of protection, a wife (Zipporah), two sons (Gershom and Eliezer), and a home. Naming the scale of the departure would feel like a betrayal of that hospitality.
Jethro's answer is equally restrained: Go in peace. No questions, no warnings, no recriminations. The Targum preserves the blessing exactly. In three Aramaic words, Jethro releases Moses to his destiny.
The takeaway: before the plagues, before the splitting of the sea, before Sinai, there is a quiet conversation in a shepherd's tent. The Jewish imagination remembers that every great deliverance begins with a moment of gratitude to the people who carried you through your exile.