Jethro

In the Hebrew Bible, Jethro (Hebrew: יִתְרוֹ, Yitro; "His Excellence/Posterity") was the biblical priest of Midian and Moses' father-in-law, who sheltered Moses for 40 years in Midian. The father of Moses' wife Zipporah, he became the grandfather of their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.

Jethro also visited Moses in the wilderness during the Exodus. There, he offered sacrifice to the Hebrew God Yahweh and shared a sacrificial feast with Aaron and the elders of Israel. Moses then accepted Jethro's advice concerning the need to teach the people God's laws and organize a system of justice.

Identified in the Book of Judges as a Kenite, he is called also "Reuel" and "Hobab." In Islam, Jethro is identified with Shoaib, one of the prophets in the Qur'an. He is also revered as a prophet in the Druze religion.

Biblical data

Moses defends the daughters of Jethro from a group of Midianite men.

The Book of Exodus relates that Moses came to Midian after fleeing from Pharaoh at the age of 40. There, he rested at a well. Jethro's seven daughters arrived to water their flocks there, but other Midianite shepherds soon appeared on the scene and began to drive off the women. Moses, however, defended them and assisted the shepherdesses in the work of drawing water. Their maidens return to the father, identified here as Reuel, and report Moses' kindness to them. He scolds the girls for not offering proper hospitality to their deliverer and commands them to invite him to share a meal with the family.

Apparently acking a son to assist him, Jethro/Reuel invites Moses to stay with him indefinitely and soon offers him his daughter Zipporah in marriage. Moses accepts, and Jethro soon becomes the grandfather of Gershom. Moses lived with Jethro and his daughters throughout his 40-year course in exile apparently placed in charge of the livestock. It was while grazing Jethro's flocks that Moses beheld the burning bush and climbed the holy mountain of Horeb, where he received his calling from God (Exodus 3:1). He then asked permission of Jethro to return to Egypt, ostensibly with the purpose of visiting his remaining family there.

After Moses and the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea, Jethro heard the news. Moses soon sent Zipporah back to her father, now with a second son, Eliezer, although the boy's age is not specified. Jethro, Zipporah, and the two boys then came to visit Moses in the wilderness. the latter's wife and two sons (Ex. 18). Moses greeted Jethro with honor, bowing to the ground before him and kissing him. Moses told Jethro of all the miracles done for the Israelites by Yahweh. Jethro, rejoicing, exclaimed, "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods," and offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to God. Jethro then offered a sacred feast, and "Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God." (Ex 18:9)

Jethro also advised Moses to teach the people God's laws appoint deputies to assist in dealing with legal and administrative issues. "Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you," Jethro declared. "You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens." (Ex 18:19-21)

Jethro is presented here as speaking on God's behalf, declaring: "If you do this, and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."

The text declares that "Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said." After this Jethro returned to his own country.

Identity and role

File:Mount-sinai.jpg

Traditional site of Mount Sinai (also called Horeb), where Yahweh first revealed his identity with Abraham's God, El Shaddai.

Jethro's role and identity has been much discussed by biblical scholars. His different names are usually explained with reference to the documentary hypothesis, in which the various literary sources incorporated into the text sometimes use different names for both God and the human characters involved. In addition, the name "Jethro" is thought be some to constitute a title, similar to "Excellency" rather than a name. In this view, Reuel would be a given name, and Jethro a title. A third name, Hobab, meanwhile, is sometimes identified as Moses' father-in-law but at other times as his brother-in-law.

Of particular interest to biblical scholars is Jethro's role as a "priest of Midian" and his identification in Judges 4:11 as Kenite. The Kenites were a Canaanite or Midianite tribe that later affiliated at least in part with the Israelites. Traditionally, this affiliation began with Jethro and his descendants.

As a priest of the Kenites living in Midian, the question arises as to which deity or deities Jethro worshiped. The chief god El was known both to Canaanites and the Israelites, and the name Reuel, like many Semitic names of the era, contains the theophoric syllable el. The worship of El by Jethro would thus be unsurprising. But did Jethro already worship the Hebrew God Yahweh before meeting Moses? Of special interest to biblical scholars is the fact that Moses learned of God's true name (Yahweh) only after his stay in Midian with Jethro:

"I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty (El Shaddai), but by my name the Lord (Yahweh) I did not make myself known to them" (Exodus 6:3).

Some suggest that the above-mentioned sacramental meal Jethro shared with Aaron and the elders of Israel describes an initiation of Aaron into the worship of Yahweh, and that Moses, too, had first learned of this deity from his father-in-law.

The Bible also describes Jethro assisting Moses in the organization of an administrative court system. In the same passage, Jethro commands Moses to teach the people God's laws; and this occurs before Moses has received Ten Commandments.

In Islamic and Druze tradition

File:Prophet Jethro shrine.jpg

The Druze Prophet Jethro Shrine near Tiberias, Israel

In Islam, Moses' father-in-law is officially recognized as the prophet Shuˤayb (Shoaib). He is believed to be [[]]Abraham's great-grandson through Esau (Genesis 36:4) and was sent as a prophet to the Midianites to warn them to end their evil ways. The Prophet Shoaib “Jethro” Mosque and Tomb is located near the Jordanian city of Mahis.

The Druze also revere Jethro as a great teacher, indeed as their foremost prophet. Their largest annual celebration is held at the tomb of Jethro, near Tiberias Some claim that the Druze are actually descendants of Jethro.

Rabbinical tradition

Moses' father-in-law is given several different names in the books of the Bible, specifically Jethro, Reuel, and Hobab. The different names of Jethro puzzled the rabbis of the Talmud. Some thought that his real name was Hobab, and that Reuel was his father. Others thought that his actual name was "Reuel," interpreting it "the friend of God." This idea seems compatible with the modern view that Jethro was a title meaning "his Excellency." According to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, he had two names, "Hobab" and "Jethro" (Sifre, Num. 78). However, rabbinical opinion generally accepted that he had as many as seven names: "Reuel," "Jether," "Jethro," "Hobab," "Heber," "Keni," and "Putiel." The latter name refers to the father-in-law of Eleazar, the son of Aaron (Ex. vi. 25). According to rabbinical tradition, Jethro together with Balaam and Job was consulted by Pharaoh as to how best to eliminate the Israelites. He dissuaded the Egyptian king from his design and was rewarded by God in that his descendants, the Rechabites, sat with the Sanhedrin in the Temple of Jerusalem (Sanh. 106a; Ex. R. i. 12; comp. 1 Chron. 2:55). Another opinion holds that, before the Exodus, Jethro and Amalek were consulted by Pharaoh about how best to kill the Israelites, and that both of them advised him to throw the male children into the Nile. However, seeing that Amalek was excluded from both this and the future life, Jethro later repented (Ex. R. xxvii: 5).

Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah and Rabbi Eleazar ha-Moda'i disagree as to Jethro's position in Midian. According to one, the words "kohen Midyan" mean that he was the priest of Midian; according to the other, "prince of Midian" (Mek. l.c.; Ex. R. xxvii. 2). The opinion that Jethro was a priest, however, is generally accepted (Ex. R. i. 35; Tan., Yitro, 5). It is further said (Ex. R. l.c.) that Jethro realized that worshiping an idol was foolish, abandoned this practice. The Midianites therefore excommunicated him, and none would keep his flocks. It was for this reason that his daughters were compelled to tend them and were ill-treated by the other shepherds. However, another tradition holds that Jethro gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses on condition that their first son should be brought up in the worship of idols, and that Moses swore to respect this condition (Mek. l.c.; Yalḳ., Ex. 169).

Whether Jethro went to the wilderness to meet Moses before or after the Torah was given, and consequently what it was that induced him to go to the wilderness, are disputed points among the rabbis (Zeb. 116a; Yer. Meg. i. 11; Mek. l.c.). According to some, it was the giving of the Torah that inspired his journey, while according to others, it was either the crossing of the Red Sea dry-shod, or the miraculous falling of the manna. According to Rabbi Joshua, Moses purposely sent Jethro away in order that he should not be present at the revelation of the Law.

The manner in which Jethro announced his arrival to Moses is also variously indicated. According to Rabbi Eliezer, Jethro sent a messenger. According to Rabbi Joshua, he wrote a letter and tied it to an arrow which he shot into the camp. Moses did not go out alone to meet his father-in-law, but was accompanied by Aaron and the 70 elders of Israel, in order to honor Jethro. Some say that even the Shekhinah itself went out to meet him (Mek. l.c.; Tan., Yitro, 6). The words "wa-yiḥad Yitro" (Ex. 18:9), generally translated "and Jethro rejoiced," are interpreted by some of the Talmudists as "he circumcised himself." Other interpret it as "he felt a stinging in his flesh"; that is to say, he was sorry for the loss of the Egyptians, his former coreligionists. By an interchange of the letters ח with the ה, the phrase would read "wa-yihad," meaning "he became a Jew" (Tan., Yitro, 5).

Jethro was the first to utter a benediction to God for the wonders performed by Him for the Israelites (Ex. 18:10). Such a thing had not yet been done either by Moses or by any of the Israelites (Sanh. l.c.; Mek. l.c. 2). Jethro knew that Yahweh was greater than all the gods (Ex. 18:11), because he had previously worshiped all the idols of the world (Mek. l.c.; Tan. l.c.).

See also

• Jethro in Rabbinic Literature
• Moses in rabbinic literature
• Bithiah

External links

• Prophet Shoaib “Jethro” Mosque and Tomb near Mahis

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