Allusions in

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...

to the Biblical character Jethro, the father-in-law of

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

, contain various expansions, elaborations and inferences beyond what is presented in the text of the Bible itself.

His names

One puzzle for the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

ists was the difference in names presented at and , compared to : some thought that his real name was " Hobab" and that

Reuel Reuel or Raguel (; Edomite: 𐤓𐤏𐤀𐤋, ''RʿʾL''), meaning "God shall pasture" or more specifically " El shall pasture" (as a shepherd does with his flock) is a Hebrew name associated with several biblical and religious figures. Biblical ...

was his father; others thought that his name was "Reuel", interpreting it "the friend of God" (compare the view of some modern scholars, who hold that his name was "Reuel," and that "Jethro" was a title, "his Excellency"). According to

Shimon bar Yochai Shimon bar Yochai ( Zoharic Aramaic: שמעון בר יוחאי, ''Shim'on bar Yoḥai'') or Shimon ben Yochai (Mishnaic Hebrew: שמעון בן יוחאי, ''Shim'on ben Yoḥai''), also known by the acronym Rashbi, was a 2nd-century ''tannaiti ...

, he had two names, "Hobab" and "Jethro". It became, however, generally accepted that he had seven names: "Reuel", "

Jether Jether ( he, יֶ֣תֶר) is a name mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. It means "surplus" or "excellence". #The father-in-law of Moses (Exodus 4:18 marg.), called elsewhere Jethro or Jothor. #The oldest of Gideon's seventy sons, who wa ...

", "Jethro", "Hobab", " Heber", "

Keni KENI (650 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Anchorage, Alaska, United States, the station serves the south-central Alaska area. The station is currently owned by . Its studios are located at Dimond Center in Anc ...

", and " Putiel";

Eleazar Eleazar (; ) or Elʽazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses. Biblical narrative Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from c ...

's father-in-law (Exodus 6:25) being identified with Jethro by interpreting his name either as "he who abandoned idolatry" or as "who fattened calves for the sake of sacrifices to the idol".

Previous life

According to the Talmud, Jethro together with

Balaam Balaam (; , Standard ''Bīlʿam'' Tiberian ''Bīlʿām'') is a diviner in the Torah (Pentateuch) whose story begins in Chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers (). Ancient references to Balaam consider him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beo ...

and

Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

was consulted by

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...

as to the means for exterminating the children of Israel; and as he dissuaded Pharaoh from his design, he was recompensed in that his descendants, the

Rechabite The Rechabites () are a biblical clan, the descendants of Rechab through Jehonadab. Biblical sources The Rechabites belonged to the Kenites, who accompanied the Israelites into the Holy Land and dwelt among them. The main body of the Kenites dwel ...

s, sat with the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ap ...

in the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. Jethro and

Amalek Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or the ...

were consulted by Pharaoh, and that both advised him to throw the male children into the river; but, seeing that Amalek was excluded from both this and the future life, Jethro repented. Some commentators maintain that when Pharaoh asked his advisors about how to go about outsmarting/exterminating Israel, Jethro promptly fled the scene while Job remained silent and Balaam suggested to enslave them. R. Joshua and R.

Eleazar of Modi'im Eleazar of Modi'im ( he, אלעזר המודעי) was a Jewish scholar of the second tannaitic generation (1st and 2nd centuries), disciple of Johanan ben Zakkai, and contemporary of Joshua ben Hananiah and Eliezer ben Hyrcanus. Rabbinic care ...

disagree as to Jethro's position in

Midian Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...

: according to one, the words ''kohen Midyan'' mean that he was the "priest fMidian"; according to the other, "prince fMidian". Other sources state that Jethro was a priest. Jethro, having remarked that the worship of an idol was foolish, abandoned it. The Midianites therefore excommunicated him, and none would keep his flocks; so that his daughters were compelled to tend them and were ill-treated by the shepherds. This, however, is in conflict with another statement, to the effect that Jethro gave his daughter

Zipporah Zipporah, or Tzipora (; he, צִפּוֹרָה, ''Ṣīppōrā'', "bird"),, ''Sepphōra''; ar, صفورة, ''Ṣaffūrah'' is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Reuel/Jethro, the priest and prince of Midi ...

on condition that their first son should be brought up in the worship of idols, and that Moses swore to respect this condition. However, commentaries explain this away by saying that the purpose of this was that he wanted his grandson to truly appreciate the foolishness of idolatry and that which led Jethro himself to abandon it and that Moses only acceded when he saw through divine inspiration that Jethro would end up releasing him of the vow anyway.

With Moses and Israel

Whether Jethro went to the wilderness before or after the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

was given, and consequently what it was that induced him to go to the wilderness, are disputed points among the ancient rabbis. According to some, it was the giving of the Torah; according to others, the

crossing of the Red Sea The Crossing of the Red Sea ( he, קריעת ים סוף, Kriat Yam Suph, parting of the Sea of Reeds) forms an episode in the biblical narrative of The Exodus. It tells of the escape of the Israelites, led by Moses, from the pursuing Egyptia ...

dry-shod, or the falling of the

manna Manna ( he, מָן, mān, ; ar, اَلْمَنُّ; sometimes or archaically spelled mana) is, according to the Bible, an edible substance which God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert during the 40-year period follow ...

. The manner in which Jethro announced his arrival to Moses is also variously described. According to

Rabbi Eliezer Eliezer ben Hurcanus or Hyrcanus ( he, אליעזר בן הורקנוס) was one of the most prominent Sages (tannaim) of the 1st and 2nd centuries in Judea, disciple of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai Avot of Rabbi Natan 14:5 and colleague of Gamalie ...

, Jethro sent a messenger; according to

Rabbi Joshua Joshua ben Hananiah ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ ben Ḥánanyāh''; d. 131 CE), also known as Rabbi Yehoshua, was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Second Temple. He is the seventh-most-frequently mentioned sage i ...

, 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 According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

, Nadab,

Abihu In the biblical books Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, Nadab () and Abihu () were the two oldest sons of Aaron. According to Leviticus 10, they offered a sacrifice with "foreign fire" before the , disobeying his instructions, and were immedia ...

, and the seventy elders of Israel to honor Jethro. Some say that even the

Shekinah Shekhinah, also spelled Shechinah ( Hebrew: שְׁכִינָה ''Šəḵīnā'', Tiberian: ''Šăḵīnā'') is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God, as it were, in a plac ...

itself went out to meet him. The words ''vayihad Yitro'' (Exodus 18:9), generally translated "and Jethro rejoiced," are interpreted by the Talmudists as "he circumcised himself"; or "he felt a stinging in his flesh"; that is to say, he was sorry for the loss of the

Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...

, his former coreligionists. By an interchange of the ח with the ה, the phrase would read ''vayihad,'' meaning "he became a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

". Jethro was the first to utter a benediction to God for the wonders performed by Him for the

Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

s (Exodus 18:10); such a thing had not been done either by Moses or by any of the Israelites. Jethro knew that

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

was greater than all the gods (Exodus 18:11), because he had previously worshiped all the idols of the world; but at the same time he did not deny to idols all divine power. According to Rabbi Joshua, Moses purposely sent Jethro away so he would not be present at the revelation of the Law.Compare Exodus 18.27, Hebrew

Notes

{{Jewish Encyclopedia, url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=J&artid=258, article=Jethro Biblical figures in rabbinic literature Jethro (biblical figure)

His names

Previous life

With Moses and Israel

See also

Notes