Contents 1 Biblical data 2 Identity and role 2.1 In Islamic and Druze tradition 3 Rabbinical tradition 4 References 5 Credits The sages go so far as to exaggerate his virtues. The survival of the Israelite people is dependent on their actions. Here is your ticket to join us as we discover more and more about the biblical world and its people. The variant names Jethro and Reuel may perhaps be due to different source documents. Nonetheless, the general impression of the man is that he is better than good; he is glorious. His occasional series for BR will focus on characters in the Bible that do not occupy center stagethose who play supporting roles. (Ex 3:1; Jg 1:16) Jethro is also called Reuel. It prepared her for marriage and independence from her family. He held this position up until March 2021 when he was suspended with his second-in-command, NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee succeeding him as the agent in charge . Jethro said: "Swear." Why did you leave him out there? The author of more than 30 novels, plays and profiles of Biblical figures, Elie Wiesel received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. vi. Surely this is a task he would entrust to women from another ethnic identity? [13][14], According to some modern scholars, "Jethro" was really a title meaning "His Excellency", and that "Reuel" was the figure's actual, given name. The reason for the difference is that the Hebrew character (ayin) in is sometimes used merely as a vowel and sometimes as "g", "ug", and "Fxn", because of the difficulty of its pronunciation by European speakers. If Hobab were another name for Jethro, as some suggest, it would also mean that two men, father and son, bore the name Hobab. Jethro, also called Reuel, or Hobab, in the Old Testament, priest of Midian of the Kenite clan, with whom Moses took refuge after he killed an Egyptian and whose daughter Moses married (Exodus 3:1). [2] The work was then sent to Francis I of France around 1530[3] It was already in the Casino di San Marco by 1587 among the goods of don Antonio de' Medici. Contemporary English Version (CEV). On gaining approval for this suggestion the sister calls the childs mother who agrees to nurse the child in exchange for money from the Pharaohs daughter. Shifra and Puah, two brave women who stood up against the powers in their country, who saw human beings where the Pharaoh saw a population of migrants threatening his country, who revered God and acted both morally and with compassion, remind us that we are not alone as Jews. In fact, Moses appears furious and half-naked in the center of the composition, while raging on the bodies of his rivals. She heroically saves Moses and her sons from a random attack from an angel by cutting off her son's foreskin; the explanation for this act is unclear. Mr. Burdow protects Jethro from the men who are angry about Bill's betrayal and redeems himself by helping Jethro and sending supplies to help the Creightons rebuild the barn. Grateful, Jethro invited Moses to stay and break bread with him: Moses consented to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah as wife (Exodus 2:21).Later, when Moses returns from freeing the Israelites from Egypt, Jethro proclaims the Israelite Gods glory, saying, Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods (Exodus 18:11). [citation needed]. One can see Jethro clearly: His demeanor is surely elegant, sincere, irreproachable. And as the music plays, the youngest sister urges him to dance with her. There are three basic views on this. Not to be overly pedantic, but the same text that tells us there were 600,000 Jews at Sinai also tells us how it got that number: by counting males between the ages of 20 and 60. This would be consistent with the practices of the day (such as Jacob claiming Joseph's children as his own in Genesis 48:5 (ESV) ). [7], Last edited on 31 December 2022, at 17:44, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moses_Defends_Jethro%27s_Daughters&oldid=1130728719, This page was last edited on 31 December 2022, at 17:44. In addition, Kelly was also the childhood best friend of Maddie Tyler while her paternal grandparents were Jackson Gibbs, Ann Gibbs, Joann Fielding and Mac Fielding. Jethro gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. The name Jethro is primarily a male name of Hebrew origin that means Abundance. Later on, small markings were added above and below each word to guide in pronunciation and allow for easier reading. The Case against Jephthah. It is in this context that Zipporah brings her son into the covenant with Yahweh and the side of holiness since the serpent was considered to be from the side of unholiness, referred to throughout the Zohar as the other side. Moses mission was to oppose Pharaoh and his oppressive policies and the first sign given was the defeat of Pharaohs magicians whose rods turned into dragons but were devoured by Aarons rod. A few minutes after Matt leaves, Ellen hears a noise and goes outside. And also we need to question the erasure of the real identity of Shifra and Puah as Egyptian women who revere God and who choose to serve God and rebel against the Pharaoh from their own belief systems and through their own agency. Sorry Paul, but for me the Zohar and most of the other rabbinic writings (excluding Maimonides) are little short of fairy tales. Your email address will not be published. And, dare I say it, Rashi is the biggest culprit. Ellie May and Jethro having children would be incest. Read an interview BAR Editor Hershel Shanks conducted with Elie Wiesel and Biblical scholar Frank Moore Cross, republished from BAR, July/August 2004 >>, Thus some of the sages ask what are the real motives behind Jethros close feelings for Israel. Zipporah is the wife of Moses, given to him in marriage by her Midianite priest father. But this neat arrangement of 40 (Egypt) 40 (Midian) 40 (desert)=120 is in part challenged in the book of Exodus. The next morning, after a sleepless night, Ellen notices that Matt looks pale and sick. Moses Defends Jethro's Daughters is an oil on canvas painting attributed to Italian artist Rosso Fiorentino, created c. 15231524, now held in the Uffizi in Florence, which acquired it in 1632. Jacob Encountering Rachel with her Fathers Herds (Photo credit: Wikipedia). I believe that it is. 23After the death of the king of Egypt, the Israelites still complained because they were forced to be slaves. They ride down town together, until Mr. Burdow explains that there were men trying to attack Jethro and his family because of his brother Bill, and his decision. In ancient Israel it was not unusual for women to work outside the home, young women at least. It was first connected to the reference in Vasari by Gaetano Milanesi[4] It is unclear if the original work was sent to France or, as Antonio Natali theorises, this is a faithful copy. The Sinai mountain is not vulcanic as the sound / trumpets is clear description of vulcano eruption. The New Living Translation (NLT) and the New International Version (NIV), different translations of the original manuscripts, agree with rendering this as "brother-in-law". There is strong evidence that Judges 4:11, regarding Hobab, should be translated Moses brother-in-law, because the Hebrew word simply means one who is related by marriage. One night, Shannon and Kelly were being driven by an NCIS agent responsible for looking after them. Amalekite herder : All right, all right. Complementary colors are often juxtaposed and the geometric shapes used in the pictorial surfaces are varied: this contributes to canceling the sense of spatial depth and plasticity of the volumes, in a decidedly anticlassical direction. In the first, when Jethro offers his daughter Zipporah to Moses, Jethro tells Moses: She will be your wife, but on one conditionyour first son will be consecrated to idolatry. There is some disagreement over the name(s) of Moses' father-in-law. When necessary he moved his sheep away from home base to distant fields, camping out until bad weather brought herds and shepherds home. Odette. Four highly acclaimed books, published in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution: Aspects of Monotheism, Feminist Approaches to the Bible, The Rise of Ancient Israel and The Search for Jesus. daughters.' He saved them and watered their flocks for them. The birth of Gershom seemed to be a sign for Moses that he had done the right thing by fleeing from Egypt. To be sure, Jethro is shown in a positive light. She's spent too long studying the Bible! ", In Numbers 10:29, the Hebrew for the name Raguel is the same as the Hebrew for Reuel. and strong. Object name: 56008058DI_DCR034893002. Everything he does, he does without guile. The foreground is a tangle of boldly foreshortened naked bodies, in which the pained grimace of the man on the right stands out, or the anger of the man who is rushing to the left with a veil blown by the wind around his body, a quote of classical art. Invite him to eat with us., 21Moses agreed to stay on with Jethro, who later let his daughter Zipporah marry Moses. 16, iv. When Jacob met Rachel at the well, he questioned why all the sheep were laying around rather than being watered. In the land of Midian, Moses, on his way to a well, rescued Jethro's seven daughters from the hands of the evil shepherds. I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt, and I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being mistreated. And Jethro said, "Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. "[31] Moses : Let them be first whose hands have drawn the water. Thats an anachronism, if ever there was. Brothers Van and Jethro round out the clan; On television's JAG, Rear Admiral Albert Jethro Chegwidden answered to A.J. Because they were necessary to Moses survival and pivotal in the narrative arc? He speaks only when asked. When Moses first escapes to Midian, he helps a number of young shepherdesses water their father's sheep, and they come to Reuel their father to tell him (Exodus 2:18). Since the Masoretes vocalised the text to make the midwives Hebrew women, and Rashi follows the tradition from BT Sotah we find ourselves corralled to seeing them not as brave Egyptian women who followed their consciences and put their faith in God, but as Hebrew women doing exactly what we would expect them to do, and indeed see them as the sister and mother of Moses whose function was entirely about protecting him as an infant. 2(B) There an angel of the Lord appeared to him from a burning bush. So, how come they were in Midian? Chapter 6. 18When Jethro's daughters returned home, their father asked, Why have you come back so early today?, 19They answered, An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds, and he even watered our sheep and goats., 20Where is he? Jethro asked. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that God made households for them a reference to both material goods and to children. 15. 17 Some shepherds tried to chase them away, but Moses came to their rescue and watered their animals. Along with them three are and other three olders who seen in the celebration nearby their father Jethro. Reuel means "friend of God." For the purposes of this blog we will avoid going too deep into every side of the debate as that is the area of biblical scholars and unnecessary for the average person who is simply seeking answers. Jethro is first mentioned in the Bible in Exodus 2:16 where he is described as "a priest of Midian." He is also referred to as Reuel (verse 18), which could indicate the equivalent of a last name. The same Hebrew and Greek words can be used for all three relationships through marriage. See also Release Dates | Official Sites | Company Credits | Filming & Production | Technical Specs [5][6][7] For the Druze, Shuayb is considered the most important prophet, and the ancestor of all Druze.[8][9]. Ajolidoforah is the middle-in-length sister who has curly bangs and wears a magenta dress with gold jewelry and a yellow veil on her head. What were the names of Jethro's seven daughters. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. So God let him alone, and she said A bridegroom of blood in regard to circumcision. Both Sabrina Burkholder and Jethro Nolt are back for Season 7 of Return to Amish. Thus, there were not 600,000 men and women with Moses. It instilled the appreciation for quiet companionship the sheepy kind, at least. This is important because the identity of the women as either Hebrew or Egyptian relies on the vocalisation of the letters of the two words . In times when local grass was insufficient, men took the herds further afield. The rabbis do not point this out, but I think this is the point of the text. The same support on canvas, never used by the painter before his stay in France, also raises doubts. This encounter led Moses to meet Jethro, and he married Zippora, one of his daughters. A sheepherder decided when to move the herds and found suitable grazing. He treated animal diseases, located lost sheep, and protected the flocks from wolves, hyenas, lions and bears. When a girl was eight to ten years old, she began leading the family herd out to nearby pasture. (Jethro) [from a root meaning more than enough; overflow]. Jacob and his sons must have passed on this knowledge to their descendants while in captivity, but was it retained and carried out into the wilderness after the first Passover? Moses Defends Jethro's Daughters is an oil on canvas painting attributed to Italian artist Rosso Fiorentino, created c. 1523-1524, now held in the Uffizi in Florence, which acquired it in 1632. Invited by Moses to join the newly created nation, Jethro gracefully declines by invoking his obligations to his own family and tribe in the land of Midian (Numbers 10:2930). Numbers 10:29, which is quoted on page 282, says of Hobab the son whose sister Zipporah Moses married: "Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses: 'We are pulling away for the place about which Jehovah said.'" (NW) Since Reuel the Midianite was Moses' father-in-law, then Reuel 's son Hobab was the brother-in-law of Moses. Who is daughter of Zion in the Bible? The narrator then tells us that God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. Jethro is a naturally kind, jovial, good-natured man, who is faithful and optimistic. RT @firstladyship: Seyi Tinubu's wife is Igbo from Anambra, her name is Chinwe. Ellen suggests that he stop at the Burdows to thank Mr. Burdow for his help. Some scholars speculate that Rebekah and Leah were also shepherdesses. Historically the name of Yahweh first appears in the records of Amenhotep III and Ramsese II as the land of Yahweh inhabited by nomadic tribes of Shasu so this gives you an idea that Yahwehism first appeared among tribes that were beyond the control of Egypt. The first is that Reuel is simply another name for Jethro, much like Jacob also being named Israel (both of which were used interchangeably). Moses would not have entreated an 80 year old man, Reuel (one who was in need of the strength and vigor to drive away desert dwelling Bedouins competing for water) to be a scout for Israel. The Enduring Olive Tree and its Precious Fruit: From Modern Day to AncientPast1. The word vayihad is related to the Aramaic chiddudim, prickles. One Jewish Bible commentary explains that Jethro was so overcome with joy that he felt goose bumps. BEST VALUE in digital Bible study. (iii) Priest of Midian and The 7 Daughters Exodus 2:16 Explained. We cannot [water the sheep] until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the wells mouth, then we water the sheep[so] Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the wells mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mothers brother (Genesis 29:8-10). However, the Hebrew expression normally rendered father-in-law can in a broader sense denote any male relative by marriage and so could also be understood as brother-in-law. To say that Hobab instead of Jethro was Moses father-in-law would disagree with other texts. 7. He who said a woman and a daughter: they were Yocheved and Miriam. The Prince of Egypt Later, when Moses, who is now Jethros son-in-law, returns from Egypt at the head of his freed people, Jethro brings to him his wife, Zipporah, and their two children (Exodus 18:5). His voice actor is Danny Glover while his singing was produced by Brian Stokes Mitchell. The wool of double-coated sheep is known as carpet wool in contrast to the fine wool of Merino sheep used in todays expensive clothing. In the dangerous world of a Pharaoh determined to suppress the Israelite population by killing every male child not only has a baby but hides him for three months, before making a vessel of bulrushes and placing the child in it to be caught in the reeds at the rivers edge. 9My people have begged for my help, and I have seen how cruel the Egyptians are to them. Moses is also wrong for agreeing to this condition (idolatryno circumcision for one son), but the Midianites presented this condition. [2] As a young shepherdess, Rachel met Jacob when she came to water her sheep (Genesis 29:9). No one would ever accuse him of nepotism. Kelly Gibbs (1982 - February 25, 1991) was a young girl who was the daughter of former Marine-turned-NIS/NCIS Special Agent, Leroy Jethro Gibbs and civilian Shannon Gibbs. Having said all this, even though Jethro has no detractors, he does inspire a certain skepticism in some. On the second occasion, Jethro, having heard all that the people of Israel have suffered in Egypt, and how God has saved them on their flight from the landing saved you. According to the commentary of one sage (Reb Papos), this passage may be intended as a criticism of Moses and the 600,000 men and women who were with him. But vayihad Yithro could easily mean his flesh crawled [with fear], he had goose bumps.b Is this a way of balancing our understanding of the man? [30] The Israeli Druze also have a folktale called "Jethro's revenge on the [Sunni Muslim] inhabitants of the village of Hittin. Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. On the other hand, Hobab, as a leading member of the next generation of Kenites, might be used in this text as a representative of his father. Re-u-el, with the first syllable strong accented, is nearer to the true pronunciation. I wonder how often Jethros daughters endured the scenario of laboriously filling the watering troughs from the well, pitcher-full by pitcher-full, only to have their flocks pushed aside by surly shepherds, too lazy to draw their own water. 11. Shifra and Puah, whose names describe beauty, are also women who radiate morality and who call us to arms, to fight for what is right. He was also identified as Hobab in the Book of Numbers 10:29. Many people in town realize what he did and they were angered. It is located at Hittin in the Lower Galilee and is the holiest shrine and most important pilgrimage site for the Druze. Job 1:2: 'There were born to him [Job] seven sons and three Moses wasnt even Jewish, but he was Israelite, of which Judahites (later Jews) were a tribe, then more or less a nation (Judah). 18 When Jethro's daughters returned home, their father asked, "Why have you come back so early today?" Jethro's daughter, Zipporah, became Moses's wife after Moses had fled Egypt, having killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. After much study, I believe that Reuel and Jethro are the same person. Therefore, I believe that Reuel and Jethro are one person: Moses' father-in-law and Hobab is Moses' brother-in-law. [2] In Exodus, Moses' father-in-law is initially referred to as "Reuel" (Exodus 2:18) but afterwards as "Jethro" (Exodus 3:1). 25 and Soah 43a, 1585 Ottoman expedition against the Druze, 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus, "Judges 4 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre", http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=258&letter=J&search=Jethro#1035, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jethro_(biblical_figure)&oldid=1141358319, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2011, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 17:31. the book of Job. Why Hebrews later on destroyed the Medianitic people? Rachel pointed to the great stone that covered the well. Jethro. Some believe Midian is within the Sinai Peninsula. Francesca Marie Smith (Ephorah)Stephanie Sawyer (Ajolidoforah)Aria Noelle Curzon (Jethrodiadah) Or did Moses bring it with him after forty years of listening to Jethro? The Hebrew language originally consisted only of consonants (for example, the last sentence, minus consonants would read: TH HBRW LNGG ORGNLL CNSSTD NL F CNSNNTS). In the Bible, Jethro, aka Reuel or Hobab, was in the Old Testament, a priest of Midian of the Kenite clan, with whom Moses took refuge. This cant be as Jewish community had not been larger than 100.000. This has been quite the point of contention, but is quite simply solved. 22And when she had a son, Moses said, I will name him Gershom,[b] since I am a foreigner in this country.. Instead of unequivocal guidance complementing the written Torah, all we are left with is a hotchpotch of fanciful and frequently unbelievable hypotheses. And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people. vi. Regular or occasional unmannerly treatment of young women at the wells, and the heavy stone barricades sealing off some of the water sources certainly presented major difficulties for the shepherdess. The estimate usually used is three million (including children, though). When Moses told Jethro of all the miracles done for the Israelites by Yhwh, Jethro, rejoicing, exclaimed, "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods . I feel some credence could be given to David Rohls suggestion (The Lost Testament chapter nine pp 188-189) that Jethro, as a descendant of Abraham, would have been more familiar with the traditions and fireside stories about his lineage than the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. In the first, when Jethro offers his daughter Zipporah to Moses, Jethro tells Moses: She will be your wife, but on one conditionyour first son will be consecrated to idolatry. These five women were some of the world's first fighters for the rights of women. http://www.keyway.ca/htm2002/jethro.htm.]). The baby is the centre of the story here, but there are three women who contrive to save his life, two of whom we will later learn are Yocheved his mother and Miriam his sister. Jethro responded to Moses review of Jehovahs mighty saving acts by blessing God and confessing: Now I do know that Jehovah is greater than all the other gods. He then offered up sacrifices to the true God.