“Jethro, the priest of Midian…” –Exodus 18:1Moses’ father-in-law Jethro is described as the “priest of Midian” at two different times in the story of the Exodus. The first time is when Moses flees from Egypt and encounters Jethro’s daughters (Ex. 2:16, 3:1). The second time occurs when he returns Moses’ wife and sons, at the beginning of the Torah portion bearing his name (Ex. 18:1). Jethro’s title is important because of its universal association with his name. Whether Jethro was a priest of the God of Israel or some pagan order is not given explicitly in the scriptures, but the probability of each will be examined in the context of both appearances of Jethro in the narrative of the Exodus.
In Moses' first encounter with Jethro, the Midianites had been separated from the children of Israel for over 500 years. Midian was a son of Abraham through Keturah (Gen. 25:2). To sketch in the timeframe from the birth of Midian to Jethro’s encounter with Moses, several assumptions must be made. If the time that Israel dwelt in Egypt was 430 years, then Moses would have met Jethro about 390 years into that period (Acts 7:23, 30). Jacob was 130 years old at the beginning of the stay in Egypt (Gen. 47:9), so from the time from the birth of Jacob to the meeting of Moses and Jethro would be about 520 years. To measure the period from Midian’s birth to Jacob’s birth, it is assumed that Midian was born shortly after Sarah’s death (Gen. 25). Since Midian is listed fourth, perhaps six years elapsed between Sarah’s death and his birth. The age of Isaac at Sarah’s death is 37 at the most (Gen. 17:17, 23:1) and Rebekah bore Jacob and Esau when Isaac was 60 (Gen. 25:26). Adding these numbers together, the period from Midian’s birth to the birth of Jacob would be about 17 years (37+6=43; 60-43=17). This makes for a period of about 537 years from Midian’s birth to the meeting of Moses and Jethro.
With this period in mind, it is important to consider whether Midian and his sons would have continued in the faith of Abraham or would have fallen into the idolatry of the nations around them. In the immediate context, this consideration is entirely speculative. Using a broader context, there are examples in the scriptures where faithfulness to God is both brief and enduring. During the time of the Judges, a typical period of faithfulness is around 40 years (Judg. 3:11, 5:31), which doesn’t leave much hope for Midian. However, in Jeremiah 35 there is a story about a clan of Israelites called the Rechabites who had kept the word given to them by Jonadab the son of Rechab from the time of Saul (c. 1010 B.C.) to the time of Jehoiakim (c. 600 B.C.), a period of over 400 years. It may be that at least some of the Midianites were like the Rechabites, and although the Levitical priesthood had yet to be established Jethro could have been a priest of God in the same manner as Melchizedek.
On the second encounter, the scripture sheds more light on the content of Jethro’s faith and it is probable that he was indeed a priest of God. In Exodus 18, Jethro rejoices at the news of Israel’s deliverance and offers a short hymn to God where he says, “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods” (v. 11). Whether this statement reflects a recent change of heart or is an expression of continuing faith can be debated. Nebuchadnezzar makes a similar statement in Daniel 4:37: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven.” In this case, the now implies a recent change of heart. Job, in contrast to this, also says, “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5). Job had been previously considered a righteous man and his expression of now is one of deepening and continuing faith. Jethro could be in either category, depending in particular on his spiritual state at his first encounter with Moses. Further demonstration of Jethro’s faith in God is seen through the wisdom he gives to Moses about delegating responsibility. Had it not been God’s wisdom, Moses would not have heeded it and since “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps. 111:10) Jethro would have needed the fear of the LORD to impart the wisdom that he did.
The story of Jethro, priest of Midian, raises almost as many questions as answers as we dig deeper into this enigmatic character. However, may we not miss in the details in the story the unequivocal honor and respect shown to Jethro by Moses. This speaks both of Moses' humility and Jethro's eminence. May we learn from both.
