Priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses. When Moses escaped from Egypt and stopped in Midian, he defended the priest's seven daughters from the shepherds who drove them away from the well. Their father invited Moses to live with them and gave him his daughter, Zipporah, in marriage (Ex 2:15-22). The name of the priest of Midain, according to Exodus 2:15-22, is Reuel. In Exodus 3:1, the father-in-law of Moses is called Jethro, "the priest of Midian". The names Reuel and Jethro probably represent two different traditions, referring to the same character. Another possible name for him is Hobab: Numbers 10:29 has Moses attempting to persuade "Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law" to join the Israelites on their way to the promised land.
The description of Jethro's encounter with Moses, during which the former blessed the Lord who "is greater than all gods" and offered sacrifices in the presence of Aaron and the elders of Israel (Ex 18:10-12), as well as Jethro's advice to Moses to appoint God-fearing men as officers, (Ex 18:18ff), have led scholars to suggest that Jethro was a polytheistic priest whose creed allowed him to worship several deities, including the God of Israel.
Concordance
Ex 3:1; 4:18; 18:1-2, 5-6, 9-10, 12
