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b-hebrew - Re: Jethro and the"The Midianite Hypothesis"

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  • From: ben.crick AT argonet.co.uk (Ben and Jo Crick)
  • To: b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: Jethro and the"The Midianite Hypothesis"
  • Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 00:15:21 +0000


On Wed 15 Jan 2003 (13:08:13 +1100), peterkirk AT ozemail.com.au wrote:
> So perhaps Jethro's influence was to bring Moses
> from the Egyptian religion in which he had been brought up, no doubt,
> back to the faith of his ancestors.
>
> Of course all of this depends on a certain view of historicity which I
> don't intend to debate in this forum.

Nor I! According to the biblical narrative, baby Moses was wet-nursed by
his own mother Jochebed YoWKeBeD "YHWH is glorious" (Numbers 26:59). Moses
Mo$eH was the name given to the baby by Pharaoh's daughter; Amram and
Jochebed gave him the name Manasseh (Exodus 2:10; Judges 18:30). Moses'
own mother would have instructed him in the traditions of the Israelites,
even whilst he was imbibing Egyptian lore in the scribal school and the
military academy (Josephus, /Antiquities/, 2:9:4-7 and 2:10). This is also
the Jerusalem tradition given by Stephen in Acts 7:20ff and by the writer to
the Hebrews (Hebrews 11:23-29). It is the mother's job to give the very young
children their first lessons in the faith of their fathers. On the strength
of this, Moses chose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God,
than
to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season".

So ISTM that Jethro learnt as much from Moses as vice-versa. Jethro is also
R:'uW'eL compounded with 'eL (Exodus 2:18): "friend of God".

Ben
--
Revd Ben Crick BA CF, and Mrs Joanna (Goodwin) Crick
<ben.crick AT argonet.co.uk>
232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK)
http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm







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