Biblical Hebrew Forum

[ben.crick AT argonet.co.uk (Ben and Jo Crick)]

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