Yitro – Overview

Contrasting Portraits

From the wide ranging body of commentary on these topics we can find exegetes who sketch two opposite composite portraits of Yitro:

Positive

  • R. Avraham Saba in his Tzeror HaMorShemot 18About Tzeror HaMor depicts Yitro as the antithesis of Amalek and a symbol of justice, truth, and peace. He adds that Yitro came in order to convert,1 and that his advice demonstrated great wisdom and Divine inspiration.
  • R. Yitzchak Arama in his Akeidat Yitzchak43About Akeidat Yitzchak presents a uniformly flattering portrayal of Yitro. He praises Yitro for both the fine character reflected in his bringing Zipporah back to Moshe and the intellect displayed in his sagacious advice to Moshe. The Akeidat Yitzchak does not address the question of whether Yitro converted, but in his commentary on Bemidbar (Chapter 72) he suggests that after Yitro departed he returned and remained with the Children of Israel.

Negative

Related Topics

An analysis of the personality of Yitro is related to the following topics:

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