Yitro/0

Yitro – Overview

Introduction

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 Jewish people.

Negative

• PhiloOn the Change of Names XVII:103On Drunkenness X-XI:36-45The Special Laws IV:XXXIII:173-175About Philo's portrayal of Yitro is extremely negative.² In On the Change of Names, he writes how Yitro's name symbolizes superfluousness and pride. Similarly, in On Drunkenness he criticizes Yitro's advice saying that Yitro in his arrogance "proposes laws contrary to those of nature."³ Philo even attempts to cast even Yitro's recognition of Hashem's might in Shemot 18:12 as an offensive comparison of Hashem to other gods.⁴
• Some Midrashim – TanchumaYitro 3About the Tanchuma and Tanchuma Buber Yitro 2-4 read Yitro (with Amalek) into the verse in Mishlei 19:25 "Flog a scoffer, and the simple will become prudent," thus portraying Yitro in an unflattering light. Shemot Rabbah27:6About Shemot Rabbah and Midrash Shemuel12:2About Midrash Shemuel take this even further, deepening Yitro's relationship with the enemies of the Jewish people. See Yitro and Amalek for more.

Related Topics

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

• Yitro's Religious Identity and the meaning of kohen
• Yitro's Names and his Relationship to Moshe
• Yitro and Amalek
• The Purpose of Yitro's Visit
• The meaning of vayichad
• Did Moshe Need Yitro's Advice?
• Why did Yitro Leave? and Did he Return and Remain with the Nation?

Click here to proceed to Yitro's Religious Identity.

¹ He follows Midrash in both this regard and in extoling the virtues of Yitro's descendants.

² See Prof. Louis Feldman's analysis in Studies in Josephus's Rewritten Bible pp.38-54.

³ Abarbanel also views Yitro's proposal as incompatible with the Torah's system of justice and as reflecting Yitro's misunderstandings, but he is not critical of Yitro's character – see Did Moshe Need Yitro's Advice.

⁴ On the other hand, in On the Change of Names Philo also says that the name Reuel has a positive meaning ("shepherd of God"), and in The Special Laws IV he praises Yitro's proposal.