This article is about the view of this character in the Hebrew Bible. For the view of him as a prophet in Islam and among the Druze, see Shuaib. For the parsha, see Yitro.
In the Hebrew Bible, Jethro (/ˈdʒɛθroʊ/; Hebrew: יִתְרוֹ, Modern: Yītrō, Tiberian: Yīṯrō, lit. "His Excellence/Posterity"; Arabic: يثرون, romanized: Yaṯrūn) was Moses' father-in-law, a Kenite shepherd and priest of Midian,[1] sometimes called Reuel (or Raguel).[2] In Exodus, Moses' father-in-law is initially referred to as "Reuel" (Exodus 2:18) but afterwards as "Jethro" (Exodus 3:1). He was also identified as the father of Hobab in Numbers 10:29, though Judges 4:11 identifies him as Hobab.[3][4][5]
Muslim scholars and the Druze identify Jethro with the prophet Shuayb, also said to come from Midian.[6][7][8] For the Druze, Shuayb is considered the most important prophet, and the ancestor of all Druze.[9][10]
Jasher mentions a man called Reuel the Midianite, who advised Pharaoh Melol not to harm the Israelites anymore. It is written that he was in his presence confronting Job the Uzite and Balaam son of Beor. Narration continues with Pharaoh listening to Balaam and starting the killing of Israelite infant boys.[11]
^Meyers, Carol (1 March 2018). Coogan, Michael D.; Brettler, Marc Z.; Newsom, Carol A.; Perkins, Pheme (eds.). The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Fifth ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 81–83. ISBN978-0-19-027605-8. Like the rest of the Pentateuch, Exodus contains contradictions and redundancies. For example, Moses' father-in-law is sometimes called Reuel and sometimes Jethro; and the mountain of revelation is Sinai in some passages and Horeb in others.
^Harris, Stephen (20 January 2010). Understanding The Bible (8 ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. p. 69. ISBN978-0-07-340744-9. J names Moses' father-in-law as Reuel or Hobab, whereas E knows him as Jethro, priest of Midian.