[Facetious title, admittedly, though it is meant to recall the circumstances of the first meeting between Moses/Moshe and the man who would become his father-in-law. Moses had fled Egypt after killing an Egyptian taskmaster, meets Zipporah/Tsiipporah ( who then takes him home to meet Jethro/Yether. At that time, Mosheh was a nobody, in fact a fugitive (an outlaw), meeting a man of some importance, the priest of Midyan who later becomes his father-in-law. At that time, Mosheh’s connection to Yether must have given him some prestige in the Midian community.
The last we heard of Tsipporah, she and son Gershom had joined Mosheh to go to Egypt, she circumcised her own son to spare Mosheh’s life. Evidently as this text explains, Mosheh sent Tsipporah away, back to her father Yether at some point in the execution of YHWH’s instructions to Mosheh, probably during the plagues that all Egypt had been subjected to.
Now Yether takes time out from his priestly duties in Midian to bring her back to Mosheh with, by now, two sons: Gershom and Eliezer. Strangely, we will not hear much about these sons of Moshe; you would think that they would figure quite prominently in the future but other than occasional mention of their names, we never know what happens to them.
At this meeting of in-laws, it is Mosheh whose position has catapulted into the divinely-appointed leader of 2 million slaves freed from bondage in Egypt. This time it is Yether whose connection to Mosheh gives him some prestige in the eyes of the mixed multitude of slaves wandering in the wilderness. Yether was impressed by the change of fortune for his son-in-law and seeks him out to bring his family to him and in so doing, is able to give his two-cents-worth of advice about how not to burn-out early in a leadership’s role.
Translation: EF/Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses.—Admin1.]
Genesis /Shemoth 18
1 Now Yitro, the priest of Midyan, Moshe’s father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moshe and for Israel his people, that YHVH had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law, took Tzippora, Moshe’s wife-after
she had been sent home- 3 and her two sons, of whom the first-one’s name was Gershom/Sojourner There, for he had said: I have become a sojourner in a foreign land, 4 and the name of the other was Eliezer/God’s-help, for: the God of my father is my help, he rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword; 5 Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moshe, to the wilderness, where he was encamped, at the mountain of God. 6 He (had it) said to Moshe: I, your father-in-law Yitro, am coming to you, and your wife and her two sons with her. 7 Moshe went out to meet his father-in-law, he bowed and kissed him, and each-man asked after the other’s welfare; then they came into the tent. 8 Moshe related to his father-in-law all that YHVH had done to Pharaoh and to Egypt on Israel’s account, all the hardships that had befallen them on the journey, and how YHVH had rescued them. 9 And Yitro was jubilant because of all the good that YHVH had done for Israel, that he had rescued him from the land of Egypt. 10 Yitro said: Blessed be YHVH, who has rescued you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has rescued the people from under the hand of Egypt! 11 (So) now I know: yes, YHVH is greater than all gods- yes, in just that matter in which they were presumptuous against them! 12 Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law, took an offering-up and slaughter- animals for God, and Aharon and all the elders of Israel came to eat bread with Moshe’s father-in-law, before the presence of God.Imagine, this priest from Midyan who worshipped his god is impressed by the God he had heard about, whose power over an earthly power — Egypt and Pharaoh — moves him to declare the superiority of this God whose Name even he has already heard about and declares as “greater than the gods.” Surely word about the humiliation of Pharaoh and Egypt, the most powerful nation in those times, must have spread to other people groups in that part of the world. Yether being a priest initiates a worshipful acknowledgement of this new God by offering sacrifices, and breaks bread with the leaders, including Aaron/Aharon. We get a vague glimpse of the religious culture of this pagan priest which appears to be shared by the sons of Israel.
13 Now it was on the morrow: Moshe sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moshe from daybreak until sunset. 14 When Moshe’s father-in-law saw all that he had to do for the people, he said: What kind of matter is this that you do for the people- why do you sit alone, while the entire people stations itself around you from daybreak until sunset? 15 Moshe said to his father-in-law: When the people comes to me to inquire of God, 16 -when it has some legal-matter, it comes to me- I judge between a man and his fellow and make known God’s laws and his instructions.What does a leader of 2 million freed slaves to do? Surely inter-relational problems immediately arise that need immediate attention and resolution. Moses who had been busy so far, attending to the immediate survival needs of the multitude (food and drink) has not had time to think out any strategy of organizing the masses, so Yether’s visit is timely. He observes goings-on, forsees the inevitable burnout of Mosheh if he keeps up his one-man court-hearing-of-sorts, gives his son-in-law wise leadership advice: organize and appoint leaders, then spread out the work, allow others to share the burden. That’s plain common sense except that Mosheh had been too busy to think out that obvious strategy. The criteria for sectoral leaders is spelled out: able, fears ‘Elohim, truthful and just, with no ulterior motive for self-gain. Actually, it is unthinkable how this could be done ‘just like that’ when one is dealing with 2 million slaves, but what alternative is there at this point?
17 Then Moshe’s father-in-law said to him: Not good is this matter, as you do it! 18 You will become worn out, yes, worn out, so you, so this people that are with you, for this matter is too heavy for you, you cannot do it alone. 19 So now, hearken to my voice, I will advise you, so that God may be-there with you: Be-there, yourself, for the people in relation to God. You yourself should have the matters come to God; 20 You should make clear to them the laws and the instructions, you should make known to them the way they should go, and the deeds that they should do; 21 but you-you are to have the vision (to select) from all the people men of caliber, holding God in awe, men of truth, hating gain, you should set (them) over them as chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens, 22 so that they may judge the people at all times. So shall it be: every great matter they shall bring before you, but every small matter they shall judge by themselves. Make (it) light upon you, and let them bear (it) with you. 23 If you do (thus in) this matter when God commands you (further), you will be able to stand, and also this people will come to its place in peace. 24 Moshe hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, he did it all as he had said: 25 Moshe chose men of caliber from all Israel, he placed them as heads over the people, as chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens. 26 They would judge the people at all times: the difficult matters they would bring before Moshe, but every small matter they would judge by themselves. 27 Moshe sent his father-in-law off, and he went home to his land.
One last note: These leaders are to teach the people “statutes” and “torah” (instructions), the “way they must walk” and “what they must do.” The official TORAH, YHWH’s guidelines/manual for living, had not yet been given at this point. So these must be simple man-made logical rules and regulations on how to live together in their new context of travelling the desert before they reach their destination: the mountain of YHWH.
Cultures without TORAH share such statutes and laws of co-existing together: Egypt has shown that kind of governance, as have neighboring kingdoms in the area. For matters that could be resolved with plain reason and common sense, these appointed ‘judges’ took care of; thereby reserving matters of greater importance for Mosheh.
Let us not forget the mentality of slaves: they have been told what to do all their lives, so for this unusual short period of time of experiencing some freedom, they are still compliant and ready to submit to leadership. They have just left their cruel task masters behind, concentrating on simply surviving in the desert, and have yet to meet their next Master. What an awesome surprise is in store for them!
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