Honored By Moses
The manner in which Jethro announced his arrival to Moses is also variously indicated. According to Rabbi Eliezer, Jethro sent a messenger; according to Rabbi Joshua, he wrote a letter and tied it to an arrow which he shot into the camp. Moses did not go out alone to meet his father-in-law; but was accompanied by Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel to honor Jethro. Some say that even the Shekinah itself went out to meet him (Mek. l.c.; Tan., Yitro, 6).
The words wa-yihad Yitro (Exodus 18.9), generally translated "and Jethro rejoiced," are interpreted by the Talmudists as "he circumcised himself"; or "he felt a stinging in his flesh"; that is to say, he was sorry for the loss of the Egyptians, his former coreligionists. By an interchange of the ח with the ה, the phrase would read wa-yihad, meaning "he became a Jew" (Tan., Yitro, 5).
Read more about this topic: Jethro In Rabbinic Literature
Famous quotes containing the words honored and/or moses:
“The soul is no longer honored as it once was, but it still keeps appetite from being the measure of all things.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“So they took soot from the kiln, and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses threw it in the air, and it caused festering boils on humans and animals.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Exodus 9:10.