Bible Trivia - 7/21/2008

Question: By what other name was Reuel, Moses’ father-in-law, know?

Answer: Jethro. (Exodus 2:18, 3:1)

Comments: Moses' father-in-law actually has three names Biblically: Reuel (Exodus 2:18), Jethro (Exodus 3:1) amd Hobab (Judges 4:11). He is most commonly called Jethro. Only in the account of the marriage of his daughter Zipporah to Moses (Exodus 2:16-21) is he called "Reuel." There have been several proposals as to why the figure has varying identifications.

Some have concluded that this is simply indicative of the common Ancient Near Eastern practice of having multiple names for persons and cities according to context. Reuel means "friend of God", while Jethro means "excellence". Thus, it has been suggested that Reuel was the man's personal name while Jethro was an honorific title.

In the story that identifies him as "Reuel", he is classified by the the word 'ab which literally means "father" but can also refer to the head of a clan who would be responsible for arranging all the marriages for his female descendants. Thus some have speculated that Reuel was the patriarch, which the word combination father/daughter allows. This would make Jethro his son.

When they came to Reuel their father, he said, "Why have you come back so soon today?" (Exodus 2:18, NASB)

Talmudists have actually concluded that the man had seven names!: "Reuel," "Jether," "Jethro," "Hobab," "Heber," "Keni" and "Putiel".