Jethro and Jewish Identity: Identity Negotiation In Jewish Biblical Interpretation Open Access
Lawrence, Beatrice Jane Wallins (2009)
Published
Abstract
Abstract
Jethro and Jewish Identity: Identity Negotiation
In Jewish Biblical Interpretation
By Beatrice J. W. Lawrence
This dissertation examines the treatment of Jethro, Moses'
father-in-law, in Jewish
biblical interpretation up to the 10th century CE. The particular
focus of this examination
is Jewish identity, and how Jethro's non-Israelite identity in the
Bible is addressed by
rabbinic exegetes. First, the author discusses the biblical texts
pertinent to post-biblical
Jewish discussions of Jethro (comprising portions of Exodus,
Numbers, Judges and 1
Chronicles). Then, the author presents and discusses the treatment
of Jethro in Tannaitic
midrashim, later midrashim, Targums, and Talmudic materials.
Certain themes--both
positive and negative--appear and reappear throughout the rabbinic
texts examined in
this study. In each collection of texts, we find that Jethro is
praised for his beliefs,
spiritual sensitivity and wisdom; honored for his hospitality to
Moses; and lauded as a
Torah scholar, even the progenitor of a line of scholars. His
connection to Torah,
however, does not supercede the fact that he is not an Israelite:
Jethro is excluded from
the revelation of the Torah at Sinai. He is frequently viewed as a
convert, both subtly and
directly, but little information is given about his conversion
process. His idolatrous past
is frequently addressed, but often with hospitable overtones:
Jethro is treated as a
paradigmatic convert because of the change he undertakes. Each body
of literature also
contains traditions that record an unyielding ethnic distinction
between Jethro and the
Israelites--even after he has converted, a boundary remains. The
land of Israel was a
less significant marker of identity for the rabbis of the later
midrashim and the Targums
than it was for the Tannaim. Though certain aspects of identity are
afforded to Jethro
with relative consistency--Torah study and belief in YHWH--the
problem of ethnicity
and lineage consistently places a barrier between Jethro and the
Israelites. The later
midrashim demonstrate more extreme traditions in this regard; they
are more radically
inclusive and more virulently exclusive than the Tannaitic
midrashim, indicating the fact
that anxiety about boundaries continued to be a component of Jewish
thought during the
rabbinic period, and continued to grow in significance with
time.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1:
Introduction..............................................................................1
Chapter 2: Jethro in the
Bible......................................................................46
Chapter 3: Jethro in Tannaitic
Midrashim.......................................................93
Chapter 4: Jethro in Later
Midrashim..........................................................127
Chapter 5: Jethro in the
Targums...............................................................172
Chapter 6:
Conclusions...........................................................................205
Bibliography.......................................................................................213
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