Yitro (Jethro) was the priest of Midian. Now, what kind of honor or greatness are we trying to attribute to Jethro by saying he was a priest in Midian? We will see that Rashi explains later on that Jethro’s greatness was that he was a very high-level priest in Midian, and he left it all. He left the other religions.
Matter of fact, we’ll see later on that this was even before Moses married his daughter. We’re going to struggle with that a little bit. He worked for Pharaoh too, right? That Midrash you're talking about—that he worked for Pharaoh—that’s outside of the literal Rashi and the Chumash; that’s Midrashic. We’re trying to concentrate here on the literal and simple meaning of the verses.
But let’s go back to understand the sequence of the story. Moses goes out when he becomes older and sees his people. He sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. He had done terrible things to him; he went into his house and abused the man’s wife, and then later at work, he continued. So, Moses took a stand. He actually killed the Egyptian by using the Name of God and buried him in the sand. Moses thought nobody saw him, but it so happened that there were two Jewish men, Dathan and Abiram, who witnessed it.
The next day, Moses comes out and these two guys are quarreling and fighting. One of them raises a hand to beat his friend, and Moses intervenes again. He says to the guy raising his hand, "Rasha (evil man), why do you beat your friend?" Moses was only about 12 or 13 years old then, and these people were grown-ups. They said to Moses, "Who made you a judge and a ruler over us? Do you intend to kill us as you did the Egyptian?" They told him they saw what he had done.
That wasn't all. They went to Pharaoh—and Moses had grown up in Pharaoh's house with many privileges—and they slandered him. They told Pharaoh that Moses had killed the Egyptian. When Pharaoh heard that, he wanted to kill Moses. Miraculously, as Rashi says, God made Moses’ neck become like marble so the sword couldn't chop his head off.
Moses was still afraid, so he ran away to Midian. He came to a well and saw seven young girl shepherds being chased away. They were the daughters of the priest of Midian. The Torah doesn't identify him by the name Yitro right away; it just calls him the Priest of Midian. These seven daughters went out to water their sheep, and the other shepherds chased them away. Rashi explains that Jethro had decided to separate himself from idol worship, so the people excommunicated him. When his daughters came around with the sheep, the shepherds chased them away because of that excommunication.
Again, Moses took a stand. He helped them and watered their flock. The girls went home unusually early. Usually, they would struggle with the shepherds for a long time, but with Moses there, they finished quickly. Their father asked, "How come you came home so fast today?" They said, "An Egyptian man helped us." Jethro said, "Why don’t you call him home? Maybe he’ll marry one of you."
Moses came home with them, became Jethro’s shepherd, and married his daughter, Zipporah. She gave birth to a son named Gershom, because Moses said, "I was a stranger (Ger) in that land." The Torah doesn’t mention the second son yet, but later we learn his name was Eliezer.
Eventually, Moses saw the burning bush and God gave him the mission to take the Jews out of Egypt. Moses went back to his father-in-law to get permission to leave. On the way to Egypt, an angel tried to kill Moses because he hadn't performed a bris (circumcision) on his son, Eliezer. Rashi explains that the baby was born just as they were leaving, and Moses was conflicted—if he performed the bris, they couldn't travel, but if he didn't, he was delaying the commandment. Moses delayed it, and the angel attacked. Zipporah performed the circumcision herself and saved Moses.
Now, let's look at Jethro’s names. Even though he’s called the Priest of Midian, he had dropped that service. The Torah calls him "Priest of Midian" to show that despite being a high priest with a complex philosophy, he realized the God of the Hebrews was greater than all other gods. Rashi says Jethro had seven names: Yitro, Reuel, Yeter, Hobab, Kenite, Putiel, and Heber.
There’s a reason for all these names. Sometimes he's called Moses’ father-in-law, sometimes Hobab. Before Moses became important as the agent of God, the verses emphasized that Moses was Jethro’s son-in-law. Jethro was the big name then. But once things switched, Jethro bragged about being Moses’ father-in-law.
Rashi debates the name Reuel. The verse says the girls "came home to their father, Reuel." Rashi argues that "father" can sometimes mean "grandfather," so Reuel might have been their grandfather. However, the flow of the verse makes it seem like it's the same person.
The name Yeter or Yitro comes from the word for "extra" or "addition." Jethro had the privilege of adding a portion to the Torah. He suggested that Moses get help and delegate the workload. He suggested Moses shouldn't carry the entire burden alone. For this contribution, a portion of the Torah is named after him. The additional "vav" in his name (making Yeter into Yitro) was added when he converted.
Now, let’s look at the timing. The verse says, "It was the next day..." One would assume this was the day after Jethro arrived, they greeted each other, and ate together. But Rashi says it’s impossible for it to be the literal "next day." Why? Because Moses tells Jethro, "I am teaching them the laws of God." But the laws weren't given until Sinai. Moses was up on the mountain for 120 days total (three periods of 40 days) before coming down on Yom Kippur with the final tablets.
Rashi argues that "the next day" actually means the day after Yom Kippur. After Moses came down with the Torah, he started judging the people from morning until night. Jethro saw this and said, "Moses, you can't do this alone. You'll get tired, and the people will get tired. You must distribute the workload."
Moses replied, "But they come to me to hear the word of God. I have to teach them." Jethro suggested a plan: appoint reputable, God-fearing, honest men to be judges over groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. Moses would only handle the major cases. This is the first time we see "planning" in the Torah. Up until then, everything was miraculous—the sea splits, the manna falls, water comes from a rock. Jethro, the outsider, brings in a practical organizational plan.
At the end of this story, Moses sends his father-in-law away. Some verses suggest Jethro wanted to leave to convert his own people. Moses didn't want him to go, but eventually, he did.
When reading the text, it says God did these things for "Moses and for Israel." Why is Moses singled out? Isn’t he part of Israel? Rashi says Moses was so important that he was equal to the entire nation.
Then it mentions Zipporah was "sent away." When Moses was heading back to Egypt, his brother Aaron met him and said, "We have enough trouble in Egypt; don’t bring more people into this mess." So Moses sent Zipporah and the kids back to Midian. They stayed there for years while the plagues and the Exodus happened. Moses was 80 when he took the Jews out.
Finally, Jethro hears about the splitting of the sea and the war with Amalek and is inspired to join them in the desert. He brings Zipporah and the two sons back to Moses. Moses greets him with great honor, prostrating and kissing him. Moses tells him all the miracles God did. Jethro is happy, but Rashi notes a detail: Jethro felt "Vayichad" (rejoiced), which can also mean his flesh became "prickly" with goosebumps. Even though he was committed to God, hearing about the destruction of the Egyptians—his former peers—made him uncomfortable. Rashi teaches us a lesson here: you should be careful not to degrade a convert’s former people in front of them.
Jethro then offers sacrifices, and Aaron and all the elders come to eat with him. Moses is missing from the list of those eating because, as Rashi explains, Moses was busy serving them. He was the host, taking care of everyone.
This meeting was a powerful gathering of righteous people, and it set the stage for the organizational structure of the Jewish people.