How did Jethro know Moses's God?
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The term Priest as used in Genesis does not necessarily mean a Religious Leader, but in fact may have only designated the leader of a tribe and etc. the following is an excerpt from Strongβs dictionary.
koΜheΜn ko-hane' Active participle of H3547; literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman): - chief ruler, X own, priest, prince, principal officer.
Jethro most probably, as the priest of Midian, was the comparative to a Mayor in our modern day.
As far as his knowledge of the Hebrew God, since Moses was his son in law, Jethro would as any father have queried Moses on many thing before allowing him to marry his daughter, especially since he was a leader to his people. It is also possible that Moses had convinced him to worship the Hebrew God.
Moses as an enlightened believer, gave a convincing description of the origin of all things; as in Chapter one of Genesis. We are not aware of any other explanations of Creation, prevalent at the time of Moses. It must be remembered that God spoke directly with Moses.
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According to ancient tradition, Moses wrote down the book of Job. Clues in the text suggest that Job lived after Abraham and before Moses. These clues include genealogical references and place names.
The text of Job uses these names for God: El, Eloah and Elohim.
The theology of Job:
- is monothesitic
- denies the divinity of Sun, Moon and Stars
- speaks of God creating all things
- speaks of the flood of Noah
- looks forward to a redeemer who would save people from death and perfect them
Given that Moses grew up in Egypt in the royal court where pantheism was practiced, it is unlikely that he became acquainted with Job there. The most likely source for Moses to learn about Job is from Jethro, since:
- Midian is not far from the lands where Job's friends and Elihu came from.
- the title "Priest of Midian" might actually mean religious functionary and not just local tribal elder or leader
Given that Job's friends were also monotheistic, it seems that such views were more widespread than some think. Rather than monotheism being a late development in religion, it may have been the original religion, which polytheism displaced as it spread like a cancer.
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