This actually gets rather complicated, and I am struggling to figure it out. He seems to have three related men all referred to as his father-in-law. Most sources seem to presume they are just different names for the same person, but that doesn't sit well with me as it sounds like an assumption with no evidence based on the presumption that Moses was monogamous.
We already know Moses was not monogamous, as he married Zipporah (Exodus 2:21) and also an Ethiopian woman who is mentioned both before (by Josephus) and after (Numbers 12:1) the time Moses married Zipporah, so he was most likely married to both of them at the same time. But were there other Midianite wives also?
Three names are given for Moses' father-in-law(s), all Midianites so none can be the father of the Ethiopian woman.
1) Reuel (Exodus 2:16-21), father of Zipporah, priest of Midian.
2) Jethro, priest of Midian (Exodus 3:1). Jethro is also mentioned as taking care of Zipporah and her sons for Moses (Exodus 18:2-3), and the name Reuel is not mentioned in conjunction with Zipporah after Jethro is mentioned. The various possibilities I see are:
- Jethro and Reuel are the same person, or
- Jethro was Reuel's eldest son and took over his role as priest and his role as "father" of Zipporah, being given the title of father-in-law to Moses by inheritance.
- Jethro is Reuel's eldest son and heir of his position, but the father of another wife of Moses.
3) Hobab, son of Reuel. Hobab is referred to both as the son of Moses' father-in-law Reuel (Numbers 10:29), and as Moses' father-in-law in his own right (Judges 4:11). He is the most probable person referred to as "the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law" in Judges 1:16. Who is this?
- This is clearly not yet another name for Reuel, as he is clearly called Reuel's son (Numbers 10:29).
- Is this another name for Jethro, and did he just take on nominal father-in-law duties after Reuel's death?
- Is he a third individual, but inherited Reuel's father-in-law status after Jethro's death?
- Is he actually the father of a different wife of Moses?
I don't like presuming three names are all for the same person, particularly when it is clear that Reuel and Hobab are father and son. The most plausible explanation in my mind involving only one wife is that both Jethro and Hobab are sons of Reuel (maybe the same son), and inherited the status of father-in-law following Reuel's death. But I feel like this stretches plausibility a little bit.
The other possibility that reads more naturally to me is that Moses got on quite well with Reuel's family and ended up marrying both Zipporah, and later on her brother Hobab's daughter as well (possibly during the Exodus). I think we can probably presume that Jethro is another name for either Reuel or Hobab, but not both.
We'll probably never know for sure until we get to meet them in heaven and ask, but it's something interesting to think about. I would appreciate your thoughts.
We already know Moses was not monogamous, as he married Zipporah (Exodus 2:21) and also an Ethiopian woman who is mentioned both before (by Josephus) and after (Numbers 12:1) the time Moses married Zipporah, so he was most likely married to both of them at the same time. But were there other Midianite wives also?
Three names are given for Moses' father-in-law(s), all Midianites so none can be the father of the Ethiopian woman.
1) Reuel (Exodus 2:16-21), father of Zipporah, priest of Midian.
2) Jethro, priest of Midian (Exodus 3:1). Jethro is also mentioned as taking care of Zipporah and her sons for Moses (Exodus 18:2-3), and the name Reuel is not mentioned in conjunction with Zipporah after Jethro is mentioned. The various possibilities I see are:
- Jethro and Reuel are the same person, or
- Jethro was Reuel's eldest son and took over his role as priest and his role as "father" of Zipporah, being given the title of father-in-law to Moses by inheritance.
- Jethro is Reuel's eldest son and heir of his position, but the father of another wife of Moses.
3) Hobab, son of Reuel. Hobab is referred to both as the son of Moses' father-in-law Reuel (Numbers 10:29), and as Moses' father-in-law in his own right (Judges 4:11). He is the most probable person referred to as "the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law" in Judges 1:16. Who is this?
- This is clearly not yet another name for Reuel, as he is clearly called Reuel's son (Numbers 10:29).
- Is this another name for Jethro, and did he just take on nominal father-in-law duties after Reuel's death?
- Is he a third individual, but inherited Reuel's father-in-law status after Jethro's death?
- Is he actually the father of a different wife of Moses?
I don't like presuming three names are all for the same person, particularly when it is clear that Reuel and Hobab are father and son. The most plausible explanation in my mind involving only one wife is that both Jethro and Hobab are sons of Reuel (maybe the same son), and inherited the status of father-in-law following Reuel's death. But I feel like this stretches plausibility a little bit.
The other possibility that reads more naturally to me is that Moses got on quite well with Reuel's family and ended up marrying both Zipporah, and later on her brother Hobab's daughter as well (possibly during the Exodus). I think we can probably presume that Jethro is another name for either Reuel or Hobab, but not both.
We'll probably never know for sure until we get to meet them in heaven and ask, but it's something interesting to think about. I would appreciate your thoughts.
