Jethro was the Sheikh of Midian during the 16th century BC. He was the father of seven daughters (including Zipporah) and the father-in-law of Moses.
Biography[]
Jethro was born in Midian, a descendant of Abraham's first son Ishmael. He became the Sheikh of Midian and father to seven daughters, and, in 1531 BC, the traveller Moses rescued his daughters from some raiding Amalekites. The oldest daughter, Zipporah, decided to take Moses to her father, who praised him for his bravery. Moses was surprised when he discovered that Jethro also worshipped the Hebrew God, and Jethro welcomed Moses into his family as the husband of Zipporah and as a shepherd in his service for 40 years. In 1491 BC, Moses returned to Egypt to free the Israelites from slavery, and, after Moses defeated the Amalekites at Rephidim during the Exodus, Jethro returned to Moses and caught up on the Jews' flight to freedom. The Druze believed that Jethro was a prophet who communicated with God and converted Moses to the true faith, and that the marriage of the Midianites with the Jews merited a special friendship between the Druze and the Israelis; Islam believes that Jethro's people were destroyed because of their corruption except for the believers.