H3503 H3503
Jethro (Yitro) — Moses' father-in-law, priest of Midian, who counseled the establishment of Israel's judicial system.
Jethro (יִתְרוֹ, Yitrō) is the Midianite priest and father-in-law of Moses, appearing exclusively in the Elohist source of Exodus. He kept his flock at Horeb where Moses encountered the burning bush (Exod 3:1), and later visited the Israelite camp bringing Moses' wife and sons. His most lasting contribution was advising Moses to delegate judicial authority to capable subordinates (Exod 18:13–26), a passage that became foundational for Israelite governance. The name is an extended form of Yeter (יֶתֶר, H3500), meaning 'his abundance.' The Septuagint consistently renders Ιοθορ across all nine occurrences.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The proper name of Moses' father-in-law, identified as a priest of Midian (Exod 3:1). All nine occurrences cluster in Exodus 3–18, within the Elohist strand: tending flocks at the mountain of God (3:1), sending Moses to Egypt with his blessing (4:18), and the famous reunion where he offers sacrifices and advises judicial delegation (18:1–12). The variant Yeter (יֶתֶר) in Exod 4:18a is widely regarded as a scribal variant of the same figure. Multilingual renderings — Spanish Yitro, French Jéthro, German Jitro — all preserve the distinctive long-o ending that distinguishes this name from the shorter Yeter. 9×
AR["يَثْرُونَ","يَثْرُونُ","يِثْرُو"]·ben["ইথ্রো","ইথ্রোর","যিথ্রো"]·DE["Jitro"]·EN["Jethro"]·FR["Jéthro"]·heb["יתרו"]·HI["यित्रो","यित्रो-की","यित्रो-ने"]·ID["Yitro"]·IT["Ietro"]·jav["Yitro"]·KO["이드로가","이드로의"]·PT["Yitro","Yitro,","Yitro:"]·RU["Иофор","Итро"]·ES["Yitro"]·SW["Yethro","wa-Yethro"]·TR["Yitro","Yitro'nun"]·urd["یترو","یترو-نے"]
Related Senses
G3588 1. definite article (18298×)H0853 1. definite direct object marker (10915×)G2532 1. (8312×)H3068 1. YHWH (the divine name) (6522×)H0834a 1. relative pronoun (who/which/that) (4839×)H3588a 1. causal: because, for (3498×)G1161 1. and (2806×)H3478 1. Israel (proper name and nation) (2507×)G4771 1. you (plural address) (1853×)H1931 1. personal pronoun he/she/it (1431×)G3739 1. relative pronoun who/which/that (1149×)H1732 1. David (proper name) (1075×)H2088 1. this, this one (demonstrative) (1059×)G1063 1. (1047×)G3778 1. this thing, these things (1003×)H???? 2. (1002×)G2424 1. (924×)G3754 1. that (content clause) (881×)H2009 1. presentative particle: behold, look (881×)H0589 1. I (first person singular pronoun) (874×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† יִתְרוֹ n.pr.m. father of Moses’ wife Ex 3:1; 4:18 b; 18:1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12 (all E), = יֶתֶר 4:18; in all 𝔊 Ιοθορ.