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The Kings Ran to Balaam and Jethro Walked to Sinai

The kings of the earth asked Balaam whether another flood was coming. He told them no, and every one of them went home relieved.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. Every King in the World Ran to Balaam
  2. One Man Did Not Go Home
  3. He Had Already Judged Every Idol There Was
  4. Moses Needed His Permission First
  5. Five Hundred Cubits of Jericho
The Kings Ran to Balaam and Jethro Walked to Sinai Click for full size

Every King in the World Ran to Balaam

On the day the Torah was given, the kings of the earth shook in their own palaces and could not say why.

They came together and went to Balaam, because he was the man you asked about the intentions of heaven, and they put it to him in a rush. It looks like God is about to destroy His world with water. He is doing to us what He did to the generation of the flood.

"Fools," Balaam said. "He has already sworn He will not bring a flood on the world. This is like the waters of Noah to Me, He said, that I have sworn the waters of Noah shall not pass over the earth again."

They accepted that and moved to the next fear. Fine. Not a flood of water. A flood of fire.

"Not water and not fire. He is giving Torah to His people and paying a reward to those who fear Him."

The moment they had that sentence, every one of them turned around and went back to his own place.

One Man Did Not Go Home

Jethro was a prince of Midian and the priest of it, and he heard the same news the kings did.

What exactly reached him is argued three ways. Rabbi Yehoshua said it was the war with Amalek, since Joshua's victory sits right next to Jethro's name in the scroll. Rabbi Eliezer said it was the splitting of the sea, which was heard from one end of the world to the other. Rabbi Elazar of Modi'in said it was the giving of the Torah, the day the kings went to Balaam.

He was not the only outsider who heard. Rahab heard that the Lord had dried the water of the sea and she said so to Joshua's spies with her own mouth. She had been ten years old when Israel came out of Egypt, and she spent the forty wilderness years as a harlot in Jericho, and at fifty she came in. She asked to be forgiven through the three things she had sinned with: the rope, the window, and the flax she hid two men under. The Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon and came the length of a desert to say, blessed be the Lord your God, who chose you.

The nations of the world watched all of it happen. They stood there and saw strangers walk in under the wings of the Shekhinah (שכינה), God's presence, and they did not move a foot. To see the gate open and stay outside it is the emptiest thing a person can do.

Jethro heard, and got up, and came.

He Had Already Judged Every Idol There Was

He was not an easy man to impress with a god. He had gone through every form of worship on offer and thrown out each one, and one of his seven names records exactly that.

Seven names, and each one is a piece of a life. Yeter, because a passage was added to the Torah on his account, the appointing of the elders, when he told Moses to look out capable men from among the people. Yitro, after he did fine deeds. Hovav, because he was beloved to God. Ben, because he was like a son. Reuel, because he was a friend, and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God. Putiel, because he had judged every idolatry in the world and rejected it. Keni, because he acquired the world to come.

The extra letter in Yitro was not decoration. That is the accounting used on names. Abram did fine deeds and became Abraham. Sarai became Sarah. Hoshea became Joshua. It runs the other way too. Ephron haggled over a burial plot with Abraham, said four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you, and lost a letter for it and was written Ephran ever after. Jehonadab attached himself to Jehu and came out of it Jonadab.

The men in the camp did not know who he was when he arrived. They asked him his business.

"I am the father-in-law of Moses."

Once it had been Moses who did the honoring, going back to his father-in-law's house and sitting down at his table. Now the priest of Midian stood at the edge of a camp in the desert and introduced himself by another man's name.

Moses Needed His Permission First

Years before that, at the burning bush, God had sent Moses back to Egypt and had added a practical instruction about the household he was leaving.

Moses had sworn an oath to Jethro. If Jethro raises the oath, God told him, say that the Master of the oath has released you from your vow. Moses did not go to Pharaoh until his father-in-law had annulled it. First he went to collect his wife and his sons.

Jethro stopped him in the doorway. "Where are you taking them?"

"To Egypt."

"The people who are in Egypt are trying to get out, and you are walking them in."

"Tomorrow they leave," Moses said, "and they stand at Mount Sinai and hear from the mouth of the Holy One, I am the Lord your God. Are my sons not going to hear it with everyone else?"

Jethro let go of the door. "Go in peace. Go in peace, arrive in peace, come back in peace."

Five Hundred Cubits of Jericho

Moses had promised him that whatever good the Lord did for Israel, that good would be done for him, and Israel paid it.

When the land was portioned out, the best ground in Jericho was set aside and not given to any tribe, five hundred cubits by five hundred, held in reserve for whoever would build the Temple. Until then it was handed to the sons of Jethro, and they lived off it. Count the years from the exodus to the building of the house and take out the forty in the desert, and the sons of a Midianite priest ate from the best soil in Jericho for four hundred and forty years.

Then God's presence came to rest in the portion of Benjamin, and the sons of Benjamin came to Jericho to take what was theirs.

The sons of Jethro got off the land and gave it to them.

JethroMosesSinaiConversionExodusTorahYitroAmalekBalaamMidian
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From the tradition

Sources

6 sources

The texts behind this telling. Some cards carry a translation of the source; others are our own retelling of it, and each card says which. Every card links out to the original.

Shemot Rabbah 27:4Shemot Rabbah

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022 · CC-BY

A single event, a powerful moment, that resonates far beyond its origin.

The Book of Exodus, or Shemot in Hebrew, tells us that "Yitro heard.." (Exodus 18:1). But what exactly did he hear? Shemot Rabbah, a classical collection of Rabbinic interpretations on Exodus, explores this very question, connecting it to the prophetic words of Jeremiah: "Lord, my strength and my stronghold and my refuge on the day of trouble, to You nations will come from the ends of the earth" (Jeremiah 16:19).

It’s a beautiful idea: that Israel's relationship with God, those moments of miraculous salvation, become a beacon for all nations. When God performed miracles at the Red Sea, the Israelites sang, "The Lord is my strength [uzi] and song" (Exodus 15:2). But they weren't the only ones listening. Rahab, the woman of Jericho, says to the Israelite spies, "I know that the Lord has given you the land…as we heard that the Lord dried the waters of the Red Sea" (Joshua 2:9–10). She heard, and it changed everything. The word of God's saving acts had traveled far.

The Midrash (rabbinic commentary) continues, drawing parallels across time. When God gave strength [oz] to King Solomon, did the Queen of Sheba not hear of his wisdom and God's favor? "The Queen of Sheba heard Solomon’s reputation" (I Kings 10:1), and what was her response? "May the Lord your God be blessed, Who has chosen you" (I Kings 10:9). Again, the echo of God's presence, spreading outward.

And finally, the Midrash circles back to the giving of the Torah. When God took the Israelites out of Egypt and gave them the Torah, which itself is called oz (strength), as it is stated: "He will give strength [oz] to His people" (Psalms 29:11), did Yitro not hear, come, and adhere to God?

The miracles, the wisdom, the Torah – they're not just for Israel. They are evidence of God’s power and presence in the world, drawing people from "the ends of the earth." Shemot Rabbah suggests that Yitro, Rahab, and the Queen of Sheba are all examples of this. They heard the stories, witnessed the impact, and were drawn closer to the divine.

Perhaps it’s a reminder that our actions, our stories, our faith, have the power to resonate far beyond our immediate circles. We never know who is listening, who might be inspired, who might find their own path to the divine through the echoes of our lives. What stories are we telling? What ripples are we creating?

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Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 18:1Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai

Translation of the source text.Mechilta de-Rabbi Simon b. Jochai, ed. D. Hoffmann, Frankfurt 1905 · Public Domain

"And Jethro heard" (Exodus 18:1). What report did he hear that he came? Rabbi Yehoshua says: He heard of the war with Amalek and came, for it is written right beside it (Exodus 17:13): "And Joshua weakened Amalek." Rabbi Elazar of Modi'in says: He heard of the giving of the Torah and came. For we find that on the day the Torah was given to Israel, all the kings of the earth trembled in their palaces, as it is said (Psalms 29:9): "And in His palace all say, 'Glory.'" All the nations of the world gathered before Balaam and said to him: It seems that the Holy One is destroying His world with water, as He destroyed the generation of the Flood, as it is said (Psalms 29:10): "The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood." He said to them: Fools, He has already sworn that He will not bring a flood upon the world, as it is said (Isaiah 54:9): "For this is to Me like the waters of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah should no more pass over the earth." They said to him: Surely a flood of water He will not bring, but a flood of fire He will bring. He said to them: He will bring neither a flood of water nor of fire; He is giving Torah to His people and bestowing reward upon those who fear Him. When they heard this from him, they all turned, each one to his place.

Rabbi Eliezer says: He heard of the splitting of the Sea of Reeds and came, for we find that on the day the sea was split for Israel, they heard it from one end of the world to the other, as it is said (Joshua 5:1): "And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the children of Israel until they had crossed over." And so Rahab says to Joshua's messengers (Joshua 2:10): "For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Sea of Reeds before you." They said: She was ten years old when Israel left Egypt. All forty years that Israel was in the wilderness she was a harlot. At fifty years she converted. She said: With three things I sinned; with three things may He forgive me - with the rope, with the window, and with the booth, as it is said: "And she let them down by a rope through the window" (Joshua 2:15), and "she hid them with the stalks of flax" (Joshua 2:6).

"Jethro" (Exodus 18:1). At first they called him Jether, as it is said (Exodus 4:18): "And Moses went and returned to Jether his father-in-law." Once he performed worthy deeds they added one letter to him and he was called Jethro. So too you find with Abraham: at first they called him Abram; once he performed worthy deeds they added one letter to him and he was called Abraham. So too you find with Sarah: at first they called her Sarai; once she performed worthy deeds they added one letter to her and she was called Sarah for all the world. So too you find with Joshua: at first they called him Hoshea, and once he performed worthy deeds they added one letter to him and he was called Joshua.

Another interpretation: that a letter is withheld from them. You may learn from Ephron: at first they called him Ephron; once he set a price with our father Abraham and said to him, "a land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you?" (Genesis 23:15), they withheld one letter from him and he was called Ephran. So too you find with Jehonadab: at first they called him Jehonadab (2 Kings 10:15), and once he joined himself to the wicked one, who is Jehu, they withheld one letter from him and he was called Jonadab (Jeremiah 35:6). From here they said: Do not join yourself to a wicked man, even to bring him near to the Torah. So too you find with Ahab son of Kolaiah: at first they called him Ahab (Jeremiah 29:21); once he performed wicked deeds they withheld one letter from him and he was called Achav.

Seven names were given to Jethro: Jether, Jethro, Hobab, son of Reuel, Putiel, Keni. Jether, because he caused one extra section to be added to the Torah; the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him a section to take pride in. And which is it? The appointing of elders, as it is said (Exodus 18:21): "And you shall provide out of all the people." Jethro, because he performed worthy deeds. Hobab, because he was beloved to the Omnipresent. "Son," because he was like a son to the Omnipresent. Reuel, because he was a friend to the Omnipresent. And so it says (Exodus 18:12): "And Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God." Putiel, because he renounced every form of idolatry in the world. Keni, because he acquired the world to come.

"Priest of Midian" (Exodus 18:1). Rabbi Yehoshua says: He was a pagan priest, as in the matter that is said (Judges 18:30): "And Jonathan son of Gershom son of Manasseh, he and his sons, were priests to the tribe of the Danites." Rabbi Elazar of Modi'in says: He was a prince, as in the matter that is said (2 Samuel 8:18): "And the sons of David were priests." "Father-in-law of Moses." At first Moses honored him, as it is said (Exodus 4:18): "And he returned to Jether his father-in-law." Now his father-in-law began to honor him; they said to him: What is your distinction? He said to them: I am the father-in-law of Moses.

"All that God had done for Moses and for Israel" (Exodus 18:1) - Moses is weighed as equal to Israel, and Israel as equal to Moses; the teacher is weighed against the disciple, and the disciple against the leader. "For the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt" - from here you learn that the exodus from Egypt is weighed before the Omnipresent against all the miracles and mighty acts that the Omnipresent performed for Israel.

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Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 18:1Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862 · Public Domain

News travels, but rarely does it move a prince of Midian to action. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records the turning point: "And Jethro, prince of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses, heard all that the Lord had done for Moses and for Israel His people, and that the Lord had brought forth Israel from Mizraim" (Exodus 18:1).

The Aramaic specifies that Jethro was not a peasant but a prince, a man with standing in Midian who had nothing politically to gain by associating with a fleeing slave nation. He had tried seven faiths, according to the midrashic tradition preserved alongside the Targum. He had priested at the altars of every god available to him. And when he heard what had happened at the Sea of Suph, he decided the search was over.

What exactly did he hear? The Talmud in Zevachim 116a asks the same question. The Targum's answer leans toward two events, the splitting of the sea and the battle with Amalek. Between the two, a pattern emerged that idolatry could not explain.

Jethro is the Torah's first convert from the nations, and his arrival is the first sign that the God of Israel was never meant to remain a private inheritance. Hearing, it turns out, is only the beginning. What matters is what you do next.

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Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Yitro 1:4Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Yitro

Translation of the source text.Midrash Tanchuma (Buber), Public Domain, on Sefaria · CC-BY-SA

Another interpretation of "and they shall be praised" (Ecclesiastes 8:10): that they take pride in their good deeds. "This also is vanity" (ibid.), for is this not vanity, that the nations of the world see them, how they come and convert and enter beneath the wings of the Shekhinah, while they themselves do not convert? "This also is vanity." Who was it that came and converted, a proselyte of truth? This was Yitro, as it is said, "And Yitro heard" (Exodus 18:1), and so forth.

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Shemot Rabbah 4:4Shemot Rabbah

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022 · CC-BY

Shemot Rabbah turns to Covenant of Yitro.

The Rabbis offer a compelling explanation: Moses first went on a mission for God, and then "returned" to Yitro. But that raises another question: what about the oath Moses made to Yitro when he left Midian?

In this interpretation, God anticipated this dilemma. God tells Moses, "If Yitro brings up the oath, tell him that the 'Master of the Oath' released you from your vow." Etz Yosef clarifies that the “Master of the Oath” refers to God, in whose name the oath was taken. So, "Moses went," fulfilling God's command, and then, he "returned" to Yitro.

The story doesn’t end there! The son of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great adds another layer. He suggests that Moses didn’t go to Pharaoh until Yitro explicitly annulled his vow. If that's the case, the text asks, then what does "Moses went" even mean here? Where was he going?

The answer: to retrieve his wife, Tzipporah, and his sons.

Moses tells Yitro he's taking them to Egypt. Yitro, wise and insightful, questions his decision. “Those in Egypt are trying to escape,” he says, “and you’re taking your family there?”

Moses responds with a powerful vision of the future. He explains that one day, his sons will stand at Mount Sinai and hear God proclaim, "Anochi Adonai Elohecha" – “I am the Lord, your God” (Exodus 20:2). He asks Yitro, "Shouldn't my sons hear this directly, just like everyone else?"

Yitro, understanding the immense significance of this moment, relents. He says to Moses, "Lech le-shalom” – “Go in peace.” But the Rabbis in Shemot Rabbah emphasize that it wasn’t just a simple farewell. It was a blessing: "Go in peace, enter in peace, and come in peace."

It highlights the importance of seeking counsel from wise mentors, like Yitro, and the power of envisioning a future where our children can participate in moments of divine revelation. It also shows us how rabbinic tradition loves to zoom in on details, find the questions within the questions, and reveal deeper truths hidden in plain sight.

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Sifrei Bamidbar 81:1Sifrei Bamidbar

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Sifrei by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein · CC-BY

Take Yitro, Moses' father-in-law. He gave Moses invaluable advice on leadership, and his descendants, well, their story is In the Book of Numbers, Bamidbar, chapter 10, verse 32, Moses says to Yitro, "And it shall be, if you go with us, that good which the L-rd will accord to us, we shall accord to you." Sounds like a pretty standard promise. "Stick with us, and you'll get the good stuff too!" But what exactly was this "good stuff"?

Sifrei Bamidbar, a collection of ancient legal interpretations on the Book of Numbers, sheds some light on this. It suggests that when the Israelites finally divided the land of Canaan, they gave Yitro's descendants a prime piece of real estate: the choicest land of Jericho, a square of 500 by 500 cubits.

The idea was that whoever built the Temple in Jerusalem would ultimately take that land. But until then, it was held by the sons of Yitro.

Let’s do a little math (1 Kings 6:1) tells us the Temple was built 480 years after the Exodus. If we subtract the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the desert, that leaves 440 years. According to Sifrei Bamidbar, that's how long Yitro's descendants enjoyed the fruits (literally!) of that land.

So, what happened to this prime real estate after all those years? Well, the Shechinah – the divine presence – ultimately came to rest in the portion of the tribe of Benjamin. When the sons of Benjamin came to claim their territory, Yitro's descendants, without a fuss, peacefully vacated the land for them.

Think about the implications for a moment. These were not Israelites by birth. They were welcomed in, treated with respect, and given a valuable stake in the community. And when the time came, they relinquished their claim for the greater good, showing incredible grace and understanding.

Isn't that a powerful lesson? Sometimes, the greatest acts of kindness and generosity are the quiet ones, the ones that don't make headlines, but ripple through generations. The story of Yitro's descendants reminds us that true reward lies not just in what we receive, but in what we are willing to give up for the sake of community and the divine plan.

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