4 min read

Jethro Crossed the Desert While Amalek Chose the Sword

Jethro and Amalek both advised Pharaoh. One attacked Israel and was erased. The other crossed the desert to find Moses. One listened, one did not.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Two Men Who Were at the Same Table
  2. The Cooling of the Bath
  3. Where Amalek Had Been Standing
  4. Jethro Arrived With News of His Own Conversion

The Two Men Who Were at the Same Table

Before Moses was born, Pharaoh had advisors. The tradition records three by name: Balaam, who counseled the persecution and was eventually killed for it; Job, who held his silence and was afflicted; and Jethro, who spoke up for the Hebrews and was driven out of Egypt for saying so. Jethro went into the wilderness of Midian, built a life, raised daughters, became a priest of his own people. Moses arrived as a fugitive and married his daughter Zipporah.

Amalek had also been watching what happened to Israel. Amalek had heard everything the nations heard after the Exodus: the sea splitting, the army drowning, the water from the rock, the bread from the sky. Amalek gathered his forces and attacked at Rephidim.

The Cooling of the Bath

Louis Ginzberg, compiling the Legends of the Jews in the early twentieth century from midrashic and aggadic sources, preserves the image that names what Amalek actually accomplished. The nations had feared Israel after the sea. That fear was a protective ring around a people who had just watched God fight for them. Amalek was beaten in the battle. But Amalek had jumped into the scalding bath. He burned himself. He also cooled the water for everyone who came after.

After Amalek attacked and was defeated, the nations understood that Israel could be approached. The fear had been measured and found to have a limit. Other armies would draw from this knowledge. The damage Amalek caused was not military. It was the removal of a deterrent.

Where Amalek Had Been Standing

The midrash on the name Rephidim, the place where Amalek struck, reads it as rafu yadehem: their hands became weak in Torah. The attack was not random geography. Amalek arrived precisely when Israel had relaxed their grip on the commandments. The tradition makes the connection unmistakable: the loosening of obligation created the opening. The father who carries the child on his shoulders, who gives him everything, and then hears the child ask a stranger if he has seen his father -- the child finds himself on the ground with a dog biting him. That is Amalek. That is what happens when you forget who is carrying you.

Jethro Arrived With News of His Own Conversion

Jethro came from Midian carrying his daughter Zipporah, the wife Moses had sent back during the plagues, and her two sons. He arrived and told Moses everything: I have heard all that God did to Pharaoh and to Egypt, and I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods. He organized the judiciary. He spent a day watching Moses judge the people alone from morning until evening and told him plainly: this is not good, you cannot do this alone, you will wear out both yourself and the people. He proposed a structure. Moses implemented it.

Jethro had already lost his position in Pharaoh's court for defending the Hebrews. He had lived in exile in Midian. He had heard the same reports Amalek heard about the miracles at the sea. He crossed the desert to find his son-in-law and offer his organizational skills to a nation he had decided to join.

JethroAmalekRepentanceMosesLeadership
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From the tradition

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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Legends of the Jews 1:128Legends of the Jews

Amalek.

You might remember Amalek from the Bible – this was the nation that attacked the Israelites shortly after their miraculous Exodus from Egypt. It seemed like a small skirmish, easily won by Joshua and the Israelite army. But in Jewish tradition, Amalek represents something far more sinister.

Ginzberg, in his monumental Legends of the Jews, points out that even though Amalek was defeated by Joshua, their attack had a devastating effect. See, the Exodus – the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea – it instilled fear in the surrounding nations. Nobody dared mess with Israel. But Amalek? They broke that aura of invincibility. Even in defeat, they showed that Israel could be challenged.

Think of it like this: someone jumps into a scalding hot bath. Ouch. They get burned. But the water cools down. That's the analogy the tradition uses. Amalek suffered, but they also diminished the fear surrounding Israel.

And that, friends, is why God wasn't satisfied with just one victory. That God swore by His throne, by His very right hand, that He would never forget Amalek's misdeeds. The punishment wouldn't be limited to that single battle. It would echo throughout history, continuing even into the Messianic Age. And ultimately, in the world to come, Amalek would be completely wiped out. This isn't just about revenge; it's about eradicating a principle.

Why such a strong reaction? What makes Amalek so different?

According to the Zohar, a central text of Jewish mysticism, as long as Amalek's seed exists, the face of God is, as it were, covered. Only when Amalek is completely exterminated will God's presence be fully revealed. This is heavy stuff.

So, what does this all mean? Amalek isn't just a historical enemy. Amalek represents the force that attacks us when we are weak. It's the doubt that creeps in after a great spiritual victory. It's the cynicism that tries to diminish our hope. Amalek is the force that says, "You’re not so special."

The fight against Amalek, then, isn't just a historical event. It's a constant, ongoing struggle within ourselves and within the world. It’s a call to remember that even after moments of incredible revelation and triumph, we must remain vigilant against those forces that seek to diminish our faith and our potential.

And it reminds us that the work of repairing the world, of revealing God's presence, is a task that continues until Amalek – in all its forms – is finally gone.

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Legends of the Jews 4:29Legends of the Jews

It’s a scene ripe with drama, intrigue, and conflicting advice.

The story begins, as many of the best stories do, with a betrayal. Jethro, also known as Reuel, later to become Moses' father-in-law, dared to speak out against Pharaoh’s growing hostility towards the Hebrews. That Pharaoh was "exceedingly wroth with him," and Jethro was promptly dismissed from his position in disgrace, forced to flee to Midian. Ouch. Imagine the courage it took to stand up to a king, especially one as powerful as Pharaoh!

Left without Jethro's counsel, Pharaoh turned to other advisors, seeking their opinions on how to deal with the growing "problem" of the Hebrew population. First up was Job. Yes, that Job, the one of immense suffering and unwavering faith. And what was his advice? Well, not much, actually. As the text recounts, Job essentially washed his hands of the situation, saying, "Behold, all the inhabitants of the land are in thy power. Let the king do as seemeth good in his eyes." It's a bit disappointing, isn't it? Especially coming from someone known for his moral fortitude.

Finally, Pharaoh called upon Balaam. Balaam, a fascinating and complex figure, was a non-Israelite prophet known for his powerful blessings and curses (Numbers 22-24). Now, Balaam's advice is where things get really interesting. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Balaam essentially warned Pharaoh that any attempt to destroy the Hebrews through methods that had challenged their forefathers would fail. "From all that the king may devise against the Hebrews, they will be delivered," Balaam declared.

He reminded Pharaoh that the Hebrews’ God had saved Abraham from the fiery furnace, as we see in the Book of Genesis and elaborated upon in various Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) traditions. "If thou thinkest to diminish them by the flaming fire, thou wilt not prevail over them, for their God delivered Abraham their father from the furnace." He further pointed out that Isaac had been spared from sacrifice, referencing the binding of Isaac (Akeidah) in Genesis 22. "Perhaps thou thinkest to destroy them with a sword, but their father Isaac was delivered from being slaughtered by the sword.” And, he added, even the back-breaking labor that Jacob endured while working for Laban couldn't break the Hebrews. "And if thou thinkest to reduce them through hard and rigorous labor, thou wilt also not prevail, for their father Jacob served Laban in all manner of hard work, and yet he prospered.”

So, what WAS Balaam's advice? His suggestion was chilling: target the newborn male children by throwing them into the Nile. "If it please the king, let him order all the male children that shall be born in Israel from this day forward to be thrown into the water. Thereby canst thou wipe out their name, for neither any of them nor any of their fathers was tried in this way.”

This was a tactic that hadn’t been used before, a way to circumvent the protective hand that had guided the patriarchs. A truly horrific suggestion! It’s a stark reminder of the depths of cruelty to which fear and prejudice can lead. We read in (Exodus 1:22), "Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.’"

What's so fascinating about this whole episode is the way it highlights the power of memory and the weight of history. Pharaoh and his advisors weren't just dealing with a present-day population; they were confronting a people deeply connected to their past, a past filled with divine interventions and miraculous escapes. Did Pharaoh truly believe he could outsmart the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Maybe. Or perhaps he was simply blinded by fear and a desperate desire to maintain control. It makes you wonder: what "advice" are we listening to today that might lead us down a similarly dark path?

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Legends of the Jews 2:3Legends of the Jews

Jethro arrived in the camp and saw Moses carrying the whole nation alone. On that day, the mixed multitude came before Moses demanding a share in the Egyptian spoils, and Jethro watched the court of Israel turn into a crushing line of disputes.

Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews says Jethro judged the method absurd, but he spoke with care. He did not say, "This is bad." He softened the rebuke into the words Moses could hear: "The thing that thou doest is not good."

Jethro warned that the burden would wear down Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, the seventy elders, and the people themselves. A system that depends on one exhausted prophet will eventually damage everyone standing around him.

His answer was delegation under divine approval. Moses would remain the vessel of revelation, teaching Torah, prayer, care for the sick, burial of the dead, friendship, justice, and the cases where strict justice should give way.

The judging itself would pass to chosen men: wise, God-fearing, modest, truthful, free of greed, lovers of humanity, and worthy of a good name. They would give their time to trials and Torah study.

Jethro's counsel did not diminish Moses. It protected the revelation by building a human structure strong enough to carry it.

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Legends of the Jews 2:4Legends of the Jews

Moses accepted Jethro's counsel because he already knew the strain. Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews describes a people fierce in argument, willing to spend seventy silverlings in court costs to win one silverling from an opponent.

The disputes did not end quickly. When a litigant sensed Moses was about to rule against him, he asked for delay and claimed that more witnesses and proofs would appear next time. The court became a place where stubbornness could masquerade as procedure.

The pressure was not legal only. The people turned their irritation on Moses himself. If he went out early to gather manna, they accused him of seeking the largest grains. If he went late, they accused him of walking through the crowd for honor. If he took a side path, they complained that he had denied them the chance to draw benefit from a sage.

Moses finally named the impossible burden. If he did one thing, they were not content. If he did another, they were not content. He could no longer bear them alone.

Even then, his speech turned into blessing. The Eternal had multiplied Israel like the stars of heaven, and Moses asked that God make them a thousand times more and bless them as promised.

Jethro's advice worked because it met a real wound. Moses did not need less devotion to Israel. He needed a structure that let devotion survive contact with the daily weight of leading them.

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