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THE DIFFICULTY:
Exodus 3:1 identifies Moses’ father-in-law Jethro as “the priest of Midian.” Critics claim this creates a theological problem: if Jethro was a Midianite priest, then Moses—Israel’s future lawgiver—was being mentored by a pagan religious official. From this, it is argued that Israel’s theology may have been influenced by non-Israelite or pagan religious traditions.
THE CONTEXT:
Exodus 3 records Moses’ life in Midian after fleeing Egypt and prior to his divine commissioning at the burning bush. At this point in the narrative, Israel has not yet been constituted as a nation, the Law has not yet been given, and the Levitical priesthood does not yet exist. The text is describing Moses’ occupation and setting, not establishing priestly legitimacy under the Mosaic covenant.
The term “priest” (Hebrew kōhēn) is used broadly in the Old Testament and does not automatically imply idolatry or false worship. Its meaning is determined by context, not by later Israelite priestly categories.
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THE CLARIFICATION:
Jethro was a priest of the true God, not a pagan idol priest. Midianites were descendants of Abraham through Keturah (Genesis 25:1–2), and knowledge of Jehovah had not yet disappeared among all Abrahamic lines. Scripture gives no indication that Jethro practiced idolatry. On the contrary, later passages explicitly present him as a worshiper of Jehovah who acknowledged His supremacy.
In Exodus 18:10–12, Jethro blesses Jehovah by name, confesses that Jehovah is greater than all other gods, and offers sacrifices that are accepted in the presence of Moses and the elders of Israel. There is no rebuke, correction, or distancing from Jethro’s worship—something that would have been unavoidable had he been a false priest. His priesthood predates the Mosaic Law and functions within the patriarchal model of worship, where heads of households or clans served in priestly roles.
Therefore, Jethro was not a priest despite being outside Israel, but a priest before Israel existed as a covenant nation with a centralized priesthood. His priesthood was legitimate within the pre-Law framework Jehovah Himself had established.
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THE DEFENSE:
Exodus 3:1 presents no theological difficulty. Jethro was a non-Israelite worshiper of Jehovah functioning as a patriarchal priest, not a pagan cleric. Moses was not influenced by false religion; he was living among relatives who preserved true worship outside the Abrahamic line of Isaac and Jacob. Jehovah’s later direct revelation to Moses at the burning bush confirms that Moses’ authority came from God alone, not from Midianite tradition.
Rather than undermining biblical theology, Jethro’s priesthood reinforces a consistent scriptural truth: Jehovah was never confined to Israel alone, and true worship existed beyond its borders prior to the Mosaic covenant. The text is historically natural, theologically sound, and fully harmonious with the unfolding revelation of Scripture.
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