Inhalt: | Preliminary Material /Beatrice J. W. Lawrence -- Introduction and Preliminaries /Beatrice J. W. Lawrence -- Jethro in the Bible: Texts, Contexts, and Conundrums /Beatrice J. W. Lawrence -- Jethro in Tannaitic Midrashim: Bringing Near with the Right while Repelling with the Left /Beatrice J. W. Lawrence -- Jethro in Later Midrashim: Clarifications and New Problems /Beatrice J. W. Lawrence -- Jethro in the Targums: New Language, New Strategies /Beatrice J. W. Lawrence -- Conclusions /Beatrice J. W. Lawrence -- Bibliography /Beatrice J. W. Lawrence -- Modern Author Index /Beatrice J. W. Lawrence -- Subject Index /Beatrice J. W. Lawrence -- Source Index /Beatrice J. W. Lawrence. In Jethro and the Jews , Beatrice J. W. Lawrence examines rabbinic texts that address the biblical character of Jethro, a Midianite priest, Moses’ advisor and father-in-law, and the creator of the system of Jewish jurisprudence. Lawrence explores biblical interpretations in Midrash, Targum and Talmud, revealing a spectrum of responses to the presence of a man who straddles the line between insider and outsider. Ranging from character assassination to valorization of Jethro as a convert, these interpretive strategies reveal him to be a locus of anxiety for the rabbis concerning conversion, community boundaries, intermarriage, and non-Jews |
