Jewish academic and Hebrew scholar Irene Lancaster reflects on Exodus 18-20 and why God is described as being ‘jealous’.
Recently we’ve got been taking a look at Exodus Chapters 18-20, known in Hebrew as ‘Yitro’. This very essential a part of the Exodus story is called after Moses’ father-in-law, who just isn’t Jewish, and involves symbolize for the Jewish people the epitome of the one who is probably not Jewish themselves, but supports what will be called ‘the Jewish project’.
An entire section of the Torah is subsequently named after a Midianite who just isn’t Abraham, Isaac, Jacob or Moses, but is someone whose advice is seminal to the longer term of the Jewish people.
And it is that this section of the Torah which also comprises the portion known in English as ‘The Ten Commandments’, thus implying that these 10 Sayings are universal, and embrace everybody.
One of probably the most misunderstood statements made about G-d throughout the giving of the ten Sayings is that we must always not worship idols because ‘I’m the Lord your G-d – a jealous G-d.’
Often a word could have had a distinct meaning just a few hundred years ago, and the truth is that is the case with the word ‘jealous’, which now retains a much narrower sense than it did originally.
For instance, within the Christian translations of each John Wycliffe (1388) and Myles Coverdale (1549), each of which preceded the King James version of the early 1600s, the word ‘jealous’ is interpreted as ‘watchful look after preservation.’
‘Watchful care’ denotes that G-d is looking for us, which is why there isn’t a must worship idols. It just isn’t that G-d Himself is ‘jealous’, nor that He must be. Rather, we human beings don’t must search for alternatives to G-d, as G-d is at all times there for us.
A ‘jealous’ G-d, subsequently, doesn’t imply envy of idols, but reasonably that there’s the truth is no must worship idols, as G-d is at all times looking for us in any case. This is a really different interpretation of the word, and one which also explains the character of Yitro, a Midianite, who simply wanted the perfect for the Jewish people and acted accordingly.
From the Jewish perspective, an excellent way of describing G-d in modern terminology can be that He demonstrates ‘passionate commitment’ towards the Jewish people, and towards others who also commit to the well-being of the Jewish people.
This implies that we must always also reveal passionate commitment to our fellow beings and to the environment wherein we discover ourselves, just because the Midianite, Yitro, offered support and clever advice to his son-in-law, Moses, which Moses took to heart and followed, at all times.
And that’s the reason Yitro the Midianite is so crucial to the story of the Jewish people and even has an entire Torah Sedra named after him.
