Phillip Lerner, «Redefining h)lth. An Assurance of Israel’s Return
to the Land in Jethro’s Covenant», Vol. 87 (2006) 402-411
Though it is recognized that Exod 18,1-12 contains treaty making elements, there
seems to be very little evidence of the nature of this treaty. The term h)lth is reexamined
and redefined as “the suffering that is encountered due to the helpless
nature of being forsaken”. The phrase wnt)cm r#) h)lth lk, found in Exod 18,8,
is demonstrated to be a technical phrase with certain common characteristics that
is used as surety that Israel will be fully restored to their land. In addition to
providing more details of Jethro’s covenant, this phrase, in combination with
several other terms in Exod 18,1-12, narrows the possibilities regarding the
covenant’s nature and function.
Redefining halth 403
is both tangible and profitable there are only a few possible meanings, it may
refer either to land or spoils (6). Though a concept of covenantal blessing may
be involved in the good that God gives Israel, there must be some concrete
aspect that Israel could pass on to Hobab. The “good†is probably not just
limited to a friendly covenant because this would not be much of an
enticement for Hobab (7).
If the use of hbwf in Exod 18,9 is related, it carries the connotation of
conquest or spoils (8). If so, it could be translated: “Jethro emphatically agreed
to all the territory which the Lord had acquired for Israelâ€. U. Cassuto
explains the placement of Jethro’s visit by its connection with the Amalekites,
which may suggest that Jethro came to deal in some capacity with the results
of a victory over some local tribe such as the Amalekites (9). Regardless of
when he may have arrived, the purpose of his visit may have been understood
to be connected with this battle and its results.
However, if Exod 18,9 summarizes the terms of the covenant, where in
our passage has Jethro actually heard them? The only description of a
conversation between Moses and Jethro takes place in v. 8. The first part of
the verse obviously refers to the Lord’s actions against the Egyptians. The
middle part of the verse is commonly understood to refer to difficulties that
occurred somewhere between Egypt and Sinai. However, the term halth is a
rare one. A new examination of this term may provide us with the key to the
terms of the treaty.
1. hal
We will begin by first examining the more numerous uses of hal (10). It
(6) Martin Noth tells us that by this, “especially in the present context, can be meant
only the gift of a land, in which Hobab is hereby promised a shareâ€. M. NOTH, Numbers. A
Commentary (London 1968) 78.
(7) Weinfeld states that “this relationship is connected with land-giving as a reward for
loyalty. Moses offers to “do good†to Hobab, alluding to the promise of land to Israel,
which is to be shared with Hobabâ€. M. WEINFELD, “The Tribal League at Sinaiâ€, Ancient
Israelite Religion. Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross (ed. P.D. MILLER) (Philadelphia
1987) 309. Weinfeld also draws a connection with the Egyptian story of Sinuhe, and how
the reference to do good there is closely related to a land grant as well.
(8) For further study of the term in general, see W.L. MORAN, “A Note on the Treaty
Terminology of the Sefire Stelasâ€, JNES 22 (1963) 173-176 and D.R. HILLERS, “A Note on
Some Treaty Terminology in the Old Testamentâ€, BASOR 176 (1964) 46-47.
(9) The anachronistic placement of this passage was first noted by Ibn Ezra. Cassuto
suggests that it was placed here to juxtapose the unfriendly Amalekites with the friendly
Kenites, a neighbor tribe. U. CASSUTO, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus (Jerusalem
1974) 211-212. Alternatively, we could say that Jethro may have arrived in connection with
(before or after) the conquest of Arad. A general connection has been suggested between
the Kenites and Arad by MAZAR, “The Sanctuary of Arad and the Family of Hobab the
Keniteâ€, 297-303. Obviously, there are several possibilities even within this line of thought;
Jethro may instead have arrived before any major conquest and decided to ally with Israel
as they entered the land.
(10) The occurrences of this term are as follows. Qal.: Gen 19,11; Prov 30,1; Job 4,2.5;
17,2. Nif.: Exod 7,18; Isa 1,14; 16,12; 47,13; Jer 6,11; 9,4; 15,6; 20,9; Ps 68,9[10]; Prov
26,15. Hif.: Isa 7,13; Jer 12,5; Ezek 24,12; Mi 6,3; Job 16,7. D.J.A. CLINES, The Dictionary
of Classical Hebrew (Sheffield 1990) 495 locates several other uses by suggesting
emendations to the following: Gen 47,13; I Sam 17,39; Jer 9,4; Job 17,2.