Jethro’s Advice in Medieval and Early Modern Jewish and Christian Political Thought

Jethro's advice to Moses about how to organize the political system of the ancient Jewish state (Ex. 18:13-27; Deut. 1:12-17) was one of the three major biblical sources which were used in medieval and early modern political thought. (The other sources are Deut. 17 and I Samuel 8.) This text was mainly used in two related contexts? the theory of government, in which the commentators generally followed Aristotle, and the relationship between the spiritual and temporal authorities? between kingship and prophecy? in which a strong Platonic-Alfarabian influence is apparent. This study takes into account the changing historical realities and intellectual trends of the medieval and early modern periods.