a witness of the way in which even the Egyptians became fond of
us - how canst thou now depart from us? It is a sufficient motive
for thee to remain with us, in order to officiate as a member of the
Sanhedrin, and teach the Torah. We, on our part, want to retain
thee, only that thou mightest in difficult cases enlighten our eyes;
for thou wert the man who gave us good and fair counsel, to which
God Himself could not refuse His assent." Jethro replied: "A
candle may glow in the dark, but not when the sun and the moon;
of what avail would my candle-light be? I had, therefore, better
return to my home city that I may make proselytes of its
inhabitants, instruct them in the Torah, and lead them under the
wings of the Shekinah." Amid great marks of honor, and provided
with rich gifts, Jethro returned to his home, where he converted his
kinsmen and his compatriots to the belief in the true God, as he
had intended. [170]

The descendants of Jethro later settled in Palestine, where the
fruitful land of Jericho was allotted to them as a dwelling place.
After the capture of Palestine, the tribes, by mutual consent,
agreed that the fertile strip of land at Jericho should fall to the
share of the tribe on whose land the Temple was to be erected. But
when its erection was postponed for a long time, they agreed to
allot this piece of land to Jethro's sons, because they, being
proselytes, had no other possession in the Holy Land. Four hundred
and eighty years did the descendants of Jethro dwell in Jericho,
when, upon the erection of the Temple at Jerusalem, they
relinquished it to the tribe of Judah, who claimed it as an
indemnity for the site of the Temple. [171]

Jethro's descendants inherited his devotion to the Torah, like him