Hebrew word · H7467

רְעוּאֵל

re'u'el

Reuel

A personal name built from the noun רֵעַ (rea', "friend, companion, fellow") and אֵל (el, "God"). The likely meaning is "friend of God" or "God is (my) friend." Some connect the first element with רעה (ra'ah, "to shepherd"), giving "God is shepherd," but the spelling better suits "friend."

Appears 11 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man of the Edomites living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.36.4;

son of: Esau (H6215) and Mahalath (H4258);

half-brother of: Eliphaz (H0464), Jeush (H3266), Jalam (H3281) and Korah (H7141);

father of: Nahath (H5184), Zerah (H2226), Shammah (H8048) and Mizzah (H4199)

§ Reuel or Raguel = "friend of God"

1) a son of Esau by his wife Bashemath, the sister of Ishmael

2) the father-in-law of Moses

2a) also 'Jethro'

3) father of Eliasaph, the leader of the tribe of Gad at the time of the census at Sinai

4) a Benjamite, ancestor of Elah

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 2:18

Range of meaning

A personal name built from the noun רֵעַ (rea', "friend, companion, fellow") and אֵל (el, "God"). The likely meaning is "friend of God" or "God is (my) friend." Some connect the first element with רעה (ra'ah, "to shepherd"), giving "God is shepherd," but the spelling better suits "friend."

Against the English

English versions simply transliterate it ("Reuel"; the KJV also spells it "Raguel" in Numbers 10:29, following the Greek and Latin). The problem a modern reader runs into is not the translation but the fact that the same man is later called Jethro (Exodus 3:1; 18:1) and that Numbers 10:29 and Judges 4:11 involve a Hobab.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same name belongs to a son of Esau in Edom (Genesis 36:4, 10, 13, 17; 1 Chronicles 1:35, 37). This shows it was a name in use among the peoples southeast of Canaan, where the Midianites also lived. The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation) has Ragouēl, and the later Jewish book of Tobit uses the same Greek name for a different man (Tobit 3:7). Numbers 10:29 names "Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law."

Where it appears

Genesis · 5

  1. Genesis 36:4 רְעוּאֵֽל׃ Reuel

    And Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath gave birth to Reuel,

  2. Genesis 36:10 רְעוּאֵ֕ל Reuel

    These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel son of Esau’s wife Basemath.

  3. Genesis 36:13 רְעוּאֵ֔ל Reuel

    These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

  4. Genesis 36:17 רְעוּאֵל֙ רְעוּאֵל֙ Reuel

    These are the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They are the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom, and they are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 2:18 רְעוּאֵ֖ל Reuel

    When the daughters returned to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”

    Here: The personal name of the "priest of Midian" from verse 16, given here for the first time. It probably means "friend of God" (or "God is friend/companion"). Elsewhere Moses' father-in-law is called Jethro (Exodus 3:1).

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 2:14 רְעוּאֵֽל׃ Reuel

    Next will be the tribe of Gad. The leader of the Gadites is Eliasaph son of Deuel,

  2. Numbers 10:29 רְעוּאֵ֣ל Reuel

    Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.”

    Here: Probably 'friend/companion of God (El)'. In Exodus 2:18 Reuel is the father of Zipporah, Moses' wife. In Exodus 3–4 and 18 the father-in-law is called Jethro.

1 Chronicles · 3

  1. 1 Chronicles 1:35 רְעוּאֵ֥ל Reuel

    The sons of Esau: Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

  2. 1 Chronicles 1:37 רְעוּאֵ֑ל Reuel

    The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

  3. 1 Chronicles 9:8 רְעוּאֵ֖ל Reuel

    Ibneiah son of Jeroham; Elah son of Uzzi, the son of Michri; Meshullam son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah;

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.