In the midrashic amplification, Zipporah set out for Egypt with Moses, but never arrived there. He did not withdraw from his wife because she aged or because she was no longer desirable in his eyes; rather, his abstinence resulted from a divine command. Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. After Moses kills an Egyptian, he flees from the pharaoh and settles among the Midianites, an Arab people who occupied desert areas in southern Transjordan, northern Arabia, and the Sinai. 2021 23 Jul The wife of Moses is named Zipporah. In the above scriptures the queen of Ethiopia took a liking to Moses because of his abilities during battle. This book is mentioned in the scriptures but many people think it doesnt exist. Zipporahs actions led to a Talmudic discussion of the ability of women to perform circumcision. Interpretations differ on whether this Cushite woman[he] was one and the same as Zipporah, or another woman, and whether he was married to them simultaneously (which would make him a polygamist) or successively. Read the latest from JWA from your inbox. See answer (1) Best Answer Copy The Scripture is silent on Zipporah after Exodus 18, not saying whether she died or did not stay with Moses after the incident in Exodus 4:24-26. Another interpretation, however, has this danger hovering over Moses, and in order to save him, Zipporah circumcises their son. 11:27) that Eldad and Medad are acting the prophet in the camp! Zipporahs reaction to this report was: Woe to their wives. Your question refers to Numbers 12:1 that states his mate was a Cushite, a term often used to refer to African nations. Some women are beautiful to others but not to their husband, and there are women who are beautiful to their husband but not to others; while Zipporah was lovely in the eyes of her husband and of everyone who beheld her (Midrash Tehillim 7:18). Here you can see that Moses married an Ethiopian called Adoniah (Tharbis): Above Moses married his first wife the Ethiopian Adoniah (Tharbis), when he was around twenty-seven (Jasher 73:2) years old. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com. Thank you for an extremely interesting read. Daughter to a priest, wife of the emancipator of the Israelites from captivity and bondage in Egypt, her unique status invites many questions. Hopefully this article has helped clear up the questions you may have had about Moses wives. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. Moses goes out to greet Jethro and takes him into his tent, but nothing is said about his greeting Zipporah. According to Jewish tradition, Moses married Zipporah when she saved him from dying after God sent a burning bush to talk to him (Exodus 2:21-22). A type of non-halakhic literary activitiy of the Rabbis for interpreting non-legal material according to special principles of interpretation (hermeneutical rules). He knew God wanted his son circumcised, and Zipporah felt forced to take action. Page from the Rylands Haggadah. Moses and the Kushite Woman: Classic Interpretations and Philo's Allegory, Jewish history, Jewish religion: the weight of three thousand years, "Moses and the Kushite Woman: Classic Interpretations and Philo's Allegory", "Jacob Jordaens and Moses's Ethiopian Wife", Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, "Proust's Aesthetic Analogies: Character and Painting in Swann's Way", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, "Yvonne De Carlo, 84; Said Her "Munsters" Role Made Her Hot", Moses and the Kushite Woman: Classic Interpretations and Philos Allegory, Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy, With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, Current Ummah of Islam (Ummah of Muhammad), ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zipporah&oldid=1152724917, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from April 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2019, Articles lacking reliable references from September 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Mother Abiona or Amtelai the daughter of Karnebo. Also keep in mind that Jethro is also known as Reuel, you can see this in the below scriptures: 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their fathers flock. Ask him in to break bread (Ex. When he was with Jethro, he saw how fine were her actions. Jethro was one of the magicians of Egypt, and when he saw Pharaohs staff with its magical symbols, he desired it and took it. These scriptures should clear up any misunderstandings you may have had about these different names. Zipporahs enigmatic statement has two possible explanations: she flings the foreskin atMosessfeet, saying, You are a bridegroom of blood to me (NRSV), or she flings it atGodsfeet, saying, You are a blood father-in-law to me.(Damimmeans blood, andhatancan mean either bridegroom or father-in-law.) Either way, her deed and words stop the attack. That being said I did not say Moses had sex with his Ethiopian wife in this article, they were just married. 12)? Spare The Rod Spoil The Child: Biblical Discipline Explained, Brief Explanation Of Tharbis & Moses Marriage, 19 Old Testament Passages That Foreshadow Jesus, Prophet Like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18): 11 Likenesses To the Messiah (Jesus), Slavery Bible Verses: Transatlantic Slave Trade Explained, phenomenal woman in the bible: Examples & how to be & Find one, A Quran And Bible Comparison: Why Theyre Not The Same, Canonization Of The Bible: And What We Should Be Reading, Was The Maccabean Revolt successful? After 10 years, she turned to her father and said: "This Hebrew who has been jailed in the pit for the past 10 years, nobody has come around asking for him. Those "strangers in a strange land," the non-Israelites of another race living in the Promised Land, received the same blessings as those natural citizens who obeyed the Eternal. While most people would feel grateful when a person saves their lives, Moses didn't seem to appreciate it. She is the mother of Moses' two sons: Eliezer, and Gershom. Your children are a gift from Yah (Psalms 127:3). In the midrashic presentation, Moses took them with him because he wanted them to be with the Israelites when they received the Torah (Ex. Moses fled to Midian, which is in modern-day Saudi Arabia. This information sheds a clear light on the question, whether Moses was married to an Ethiopian? We first meet Zipporahwho later became Moses's wifeat a well in her hometown of Midian. (Viewed on May 1, 2023) . One day while he sat by a well, Reuel's daughters came to water their father's flocks. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. The Rabbis interpret the vague wording of the verse in different ways. All in all, we can't say. When her father identified Moses as his future son-in-law, she ran to bring him from the well, and hence became his wife. Instead, she was a married single for the rest of her life. [citation needed], Moses' wife is referred to as a "Cushite woman" in Numbers 12. The Bible; the Pentateuch; Tanakh (the Pentateuch, Prophets and Hagiographia)Torah, a life of sexual abstinence was imposed on Moses due to his spiritual standing; this Zipporah found very difficult. The story is definitely the same, although the name of the Cushite (Ethiopian) queen is different, it is clearly the same history being recorded. The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah: First English Translation Compared with the Masoretic Version. Despite the difficulties in their relationship, Moses and Zipporah did have two children and were married for decades before he went back to Egypt. According toU.S. News and World Report, removing the foreskin was mandatory among Hebrews, as God had told Abraham. Most people know that Moses had a staff which he carried when he performed the eleven miracles against Pharaoh in Egypt. In Gods eyes, it does not matter whether Moses' wife was a Midianite, Cushite or whatever "race" she was. Times 106 (1995): 203205. They believed Zipporahs ethnicity disqualified him from being Gods sole mouthpiece. Zipporah is presented as the leaders wife, who suffers from the life of abstinence decreed for her husband. I also came across the fact that he had been married to an Ethiopian woman and it had me looking into the relationship between the Midians and the Ethiopians. How could I ever be as happy with a now broken family. What Is The True Sabbath Day? When Laban gave him his daughters, Jacob deceived him and fled far away. Yet another exegetical tradition explains that Zipporah differed from other women in her deeds (BT Moed Katan 16b). The latter understanding is based on Zipporah's declaration in the following verse (25) that you are truly a bridegroom of blood to me, which is directed to her bridegroom, Moses. Let us know. In Hebrew, her name means "bird" or "little bird.". 1 Now Moses' father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about all that God had done for Moses and His people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. : . After killing an Egyptian, Moses runs away to Midian, where he marries Zipporah, the daughter of the local priest (Exod 2:15-22). Kadari, Tamar. 45 And when Abraham had given all he had to his son Isaac, he also gave to him this stick. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. Moses had killed an Egyptian by accident and fled to the Midianites since the Pharaoh sought to kill Moses. [9][10] One interpretation is that the wife is Zipporah, and that she was referred to as a Cushite though she was a Midianite, because of her beauty. 1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 99). He spends several decades there before he returns to Egypt to tell Pharaoh to release the Israelites. After the Giving of the Torah, God instructed Moses (Deut. In-laws have an impact in a relationship: Moses siblings did not like Zipporah and spoke badly about their brother because of it. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. He went to Jethro and asked: Give me your daughter Zipporah in marriage. Jethro replied: Do you want to do to me what your ancestor Jacob did? Moses then left the Ethiopians after forty years of ruler-ship (Jasher 76:5-12). A second tradition has Jethro deciding upon Zipporahs marriage to Moses after he brought Moses into his home and came to know his qualities. Yocheved was the daughter of Levi, Jacob 's son. Zipporah's father was a Midianite, which means that she was a Midianite as well. Zipporah first appeared in the Book of Exodus after Moses fled Egypt. New York: 2000. 51 And when Reuel saw the stick in the hand of Moses, he wondered at it, and he gave him his daughter Zipporah for a wife. [11], The Samaritan Pentateuch text refers to Moses' wife Zipporah as "Kaashet" (which translates to "the beautiful woman"), rather than "Cushit" ("black woman" or "Cushite woman"). The misconception is that Zipporah was Ethiopian and she was not, she was Shemitic. Moses therefore fled from Egypt, and arrived in Midian. This exegesis explains why only one of Mosess sons was uncircumcised, and why they were not in such mortal danger immediately after his birth, but only after they had left Jethros home and were released from his vow. The details of the passage are unclear and subject to debate. in the Bible: A Feminist Approach. Zipporah, in contrast, was a Cushite in her poverty and a Cushite with regal status. 48 And after the death of Joseph, the nobles of Egypt came into the house of Joseph, and the stick came into the hand of Reuel the Midianite, and when he went out of Egypt, he took it in his hand and planted it in his garden. Countertraditions In each one, she seems to come into conflict with the culture of her husband, as well as being stuck between Moses the man, and Moses the prophet. She was born at the very moment when Jacob and his entire household, Levi and his wife among them, had just entered the gates of Egypt. This passage mostly focuses on Jethro aiding Moses in getting help judging the conflicts among the tribes. Its your duty to train them up in the way that they should go (Proverbs 22:6). If you are asking me to give you Zipporah, swear to me that you will not take her far away from me; I will give her to you only upon this condition. Moses immediately swore to him, as it is said: Moses consented [va-yoel] to stay with the man (Ex. After God commanded Moses to return to Egypt to free the Israelites, Moses took his wife and sons and started his journey. Zipporah was the wife of Moses. So the question is, who is the Ethiopian woman that Aaron and Miriam had an issue with Moses about? Note that God makes no distinction between those who are Israelites and those who are "strangers" (Gentiles, aliens, sojourners, those who were not of Israel by "race") in regard to the need to offer sacrifices, the ability to receive forgiveness of sins, and even the punishment for presumptuous sins! [21] This view has been used to represent an element of the special relationship between Israeli Jews and Druze.[22]. (Exodus 4:24). This passage reveals that sometime after the exit from Egypt, Zipporah gave birth to another son named Eliezer, and was either sent back, or returned to Midian to be with her father. Touched by Greatness Women in the Life of Moses. During his education he learned somehow that he was a Hebrew, and his sense of concern and curiosity impelled him to visit his people. Even if he got to keep his first wife concurrently with his second (from these records its a little unclear, maybe Miriam and Moses were telling Moses he should put away his Ethiopian wife who wasnt given to him in a spiritual way, and only have one wife, Zippporah, who was acquired in a spiritual manner). Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. Many people often assume that Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses because of his marriage with Zipporah: 12 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 50 So that stick remained planted in the garden of Reuel, until he came who had a right to it and took it. Another tradition explains that the numerical value of Kushit is the same as the Hebrew yafet mareh (beautiful). They will be prophets, and they will withdraw from their wives, as my husband withdrew from me. Thus Miriam learned that Moses abstained from relations with Zipporah, and she told this to Aaron (Tanhuma, Zav 13). Zipporahs name, meaning bird, combined with her protection of Moses, is reminiscent of the fierce loyalty to her husband Osiris of the Egyptian goddess Isis, who is often portrayed as a bird of prey. According to one hermeneutical position, Zipporah touched Mosess legs and said to him: Take retribution for your debt. According to another interpretive approach, she touched the legs of the angel and said: This is the culmination of your mission. A third understanding has her touching the body of the child, and only then (v. 26) He let him alone (JT Nedarim 3:9, 38b). After being taken in by the family of the Pharaoh, Moses grew up among the upper class in the culture, but he did become aware of his Hebrew lineage. Based on the Bible, there is no prohibition against what people define as different "races" from being married. The meaning of "Cushite" is uncertain. I havent lost my family. Upon hearing her father, Zipporah immediately ran after Moses like a bird (ke-zippor, i.e., with alacrity) (Ex. We do trust Josephus as a historical source, but we don't know if we can corroborate everything he says. Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. Zipporah, however, understood it and acted decisively to rescue Moses. The Midianites were not Ethiopians, they are actually from the lineage of Abraham who Moses is also a descendant of. As with other major Biblical figures, the venue of the first encounter between Moses and Zipporah, his future wife, was beside a well (Ex. So, when Zipporah refused, apparently, to follow him on his divinely appointed mission to Egypt, she abandoned him, which is why Moses had dismissed, divorced or sent her back (see Exod 18:2 where we read that Moses had "sent her [Zipporah] back", Heb.
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