God did not agree, punishing Miriam with leprosy to make an example of their bigotry and pride. Thank you! The most common translation is that Moses sent her away, but another grammatically permissible translation is that she sent things or persons, perhaps the announcement of the victory over Amalek. 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? She heroically saved Moses from an attack by circumcising her son. Yael Wife of Heber The Kenite: Midrash and Aggadah, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Copyright 19982023, Jewish Women's Archive. These scriptures should clear up any misunderstandings you may have had about these different names. In return for her good deed, God gave Moses permission to marry her (Exodus 18:13). The Bloody Bridegroom: The Interpretation of Exodus 4:2426. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. Her right hand is to her chest. Here's a scripture that shows that Reuel (Jethro) Zipporah's father was a Midianite. Have an update or correction? Most. While this devotion is not a bad thing, it requires extra work to make the relationship work. 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? Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/kieferpix. [19] It has been expressed by prominent Druze such as Amal Nasser el-Din[20] and Salman Tarif, who was a prominent Druze shaykh, that this makes the Druze related to the Jews through marriage. When the daughters of Reuel, a Midianite priest, were being harassed, Moses helped them. In the Biblical account, when Moses and Zipporah were on their way to Egypt, they stayed in a night encampment, where they were in mortal danger: the Lord encountered him and sought to kill him (Ex. Who was she? B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2013. I trust Him. The members of Mosess family are not mentioned in the narrative of the ten plagues and the Exodus from Egypt and reappear only in the family reunion in Ex. Most probably, the . 42 And this is the stick with which all the works of our God were performed, after he had created heaven and earth, and all the host of them, seas, rivers and all their fishes. They believed Zipporahs ethnicity disqualified him from being Gods sole mouthpiece. Have an update or correction? The Rabbis ascribe many traits to Zipporah, whom they considered as differing from other women, in a positive sense, in both appearance and deed. 2:1517). The latter tries to help, and is punished. Required fields are marked *, 2020 We Are Hebrew | Bible Facts & Bible Notes |, 22 comments on Moses Wife: Zipporah Or Tharbis (Adoniah)?. Kadari, Tamar. Article It is always good to study the Scriptures deeper and further. That being said I did not say Moses had sex with his Ethiopian wife in this article, they were just married. Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. 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. "Zipporah: Midrash and Aggadah." Let us know. Jethro helped his son-in-law by encouraging him to delegate some of his responsibilities. 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. Moses was that man, when he took it out the ground Reuel saw him with it, and it was at that moment he knew Moses was special, so he gave him his daughter Zipporah. Although any alien or Gentile (a term used for anyone of a race different that Israel) that was not circumcised could not partake of the yearly Passover ceremony, they still were required by law to do several things. Hopefully this article has helped clear up the questions you may have had about Moses wives. Much more likely is that Zipporah had died (although her death is not recorded in Scripture) and that Moses had remarried. If you havent read the apocrypha (It fills the gap between Malachi and Matthew), the book of Maccabees within it will shed light on the Romans conquest over Israel. Rabbah 5:5). "the written Torah." The Midianites were not Ethiopians, they are actually from the lineage of Abraham who Moses is also a descendant of. Such heroes were and are called "the righteous." This story sounds strikingly similar to the story of Excalibur. Zipporah, however, was lovely both in her youth and in her old age, and therefore was called the Cushite woman also when she was old. It is unclear whether she remained with Moses or returned to Midian. Throughout the Pentateuch, Moses's wife is identified as Zipporah, a Midianite woman and the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian (Exodus 2:21; 3:1). Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it and said, Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!So he let him alone. I cant tell you how much this helped me. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. Upon hearing her father, Zipporah immediately ran after Moses like a bird (ke-zippor, i.e., with alacrity) (Ex. Part of why God cursed Miriam with leprosy was because Moses would not stand up to her. Shalom. He then planted it in the ground (Jasher 77:48) waiting for a man who was worthy to pluck it from the ground. Did Moses Have Two Wives, Tharbis and Zipporah, or Just One? Both of these assertions are inaccurate. It might refer to the child, for in response Zipporah cuts off her sons foreskin and thus saves his life. 17K views, 519 likes, 455 loves, 3.7K comments, 232 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from EWTN: Starting at 8 a.m. Moses fled to Midian, which is in modern-day Saudi Arabia. A Midianite, a Cushite, or both? 1920). In another midrashic account, Jethro agreed to the marriage between Moses and Zipporah on condition that their firstborn would be an idolater (see below). Miriam learned of this after the appointment of the seventy elders (Num. 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. Zipporah, in contrast, was a Cushite in her poverty and a Cushite with regal status. How old was Moses wife Zipporah when she died? - Answers In the midrashic amplification, Zipporah set out for Egypt with Moses, but never arrived there. Robinson, Bernard P. Zipporah to the Rescue: A Contextual Study of Exodus "Zipporah: Bible." It explains the wars that Moses was a part of when he left Egypt. In the above scriptures the queen of Ethiopia took a liking to Moses because of his abilities during battle. Zipporah was called a Cushite, meaning at least part if not all of her heritage was from Africa. The truth is, as you have seen throughout this article, is that this assumption is based off a lack of knowledge and thorough study of the scriptures. Alonso de Sandoval, 17th century Jesuit, reasoned that Zipporah and the Cushite woman was the same person, and that she was black. The Midianites themselves were later on depicted at times in non-Biblical sources as dark-skinned and called Kushim, a Hebrew word used for dark-skinned Africans. Moses' First Wife - Zipporah Moses was an exile. And they said, Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? More research shows a biblical record that supports the information presented by Josephus concerning Moses war against the Ethiopians when he was the king of the Ethiopians. That was in the year 2238 after Creation. 18:26, when Jethro brings Zipporah and her two sons to Moses in the wilderness, after she had been sent home (v. 2). Zipporah: Reminding Us Who We Are - Faithward.org Zipporah did not seem to always let Moses know what she needed. shillach meaning "dismissed, i.e. Another interpretation, however, has this danger hovering over Moses, and in order to save him, Zipporah circumcises their son. Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother's womb. And Moses cried to the Lord, O God, please heal herplease. But the Lord said to Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? and to be the occasion of the great danger the Ethiopians were in, when they had before boasted of their great achievements, she fell deeply in love with him; and upon the prevalency of that passion, sent to him the most faithful of all her servants to discourse with him about their marriage. A second tradition has Jethro deciding upon Zipporahs marriage to Moses after he brought Moses into his home and came to know his qualities. Women in Scripture. Both possibilities appear in the midrashic expositions. Moses married an Ethiopian woman who was not of Shemitic lineage, she was Hamitic (this information is only found in the book of Yasher), that is why Miriam spoke against her. 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. Their parting took place on the way, following the encounter with Aaron. On the road, they stayed at an inn, where God came to kill Moses. She is later reunited with Moses when her father . She heroically saves Moses and her sons from a random attack from an angel by cutting off her sons foreskin; the explanation for this act is unclear. Sorry to here about the break up. Who knows, but it gives me hope to relate to Moses in this thing. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. In the Torah, Zipporah was one of the seven daughters of Jethro, a Kenite shepherd who was a priest of Midian. Times 106 (1995): 203205. Race of Moses' Wife - Bible Study Its worth reading and very insightful. "Why did you leave the man? He was instrumental in getting back the Ethiopian castle after it was abducted by Balaam the Magician and his two sons. Behind him to his right stands his wife, a black womanpossibly Zipporah. Purgatory vs Hell, The Truth. Despite the difficulties in their relationship, Moses and Zipporah did have two children and were married for decades before he went back to Egypt. So the question is, who is the Ethiopian woman that Aaron and Miriam had an issue with Moses about? After the Giving of the Torah, a life of sexual abstinence was imposed on Moses. The details of the quality of their marriage over time are difficult to discern, as she spent time with Moses in Egypt, came into conflict with him and his family, and did eventually take their son back to Midian. Blessings to you and your family, Shalom! The law you quote is in Deuteronomy, which was not yet in existence when Moses married the Cushite - it was spoken at the very end of Moses' life (Deut 4:44-5:1). Yocheved - Chabad.org But where did it come from? If the Rabbis identify the Cushite woman with Zipporah, and the word Cushite describes her positive qualities (her beauty and her deeds), what flaw did Miriam and Aaron find in her when they spoke against Moses (Num. 39). Invite him for supper to break bread." Other interpreters see the Cushite woman as a second wife, with Miriam and Aaron opposed to the marriage. 44 And the stick came down to Noah and was given to Shem and his descendants, until it came into the hand of Abraham the Hebrew.