Mosess hope that his family would be present at the Giving of the Torah would nonetheless be realized, because the Torah tells of their reunion in Ex. Cush being another name for Ethiopia. Much of the tension in their marriage is documented only after Moses began to step into his role as the liberator of the Hebrews. [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. At the well, she met Moses, who was fleeing from Egypt and from Pharaoh's judgment after he . The second position is that Moses was negligent regarding his sons circumcision. The story is already difficult for the narrator, who adds a comment thathatan damimrefers to circumcision. When Moses asked Jethro to marry his daughter Zipporah, Jethro had told him: If you accept the thing that I will tell you, then I will give her in marriage to you. Moses asked: What is this thing? To which Jethro replied: The first son born to you shall be for idolatry, and your following sons will be for Heaven. Moses accepted Jethros condition (Mehilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Masekhta de-Amalek, Yitro 1). Jethro was one of the magicians of Egypt, and when he saw Pharaohs staff with its magical symbols, he desired it and took it. Zipporah, or Tzipora (/zpr, zpr/; Hebrew: , ippr, "bird"),[a] is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Reuel/Jethro, the priest and prince of Midian.[2]. This information sheds a clear light on the question, whether Moses was married to an Ethiopian? Whose legs did she touch? 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. 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. Salem Media Group. After Zipporah performed the circumcision, she took the foreskin and touched his legs (v. 25). God blessed them with children. 43 And when God had driven Adam from the garden of Eden, he took the stick in his hand and went and tilled the ground from which he was taken. Zipporahs actions led to a Talmudic discussion of womens ability to perform circumcision. Lets look at what the scriptures actually say by starting in the book of Exodus. It therefore does not matter what was the ethnic heritage, lineage, etc. Zipporah quickly circumcised her son with a sharp stone and touched Moses' feet with the foreskin, saying "Surely you are a husband of blood to me!" Lutzer, Erwin. All rights reserved. Expository Upon their return home, their father asked them, "How is it that you have come home so early today?" The Rabbis ascribe many traits to her; they considered her different than other women, in a positive sense, in both appearance and deed. Proud member Alonso de Sandoval, 17th century Jesuit, reasoned that Zipporah and the Cushite woman was the same person, and that she was black. Moses and the latter met at the mountain of God when Moses was on his way to Egypt (Ex. Its your duty to train them up in the way that they should go (Proverbs 22:6). Times 106 (1995): 203205. In Marcel Proust's story Swann's Way (1913), Swann is struck by the resemblance of his eventual wife Odette to Sandro Botticellis painting of Zipporah in a Sistine Chapel fresco, and this recognition is the catalyst for his obsession with her. Exodus 12:1-3, Exodus 12:10-15. The next documented moment in Zipporahs life came after the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. Nor had I heard of the book of Jasher. In Hebrew, her name means "bird" or "little bird.". Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. They said: Moses is haughty. He met her during his years away from Egypt ( Exodus 2:1 ). Moses siblings, Aaron and Miriam turned against their brother because he married someone who was not from the race or culture. [6] The idea that Moses separated from Zipporah could be adduced from the description of Jethro bringing Moses his wife, "after she had been sent home" ( ) in Exod. And they said, Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Now we know that Moses was married to Adoniah (Tharbis), by just simply understanding the history of Israel, we can say that Moses was married twice. 18:26, when Jethro brings Zipporah and her two sons to Moses in the wilderness, after she had been sent home (v. 2). This criticism displeases God, who punishes Miriam with Tzaraath (often glossed as leprosy). 5:2627): Go, say to them, Return to your tents. But you remain here with MeIsrael shall return to their wives, but you shall not return to marital relations (Tanhuma, Zav 13). In a marriage, spouses should support one another and help navigate the relationship with their respective relations. Moses goes out to greet Jethro and takes him into his tent, but nothing is said about his greeting Zipporah. Why Does God Compare Our Relationship with Him to That of a Bride and Groom? 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. Meyers, Carol, General Editor. Invite him for supper to break bread." She is also described as a practical woman capable of taking action at the right moment. He originally had a wife named Zipporah who was the daughter of a Midianite priest (Exodus 2:15 - 21). Zipporah is not well rewarded. Moses had killed an Egyptian by accident and fled to the Midianites since the Pharaoh sought to kill Moses. (Viewed on May 1, 2023) . Many of the patriarchs had multiple wives, and we dont know the details of their relationships. 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. I trust Him. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. The Lord has already spoken with many prophets, and with us as well, but we did not abstain from our spouses as Moses has done (Sifrei Zuta 12:1). So even though I have always hated the idea of divorce, no matter how much she drove me nuts or didnt step up to the plate when it came to our family, I patiently accepted her for who she was because she was the woman I chose, even though our relationship didnt start in Gods way, and now maybe God is rewarding me for that patience. According to one tradition, Miriam saw that Zipporah no longer adorned herself with womens jewelry, and asked her: Why have you stopped wearing womens ornaments? Zipporah answered: Your brother no longer cares about this. Thus Miriam learned that Moses had abstained from intercourse (Sifrei on Numbers chap. 11:27) that Eldad and Medad are acting the prophet in the camp! Zipporahs reaction to this report was: Woe to their wives. When he was with Jethro, he saw how fine were her actions. what is biblical or not) were not Hebrews, they slaughtered the Hebrews. Most focus on the clear teaching that Moses married Zipporah, a Midianite, during his 40 years in the wilderness (having fled from the presence of Pharaoh). 1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. divorced"). Propp, William. She may be Zipporah, the known wife of Moses (Exod 2:21, 18:2), or another woman. In a third midrashic tableau, Zipporah initiated the conversation and spoke with Miriam, Miriam told this to Aaron, and he added to her words and the two discussed the matter. Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, along with her two sons. Jewish Women's Archive. Other scriptures that state the sojourner, like the person born in the land, could be an active part of the sacrificial services (like the red heifer ceremony) are Numbers 15:14 - 16, 19:10 and Leviticus 17:8 - 9. Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. Now you know that Moses was in fact married to an Ethiopian, you can go and educate others. Jewish Women's Archive. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. He was instrumental in getting back the Ethiopian castle after it was abducted by Balaam the Magician and his two sons. Before arriving in Egypt, he sent his family to their home country, and he possibly even married another woman. He planted the staff in the garden of his house, and no man could approach it. 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? Unlike the human tendency to want or expect perfection in religious heroes, historic Judaism simply asked that its heroes do more good than evil. What mattered was whether the "stranger" or non-Israelite was willing to be obedient to God's laws and thus become a citizen of Israel. The Rabbis sought to elicit the nature of the parting between Moses and Zipporah from the wording after she had been sent home [shiluheha]. According to one opinion, Moses divorced her, with a writ of divorce, since shiluah also appears in Deut. Zipporah, in contrast, was a Cushite in her poverty and a Cushite with regal status. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2013. That Bloody Bridegroom (Exodus 4:2426). Vetus Strangers in the land were commanded to faithfully observe God's holy Sabbath Day (Exodus 20:10) and keep the annual Feast of Tabernacles in the fall (Deuteronomy 16:13 - 14). The woman is not named. Rabbah 5:5). Thank you! At some point before the exodus from Egypt, Moses sends her and the children away(Exod 18:2). The Bible and Its Story, Taught By One Thousand Picture Lessons, Moses and his Ethiopian wife Zipporah (Mozes en zijn Ethiopische vrouw Sippora), relationship between Israeli Jews and Druze, "Judges 4 / Hebrew English Bible / Mechon-Mamre". Midrashic tradition assumed they were discussing Moses neglect of Zipporah. Another interpretation, however, has this danger hovering over Moses, and in order to save him, Zipporah circumcises their son. The Bible records, She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land (Exodus 2:22). Pardes, Ilana. In return for her good deed, God gave Moses permission to marry her (Exodus 18:13). 31 And they placed the royal crown upon his head, and they gave him for a wife Adoniah the Cushite queen, wife of Kikianus. Why Didn't Moses Enter the Promised Land. This article really cleared things up (so thank you ) but I was confused in regards to you saying that Adoniah and Moses consummated the marriage because in Yasher 74 :31- 38 it explains how he never had sex with her because of Exodus 34:11-16 and genesis 9:22-27. But where did it come from? The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah: First English Translation Compared with the Masoretic Version. The Rabbis explain that Moses never wanted to part from Zipporah and sent her to her fathers house in Midian only for fear that the Egyptian servitude would harm her. Zipporah found very this difficult and she Miriam, forming a bond of feminine solidarity as Miriam lent an attentive ear and tried to help. She saved his life in the night encampment when she made haste to circumcise her son. Heres a scripture that shows that Reuel (Jethro) Zipporahs father was a Midianite. And Aaron said to Moses, Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have d15one foolishly and have sinned. Before the Giving of the Torah, God ordered Moses to sanctify the people, and he said to them (Ex. 99). At some point, God told Moses to bring his family to Egypt in order to free his people. A beautiful woman, she had received a special blessing that her comeliness would last her into old age. 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. 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). 4:24). She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com. Zipporahs actions led to a Talmudic discussion of the ability of women to perform circumcision. 99). The sons of Ham, mentioned within the Book of Genesis, have been identified with nations in Africa (Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya), the Levant (Canaan), and Arabia. 12). Many of us are familiar with Moses' wife, Zipporah. The ones that are, are in the minority and they are a blessing. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Lieberman], Ki Teze 1, reads: milah [circumcision; i.e., stages within the circumcision] u- periah). There, Moses stood up for seven young women who were drawing water who were being driven away from the well by shepherds. Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/kieferpix. He thereupon accepted the offer, on condition she would procure the delivering up of the city; and gave her the assurance of an oath to take her to his wife; and that when he had once taken possession of the city, he would not break his oath to her. The midrash admits that Moses abstained from intercourse with his wife from the time of the Giving of the Torah, but this was at Gods behest. There's not a lot mentioned about her in the Bible; however, she's known for one major thing and it's a bit strange. On the road, they stayed at an inn, where God came to kill Moses. 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). "the written Torah." Zipporah was called a Cushite, meaning at least part if not all of her heritage was from Africa. My wife left me, and after 5 months of wrestling with God, and much turmoil (I know there is more grieving still to be done), and a several-hour prayer last night, I woke up this morning with that song from The Prince of Egypt in my head, all Ive ever wanted. I know its an animated film and not 100% accurate (it might not even be 10% accurate, who knows), but Ive been wrestling with the fact that I covenanted to this woman, had 4 kids with her, was happier than I ever thought possible, then bam, without warning shes gone. Zipporah was the wife of Moses. That was in the year 2238 after Creation. Since modesty is appropriate for the relations between a man and his wife, how did Miriam learn of Mosess abstinence? Purgatory vs Hell, The Truth. Regardless of which parent failed to have their son circumcised, both had to confront this choice later in life, and Gershom paid a price for that. 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. Tsedaka, Benyamim, and Sharon Sullivan, eds. In Gods eyes, it does not matter whether Moses' wife was a Midianite, Cushite or whatever "race" she was. Instead, she was a married single for the rest of her life. [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. Reuel then gave Moses Zipporah as his wife (Exodus 2:1121). We are told that the Most High used what is now known as the supernatural staff of Moses to create the worlds (Jasher 77:42).
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