Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. He was instrumental in getting back the Ethiopian castle after it was abducted by Balaam the Magician and his two sons. The Rabbis interpret the vague wording of the verse in different ways. The Rabbis explain that Moses sent Zipporah to her fathers house in Midian only out of fear that Egyptian servitude would harm her. Moses defended the girls and watered their flocks. Af and Hemah (the destructive angels of wrath and anger) came and swallowed Moses, leaving only his legs. Other shepherds arrived and drove the girls away, so that they could water their own flocks first. Blessings to you and your family, Shalom! Many of the patriarchs had multiple wives, and we dont know the details of their relationships. Moses therefore fled from Egypt, and arrived in Midian. Moses had killed an Egyptian by accident and fled to the Midianites since the Pharaoh sought to kill Moses. The Midianites were not Ethiopians, they are actually from the lineage of Abraham who Moses is also a descendant of. It is called the book of Jasher and it is mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18. The girls answered, "An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock." In the midrashic expansion, when the daughters of Jethro returned home, they told their father that a stranger had saved them from the shepherds, and he asked them: Why did you leave the man? A second tradition has Jethro deciding upon Zipporahs marriage to Moses after he brought Moses into his home and came to know his qualities. After the Giving of the Torah, a life of sexual abstinence was imposed on Moses. How can we know which is correct? Heres a scripture that shows that Reuel (Jethro) Zipporahs father was a Midianite. 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. Boast Not Against The Branches: Olive Tree Bible Verse Explained. According to the Jewish Women's Archive, when Moses killed a man in Egypt, he rushed to hide among the Midianites. This teaches that at some point Zipporah and her sons had been sent back to Midian, where they stayed with Jethro until he brought them to Moses in the wilderness. Just as Joseph was a Hebrew, with his wife being and Egyptian, yet his sons Ephraim and Manasseh, were Israelites due to their father's line. Yet another exegetical tradition explains that Zipporah differed from other women in her deeds (BT Moed Katan 16b). Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. Well, Heavenly Father has something in store for me that I cant see right now, I have faith in that. Who Was Zipporah in the Bible? - Christianity.com His name is Midian, which made him the forefather of the Midianites. When we read the bible we see mention of the book of Jasher quoted above, which gives credence to its authority (Joshua 10:13, 2 Samuel 1:18). Answer: Some think Moses married a woman of a different race than he was. [4] Hobab is also the name of Jethro's son in Numbers 10:29 . Gen. 17:13 states they must be circumcised [ha-yimol yimol, literally, he who is circumcised shall circumcise], from which the Rabbis deduced that only one who is circumcised may circumcise others. 1920). Testamentum 43 (1993): 495518. Moses first wife was Adoniah (Tharbis) and his second wife was Zipporah. 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. We first meet Zipporahwho later became Moses's wifeat a well in her hometown of Midian. Much of the tension in their marriage is documented only after Moses began to step into his role as the liberator of the Hebrews. [14][15][16][17][18] Moses was allowed to wed Zipporah after helping save Jethro's daughters and their flock from competing herdsmen. Her last years and the circumstances of her death are unknown. I am so excited to get this information. Moses recognized this quality in her, as it is said (Num. After researching this, I have found this statement was true, but not in the way that most people think. Who knows, but it gives me hope to relate to Moses in this thing. In gratitude, Reuel (called Jethro or Hobab in other biblical passages) offers Moses hospitality, then gives him his daughter Zipporah in marriage(Exod 2:2122). 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. Intercultural/interracial marriages can work and are Biblical: Zipporah and Moses came from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. These scriptures should clear up any misunderstandings you may have had about these different names. Moses Wife: Zipporah Or Tharbis (Adoniah)? - wearehebrew.com Catholic Daily Mass - Daily TV Mass - April 22, 2023 - Facebook 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!" At the well, she met Moses, who was fleeing from Egypt and from Pharaoh's judgment after he . 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. 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. 12). In a marriage, spouses should support one another and help navigate the relationship with their respective relations. Cushites were of the ancestry of either Kush (Nubia) in northeast Africa, or Arabians. Jethro was one of the magicians of Egypt, and when he saw Pharaohs staff with its magical symbols, he desired it and took it. Sorry to here about the break up. So everybody naturally assumes that she was the Ethiopian. While she is introduced early in Exodus, very little is said about her. 18, before the Giving of the Torah, which is immediately presented in the following chapters (Ex. Purgatory vs Hell, The Truth. This stick was passed down until it reached Abraham, then Jacob took it. A Midianite, a Cushite, or both? This is something that Ive always wondered about, because when I checked the background of Moses wife I never found this to be true. Moses siblings, Aaron and Miriam turned against their brother because he married someone who was not from the race or culture. 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. The stick was then taken by Adam (Jasher 77:43) when he was sent out of the Garden of Eden. They believed Zipporahs ethnicity disqualified him from being Gods sole mouthpiece. Then at the age of sixty-six he went to the land of Midian and married Zipporah the Midianite. 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. Zipporah was rejoined with Moses early on the Exodus (see Exodus 2:16-22; 18:2-6). Who was Moses' wife? Moses' Cushite Wife | Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament Reuel then gave Moses Zipporah as his wife (Exodus 2:1121). 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. 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). 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? The predicate of this verse is unclear. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. And Aaron said to Moses, Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have d15one foolishly and have sinned. Below you will see one of the sons Abraham had with his late wife Keturah. A type of non-halakhic literary activitiy of the Rabbis for interpreting non-legal material according to special principles of interpretation (hermeneutical rules). Pharaohs daughter, who raised him, was aware of his heritage when she found him the basket, but raised him anyway. Moses was aware of Zipporahs qualities and therefore took her for a wife; she adjusted to her role as wife of the leader of the people of Israel, successfully making the transition to royalty. God did not agree, punishing Miriam with leprosy to make an example of their bigotry and pride. How old was Moses wife Zipporah when she died? - Answers 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. 99). One is that Satan sought to kill the uncircumcised baby, and the appellation a bridegroom [hatan] of blood was given to the child himself, who thereby become a hatan (the title given to the child who undergoes circumcision). Moses - Years and deeds | Britannica But did Moses have a second wife? 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. 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. There, Moses met a man named Jethro and received Jethro's daughter Zipporah in marriage. The Patriachs who had multiple wives never sought these wives out, except for Solomon and the results were negative in his case. She then flings the foreskin at his feet, declaring that he ishatan damimto her(Exod 4:26). Cambridge, MA: 1992. Numbers 12:1 is the only passage in the Old Testament where Moses' wife is identified as a "Cushite.". The last mention of Zipporah came while the Hebrews were camped in the wilderness near Mount Sinai. 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. Zipporah, in contrast, was a Cushite in her poverty and a Cushite with regal status. 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. Moses first Marriage was to Adoniah as previously mentioned and his second marriage was to Reuel (Jethro) the Midianites daughter Zipporah. Her words stopped the attack against Moses. We do trust Josephus as a historical source, but we don't know if we can corroborate everything he says. Some people believe that the "Cushite woman" the text referred to whom Moses married was not a second wife, but Zipporah (via My Jewish Learning). How did Zipporah know that Mosess life was threatened because of the circumcision? Race of Moses' Wife - Bible Study The next documented moment in Zipporahs life came after the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. The most popular incident is when Moses is challenged by Aaron and Miriam, because of his marriage to an Ethiopian woman (Numbers 12:1).