The Meaning Of Maccabees, Is Purgatory A Dogma? Moses marries Zipporah during his time in Midian. Book of Numbers 12:1 states that Moses was criticized by his older siblings for having married a "Cushite woman", Aethiopissa in the Latin Vulgate Bible version. Zipporah: Bible | Jewish Women's Archive She is also described as a practical woman capable of taking action at the right moment. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Corporation, 1967. Who Was Zipporah and What Can We Learn from Her Life? - Bible Study Tools Expository Below you will see one of the sons Abraham had with his late wife Keturah. "Where is he then? There are several interesting passages about interactions between Zipporah, her husband, and her in-laws. The Midianites were not Ethiopians, they are actually from the lineage of Abraham who Moses is also a descendant of. The Rabbis suggest that Miriam and Aaron talked about Moses having withdrawn from his wife. 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. How To Worship God: What Is Spirit And What Is Truth? This is the land that Moses dwelt in when he took refuge from Pharaoh. of Moses - Years and deeds | Britannica God did not agree, punishing Miriam with leprosy to make an example of their bigotry and pride. We all become responsible for our own walk with Yah when we become adults (Philippians 2:12). Did Moses Have Two Wives, Tharbis and Zipporah, or Just One? 4:2426. Vetus She is later reunited with Moses when her father . The most popular incident is when Moses is challenged by Aaron and Miriam, because of his marriage to an Ethiopian woman (Numbers 12:1). in the Bible: A Feminist Approach. The woman is not named. Rabbah 2:33; Mann, Fragments from the Geniza, fragment 12, p. 95). 4:24). Zipporah is not well rewarded. [26] She is the main character in Marek Halter's novel Zipporah, Wife of Moses (2005).[27]. The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah: First English Translation Compared with the Masoretic Version. We would have to read it and compare, and the Spirit should lead you, Shalom. Have an update or correction? Your children are a gift from Yah (Psalms 127:3). 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. 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. Shalom. 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. Lutzer, Erwin. 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. It might refer to the child, for in response Zipporah cuts off her sons foreskin and thus saves his life. After the Giving of the Torah, a life of sexual abstinence was imposed on Moses. Ibn Ezra on Exodus 18:2 : , : ( :). In the Bible, women are often praised when they are obedient but they sometimes disappear from the text after giving birth or getting married. [6][7][8] In the story, Aaron and Miriam criticize Moses' marriage to a Cushite woman. However, the stories of some of the women of the Bible continue to resonate, despite only minor appearances. You can see here that Tharbis is mentioned, not in the bible scriptures, but in the Josephus histories. However, while Moses was uneasy at the armys lying idle, (for the enemies durst not come to a battle,) this accident happened: Tharbis was the daughter of the king of the Ethiopians: she happened to see Moses as he led the army near the walls, and fought with great courage; and admiring the subtility of his undertakings, and believing him to be the author of the Egyptians success, when they had before despaired of recovering their liberty. 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. They had several rough patches in their marriage in part because of Moses devotion to his responsibilities. What Is The True Sabbath Day? Above you can see that Reuel (Jethro) was Moses father in law and the priest of Midian too. Exodus 12:1-3, Exodus 12:10-15. The Great Moses Divorced and Remarried? | Hoshana Rabbah Blog The Israelites, too, are called Kushiim in Amos 9:7: To me, O Israelites, you are just like the Ethiopians [Kushiim], because of the difference between them and the other peoples of the earth, since they observe the commandments (Sifrei on Numbers chap. [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"). 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. 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. There, Moses met a man named Jethro and received Jethro's daughter Zipporah in marriage. Exodus 18:2 After Moses had sent back his wife Zipporah, his father-in Who was Moses' wife? Did Moses have more than one wife? | GotQuestions.org Num. 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! Zipporah - Wikipedia Episode 91: Israel at 75: Voices of Protest. Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. Another tradition explains that the numerical value of Kushit is the same as the Hebrew yafet mareh (beautiful). The Healing of Moses Leprous Arm (above) and The Return to Egypt, and Zipporah Circumcising her Son (below).Courtesy of the John Rylands Library, Manchester. 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. Zipporah found very this difficult and she Miriam, forming a bond of feminine solidarity as Miriam lent an attentive ear and tried to help. 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. Wm. The meaning of "Cushite" is uncertain. If youre equating marriage to sex that is not a biblical understanding. According to the Rabbis, Miriam intended to praise her brother, and she wanted to increase procreative activity, but nevertheless was punished, because of the severity of gossip (Sifrei on Numbers chap. NJAB - Who was Moses' wife? A Midianite, a Cushite, or both? Your email address will not be published. Ex. 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). Af and Hemah (the destructive angels of wrath and anger) came and swallowed Moses, leaving only his legs. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. Dont forget to share this with someone that needs it. After the Giving of the Torah she-bi-khetav: Lit. When Moses fled from Egypt to the land of Midian, he met Jethro's seven daughters, who were having some trouble getting enough water for their flocks ( Exodus 2 ). Exodus 18:2-5. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, "I . Thank you! Then you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son,and I say to you, Let my son go that he may serve me. If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son. At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. shillach meaning "dismissed, i.e. Bless you and i will keep on follow and read the Word until i understand more. Zipporah had compassion on Moses and brought him bread and water. Some women are beautiful in their youth but are repulsive in their old age. According to the Jewish Women's Archive, when Moses killed a man in Egypt, he rushed to hide among the Midianites. 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. Rabbah [ed. But did Moses have a second wife? Her right hand is to her chest. The prevalent idea among the Rabbis is that a woman is qualified to perform circumcision; the fact that she herself does not require circumcision teaches that she is regarded as if she were already circumcised. Much more likely is that Zipporah had died (although her death is not recorded in Scripture) and that Moses had remarried. Moses then left the Ethiopians after forty years of ruler-ship (Jasher 76:5-12). The Rabbis ascribe many traits to Zipporah, whom they considered as differing from other women, in a positive sense, in both appearance and deed. This totally contradicts the idea that Moses wife could have been an Ethiopian. While the Israelites/Hebrews were captives in Egypt, Moses killed an Egyptian who was striking a Hebrew, for which offense Pharaoh sought to kill Moses. 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. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. Most. 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. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2013. First lets see whether Moses was married to Zipporah. So the answer to the question, whether or not Moses married an Ethiopian has been answered, and the answer is, Yes! 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. This article helped to throw more light on issues and matters concerning one of the Biblical figures Moses. 31 December 1999. 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. The answer is no: Moses never had more than four wives. Thank you so much for your, very much needed, information. 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. Exodus 3:1 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. Since modesty is appropriate for the relations between a man and his wife, how did Miriam learn of Mosess abstinence? divorced"). Answer Zipporah in the Bible was the wife of Moses and the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian. 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. Countertraditions Reuel was so grateful, he decided to receive Moses as a guest in his house and offered up his daughter Zipporah to Moses to marry. How did Zipporah know that Mosess life was threatened because of the circumcision? Your question refers to Numbers 12:1 that states his mate was a Cushite, a term often used to refer to African nations. There are many mysteries surrounding the episode at the end of this week's parsha when Miriam and Aaron say something to Moses with regards to the "Cushite" woman whom he had married. [3] In Exodus 2:18, Jethro is also referred to as Reuel, and in the Book of Judges ( Judges 4:11) as Hobab. Answer (1 of 4): This is a very difficult Question to answer because this portion of Moses' life is pretty much presented in A-B-C straightforward chronological fashion, emphasizing only the order in which events occurred and giving very little credence or point of reference to the exact year(s) . The Rabbis resolve this by identifying the Cushite woman with Zipporah. There are women who are poor, the children of the poor, who do not know how to conduct themselves when they come in contact with royalty. Jacob was alone and wrestled with the angel all night; Moses is with his wife, who comes to his rescue. New York: 2000. Moses had married Zipporahone of the seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midianwhen he fled from Egypt after slaying an Egyptian taskmaster (see Exod. [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. 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? Jewish Women's Archive. 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). Thank you! 41 And he read it and stretched forth his hand and he plucked it like a forest tree from the thicket, and the stick was in his hand. Such heroes were and are called "the righteous." Like me, they never knew about Adoniah (Tharbis). So the question is, who is the Ethiopian woman that Aaron and Miriam had an issue with Moses about? Midrashic tradition assumed they were discussing Moses neglect of Zipporah. In-laws have an impact in a relationship: Moses siblings did not like Zipporah and spoke badly about their brother because of it. Below is an excerpt from the Josephus works. Moses neglect of Zipporah is obvious, as he (not God) tells the men at Sinai not to approach any women in preparation for Gods approach in three days(Exod 19:2). 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. Shalom. Her mysterious life leaves us with more questions than answers, but it does not mean her life was not worth studying. 2 After Moses had sent back his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had received her, 3 along with her two sons. 18:2). 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. Yocheved - Chabad.org 12:1): because of the Cushite woman he had marriedhe married her because she was a Cushite woman (Sifrei Zuta 12:1). Pardes, Ilana. Sorry to here about the break up. This stick was passed down until it reached Abraham, then Jacob took it. 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.
