So we know nothing about her. 24 At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to kill him. 13 On the morrow Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from morning till evening. Finally, Moses and his family set out on their trip. While stopped at an Inn, He (God) met Moses and Zipporah and said that he was going to kill Moses. 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 21 Moreover choose able men from all the people, such as fear God, men who are trustworthy and who hate a bribe; and place such men over the people as rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. Call him, that he may eat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zippo’rah. Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. Regardless, she will go to great lengths to protect them (and herself) when threatened. Zipporah also features in a much more curious, and much-debated, passage (Exodus 4:24-27). At that time, Midian was located in the Sinai Peninsula. Moses is a type of Christ in the Hebrew Scriptures. Cushites were of the ancestry of either Kush (a.k.a. [17]:248, 253–254, In the Druze religion, Zipporah's father Jethro is revered as the spiritual founder, chief prophet, and ancestor of all Druze. Zipporah, wife of Moses, saved his life by hearing God’s voice, 10 Ways to Heaven After God commanded Moses to return to Egypt to free the Israelites, Moses took his wife and sons and started his journey. "Why did you leave the man? Zipporah was a Midianite. Zipporah or Tzipora is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Reuel/Jethro, the priest and prince of Midian. 4 years ago. והטעם: אחר שיגרה דרונה וזה קרוב אלי. So, what underlies this malice by Moses’ siblings against his wife, their own sister-in-law? And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. [21] This view has been used to represent an element of the special relationship between Israeli Jews and Druze. God was preparing him for his life’s work: rescuing the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Zipporah met Moses at a well, when she and her six sisters were watering their father’s flocks. Tsedaka, Benyamim, and Sharon Sullivan, eds. She took it upon herself to do what Moses should have done. midrash, Zipporah wanted to marry Moses, acted accordingly and achieved her goal. 13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together; and he said to the man that did the wrong, “Why do you strike your fellow?” 14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? 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. He puts her in a group of what he calls "notable and sainted Ethiopians". She is the mother of Moses two sons: Eliezer and Gershom. 22. Moses intervenes, and this leads to the grateful young women bringing Moses home to their father. [9] The word that makes this difficult is shelucheiha, the sendings [away] of her (Ex. Examples include the films The Ten Commandments (1956),[23] The Prince of Egypt (1998)[24] and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014). Jethro, the priest of Mid’ian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. He gave Moses Zipporah his daughter to marry. 5 And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. In the Book of Chronicles, two of her grandsons are mentioned: Shebuel, son of Gershom, and Rehabiah, son of Eliezer (1 Chronicles 23:16–17). Why do you think there is such a difference between the sister and the mother? We don’t know how long Moses and Zipporah lived with Jethro’s tribe, but at some time God spoke to Moses, appearing to him in the form of a burning bush. Who was Moses' wife? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand about you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God and his decisions.”. In the meantime, Moses had to find a refuge. A Midianite, a Cushite, or both? Following a journey into the desert, Moses comes to Midian where he meets Zipporah and her father, Jethro. [8] Hobab is also the name of Jethro's son in Numbers 10:29. Is this Zipporah? [10][11][12] In the story, Aaron and Miriam criticize Moses' marriage to a Cushite woman after he returned to Egypt to set the children of Israel free. Painting: Moses sends the bullies packing! Reuel also known as Jethro was a priest of Midian. 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. Because Moses had chosen to side with the oppressed (the Hebrew slaves) rather than the oppressors (the ruling Egyptians). Chivalrous Moses stepped in and scared off the bullies. Gershom, son of Moses, means ‘a traveller, or someone in a foreign place’ 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!" Moses' marriage was a consequence of the revelation of his characteristic as leader and savior. [25], She is the main character in Marek Halter's novel Zipporah, Wife of Moses (2005).[26]. 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". Zipporah was rejoined with Moses early on the Exodus (see Exodus 2:16-22; 18:2-6). In the Book of Chronicles, two of her grandsons are mentioned: Shebuel, son of Gershom, and Rehabiah, son of Eliezer (1 Chronicles 23:16–17). Wm. But later in the film, when Moses gets to know her, her hostility melts away into sarcasm and playfulness. 25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. A second tradition has Jethro deciding upon Zipporah’s marriage to Moses after he brought Moses into his home and came to know his qualities. In the biblical version of the story, in contrast, Moses meets Zipporah when he flees Egypt after having killed an Egyptian man. Interpretations differ on whether this Cushite wife 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. Moses arrives in Midian, where he saves Zipporah and her sisters from harassment by local shepherds at the well where they are watering their flocks. [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. 25 Then Zippo’rah 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!” 26 So he let him alone. Response #1: This has always been a controversial passage and difficult for exegetes. Exodus 4:25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin, and touched it to Moses' feet. Moses was an Israelite, a Hebrew, born into the tribe of Levi. Other shepherds arrived and drove the girls away so they could water their own flocks first. and that this omission had caused Moses’ illness, stepped in. He found one with the Midianites, a semi-nomadic people who were descended from Abraham (Genesis 25:1). The Cushite wife appears some years later in Moses’ story, during the wandering in the desert (you can read about the dispute between Miriam, Aaron and the Cushite wife at Miriam’s story.). When Tzipporah is captured at the start of the film, she is hostile and aggressive. Then Zipporah’s father, Jethro, priest of Midian, decides that she and Moses make a good match (Exodus 2:11-22). 0 0. Therefore, the Samaritan sages came to the understanding that Moses married only one wife, and once he became absolutely devoted to his prophetic mission he never got married again. Moses defends Zipporah and her sistersat a rather medieval-looking well, Saraceni. On the road, they stayed in an inn, where God came to kill Moses. Earlier, in the Book of Exodus, Moses indeed meets his wife Zipporah in a land far outside Egypt (in that passage the land is referred to as Midian: by either name, a remote foreign place). There, Moses and Aaron confront the Pharaoh, demanding that he free the Israelites. The effect of this incident cannot be exaggerated. Moses wife had two sons for him - Exodus 18:2-4 (King James Version) 2. Moses becomes a shepherd, marries Zipporah, and has a son, Gershom. They had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Later on Zipporah disappeared from view, and Moses devoted all his being to the salvation of Israel. Moses fled from Egypt and dwelt in the land of Midian. But Moses fled from Pharaoh, and stayed in the land of Mid’ian; and he sat down by a well. Zipporah meets Moses at the well Moses at this time was a fugitive from Egypt, where he had killed a man for abusing a Hebrew slave. 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. Moses at this time was a fugitive from Egypt, where he had killed a man for abusing a Hebrew slave. Zipporah realizes that this man will be the husband … Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. Before leaving Egypt, Moses meets with his adopted mother and Miriam, who refer to him by his birth name of Moshe. At a well, where else! [16], "Cushite woman" becomes Aethiopissa in the Latin Vulgate Bible version (4th century). The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah: First English Translation Compared with the Masoretic Version. In Numbers 12:1, Moses wife became the apparent reason for Miriam and Aaron's rebellion against Moses. Jethro was a priest of Midian, a land between Egypt and the promised land.The Midianites were descendants of Abraham's son, Midian. After Moses and Zipporah's wedding, the vision of God in the Burning Bush occurs, commanding Moses to return to Egypt with Zipporah and his brother Aaron. 0 0. They have two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Where Was Moses Wife From. As Moses neared Egypt, he was greeted by his older brother, Aaron, who reprimanded him for bringing his family along to Egypt: “We are pained by those already here, and you bring more people to this terrible situation?”7 Zipporah and their two sons Gershom and Eliezer traveled back to her father’s home in Midian. Zipporah, sensing that God was angry that their son wasn’t circumcised (see What was circumcision?) Moses and Zipporah. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because he delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians, when they dealt arrogantly with them.” 12 And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, offered a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God. In the Book of Exodus, Moses escapes from Egypt, and begins working for Jethro as a shepherd.Subsequently, he meets and marries Zipporah. When Moses and Zipporah meet Moses’ family, Miriam’s response to Zipporah is immediately negative, while Yokeved’s is the exact opposite. You shall represent the people before God, and bring their cases to God; 20 and you shall teach them the statutes and the decisions, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Ten Commandments reversed, Daily Life – Prayer – Paintings – Books of the Bible – Bible Paintings, God spoke to Moses, appearing to him in the form of a burning bush, for fairly obvious reasons, the Bible uses them as. "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me," she said. Zipporah and her sisters are watering their flocks of sheep when some men come and drive them away. Eliezer, Moses’ son, means ‘my God is my help’. Zipporah’s 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. Bible Study Resource for Women in the Bible Moses later married Zipporah and began a new life. Zipporah or Tzipora (/ˈzɪpərə, zɪˈpɔːrə/; Hebrew: צִפּוֹרָה‎, Tsìpporah, "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][3][4][5][6]. [15], 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"). Source(s): https://shrinke.im/a0yQW. The Levites were one of the twelve tribes of Israel. 18 You and the people with you will wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it alone. A Hebrew raised in the house of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Moses is a fugitive, forced to flee his homeland. 21. (13-16) Jethro observes Moses as he settles disputes among the children of Israel. God commanded Moses to confront Pharaoh and demand freedom for the Hebrew slaves. While she is … The straight answer is ‘probably not’. Because Moses had chosen to side with the oppressed (the Hebrew slaves) rather than the oppressors (the ruling Egyptians). 6 And when one told Moses, “Lo, your father-in-law Jethro is coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” 7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare, and went into the tent. When Moses fled from Egypt because he had murdered an Egyptian, Jethro took him in. Like her, he is an outsider. Why did Moses kill this man? "Where is he then?" 18 When they came to their father Reu’el, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “And where is he? 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