Zipporah, wife of moses pdf

Later we learn that zipporah and the boys return to jethro during the time moses fulfills the goal yhwh requires of him. Lets look at what the scriptures actually say by starting in the book of exodus. A woman ahead of her time, zipporah leaps from the pages of this remarkable novel. Moses, who divided and separated himself from his wife, divided the sea before the harlot. Yeshua accepts the fact that because of the hardness of hearts, the torah permits divorce matt 19. The last time they saw their husband and father, he was an unknown and private man. Zipporah and her six sisters were attending to their daily chores of drawing water and watering their fathers flock. Publication date 2005 topics large type books publisher. Bold, independent, and a true survivor, she is a captivating heroine, and her world page 212. When miriam shows her scarred body to zipporah, it changes radically the way zipporah feels about her own place in the world. Then jethro, moses father in law, took zipporah, moses wife, after he had sent her back. And miriam and aaron spoke against moses because of the. In return, moses takes charge of his f atherinlaws flock exodus 3. Zipporah is the wife of moses, given to him in marriage by her midianite priest father.

However, zipporah is shown as fiercely devoted to her husband, even though he neglects her. In the book of chronicles, two of her grandsons are mentioned. Of course, the his you are my garden, my myrrh and honey, my nightly tonic, my black dove. Midianite wife, who has accompanied him, picks up a sharp. They also claim there were two lands named cush in the time of moses.

The biblical author does not indicate her name, but. Apparently zipporah had resisted the ordinance of circumcision, and moses had not insisted upon it. While these anecdotes are not in the bible itself, the authority for their truth is based on the historical records of the jewish writers and roman historians and at least one of the church fathers, ireneus. In my opinion, zipporah was a strong, modest wife that loved her husband, but wasnt blind to his faults. African p african priestesses in the biblical w riestesses in the. The painting is a halflength depiction of the biblical prophet moses, and his african wife. At a night encampment on the way, the lord encountered him and. She is the main character in marek halters novel zipporah, wife of moses 2005. When we research the lineage of zipporah moses wife we see that it goes back to the midianites. Although she is a cushite by birthone of the people of the lands to the south zipporah grew up as the beloved daughter of jethro, high priest and sage of the midianites. Some thoughts on moses divorce and remarriage hoshana. Shebuel, son of gershom, and rehabiah, son of eliezer 1 chronicles 23. When god reveals himself to moses in a burning bush, his words echo zipporah s, and moses returns to egypt with his passionate and generous wife by his side.

Zipporah bore moses a son before the exodus, and his name was gershom meaning expulsion, or a stranger there. The key to understanding that zipporah was an israelite is to understand why moses named his son gershom. Luzzatto suggested that yhwh was angry because moses had taken his wife. On the way to egypt, zipporah circumcised their son and thus saved her husbands life moses had neglected to obey the lord in this matter, and the lord would have killed moses had not zipporah intervened exodus 4. So reuel tells the girls to invite moses to eat with their family. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The next time we hear of zipporah is when the torah tells us that jethro came to join the people of israel.

The original very important distinction was lost when two different hebrew words were translated into english as stranger and strange. The cushite wife about whose marriage with moses miriam and aaron complain is unlikely to be zipporah. In his enjoyable but uneven second installment in the canaan trilogy sarah, halter takes his cue from the biblical story of moses to imagine the life of moses s littleknown wife. On page 229, zipporah says, the moses they the hebrews need must belong to them more than he belongs to his wife. She and moses lived under the authority of her father, a priest of god amongst the midianites though she at first had gone with moses after he was called by god. This is the land that moses dwelt in when he took refuge from pharaoh.

May 15, 2015 2 earlier, moses had sent his wife, zipporah, and his two sons back to jethro, who had taken them in. Moses, fleeing from egypt, arrived in midian and sat down by a well. Zipporah or tzipora is mentioned in the book of exodus as the wife of moses, and the daughter of reueljethro, the priest and prince of midian. Several pages later we read, in the days, weeks, and years that followed, zipporah was often to remember that moment, a moment she was sure was neither as brief. King saul when saul began ruling as the first king of israel, he was humble. Zipporah, wife of moses in the bible, a determined woman. Scripture describes how, after moses protected jethro s daughters from shepherds who did not allow them to access the local well, jethro gave his daughter zipporah to moses. Later zipporah, probably the oldest daughter,is promised to moses in marriage. Orphaned as an infant, zipporah is adopted by jethro, high priest and sage of the hebrew midianites.

When moses was forced to flee from egypt he settled in a desolate part of the sinai peninsula. Moses cushite wife echoes hoseas woman of harlotries taylor. Halter fills out the story with both biblical and historical history as well as. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading zipporah, wife of moses. Oh zipporah, you are my love and the words that save me. Zipporah, daughter of jethro reuel of midian, was the wife of moses. Examples include the films the ten commandments 1956, the prince of egypt 1998 and exodus. Now that the sons of moses and zipporah have entered the covenant, moses is permitted to continue his journey. The circumcision performed by zipporah fred blumenthal in the account of moses return to egypt we are confronted with a very short, cryptic story describing the circumcision of one of his sons by his wife zipporah. Zipporah may still be alive at this time, since it was common for highstatus hebrew men to have more than wife.

Popular commentaries then zipporah took a sharp stone, and. While he was resting, reuels daughters came to water their fathers flocks. Jun 25, 2016 though the torah doesnt tell us, it is entirely possible that zipporah was dead by the time moses married the cushite woman, since he was an elderly man somewhere between the age of 80 and 120. Though she at first had gone with moses after he was called by god. Zipporah realizes that this man will be the husband and partner she never thought she would have. 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 miriams story.

So, zipporah took a sharp stone and severed her sons foreskin and cast it to his feet the story behind this text. After briefly protesting his unsuitability for the task, moses sets his wife and. But others point out that moses married zipporah, the daughter of a priest of midian named reuel, also called jethro exodus 2. The midrash provides a fascinating backstory of how this union came to be. Moses was aware of zipporah s qualities and therefore took her for a wife. Moses as a wife and zipporah bore him a son called gershom. At the well, she met moses, who was fleeing from egypt and from pharaohs judgment after he murdered an egyptian exodus 2. Zipporah, wife of moses by marek halter discussion guide. Exodus, killed a man and fled to midian, where he married zipporah, daughter of a. The oil on canvas painting is kept at the rubenshuis museum in antwerp, belgium.

Zipporah bore for him two sons, gershom and eliezer. First lets see whether moses was married to zipporah. Zipporah may be obscure, but the wife of moses mattered. Easy reading edition july 28august 3 moses and zipporah. The jps translation of these three verses reads as follows. Nov 29, 2016 there, a woman named zipporah, moses first wife, rises up like a minnesota wolf on a moonlight night, ready to face down the spectre that is chasing moses, trying to kill him. Why did zipporah touch moses with the flesh from her sons. When certain shepherds came on the scene and, as was their custom, attempted to drive the girls away, moses helped the girls out, even watering the flocks himself. Sep 17, 2016 as moses is on his way to egypt to fulfill the protagonists call, he and his family stop at an inn for the night. She heroically saves moses and her sons from a random attack from an angel by cutting off her sons foreskin. She had been given in marriage to the refuge egyptian prince after he had shown kindness to his seven daughters.

The mention of moses wife zipporah in the bible is actually so few i think it can be counted on one hand. Oct 05, 2017 shortly after the event, moses sent zipporah and his two sons back to live with her father, and we never hear from her again. Phinehas, moses, zipporah, cozbi, jethro, baal peor, numbers 25. She heroically saves moses and her sons from a random attack from an. Pdf there is no chapter in the hebrew bible that is simpler than the book of numbers 12. But moses fled from the face of pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of midian. The untold story of zipporah, wife of moses what do you. From the internationally bestselling author of sarah comes. A woman ahead of her time, zipporah leaps from the chapters of this remarkable novel.

Zipporah, wife of moses the key to understanding that zipporah was an israelite is to understand why moses named his son gershom. Zipporah reminds us who we are women of the bible study. Zipporah is only mentioned once in exodus that moses married her and had a son named gershom. Im pretty sure moses knew it wouldnt be good in the whole pharaohexodus thing. In a spectacular feat of imagination, halter has breathed new life into this littleknown, though influential, old testament figure. Jan 25, 2008 a new novel, zipporah, wife of moses, by marek halter, puts a fictionalized spin on zipporah by making her the cushite or ethiopian wife of moses. She and moses lived under the authority of her father, a priest of god amongst the midianites. 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. When moses showed up in midian and admitted to jethro that he was fleeing from pharaoh, jethrowho was an advisor to pharaoh at the. While these anecdotes are not in the bible itself, the authority for their truth is based on the historical records of the jewish writers and roman historians and at. A hebrew raised in the house of the egyptian pharaoh, moses is a fugitive, forced to flee his homeland. Near the end of moses fortyyear sojourn in the land of midian, the pharaoh from whom moses fled had died in egypt.

Zipporah, wife of moses is bestselling novelist marek halters latest portrait of a noteworthy woman of the bible. Moses wants nothing more than a peaceful life with the midianites, but zipporah wont let moses forget his pastor turn away from his true destiny. In midian, the pride of high priest jethro is his lovely and wise adopted daughter, zipporah, a cushite, yet he cant find a husband for her because she is black. On page 36, zipporah watches moses catching fish and sees a vast shimmer on the sea, much more intense than any of the others, like a wind spreading light as far as the shore. From the internationally bestselling author of sarah comes the riveting story of the remarkable woman who walked beside moses. Zipporah reminds us who we are women of the bible study series. So moses was in reality married to two women, the ethiopian princess tharbis and the midianite princess zipporah.

The protagonist speaks to moses and zipporah feels that her family is being threatened and does what she can to save her husband andor her children. Perhaps moses did not feel this act was so important, and obviously his wife felt it was a foolish and bloody thing to do. She circumcised her sons as moses began his mission for the lord. Download this bible character card and learn about zipporah, the wife of moses.

Zipporah met moses at a well, when she and her six sisters were watering their fathers flocks. Alas, it is no ordinary assailant that pursues moses. Midian was a son of abraham and his 3rd wife keturah genesis 25. The original very important distinction was lost when two different hebrew. At any rate, moses did not want to precipitate a marital rift. The baal peor narrative has been subject to various analyses which. Does the same hold true for the wives of todays leaders. Apr 27, 2020 we first meet zipporah who later became moses s wife at a well in her hometown of midian. Zipporah though daughter of a heathen priest kept sanctity. Jan 02, 2020 wife is singular, and there is no mention of any other wife or wives that moses had.

It is generally assumed that the cushite woman moses married as mentioned in num 12. After moses was informed by gd that he would be the redeemer of the jewish people, moses, together with his wife and children, left the comfort of midian to travel down to egypt where the jews were enslaved. The original very important distinction was lost when two different hebrew words were translated into english as stranger. Is this why moses at first did not circumcize gershom, and god threatened to kill him, and his wife zipporah had to do it in his stead.