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"Cushite woman" becomes Αἰθιόπισσα in the Greek [[Septuagint]] and ''Aethiopissa'' in the Latin [[Vulgate]] Bible version (4th century). [[Alonso de Sandoval]], 17th century [[Jesuit]], reasoned that Zipporah and the Cushite woman was the same person, and that she was black. He puts her in a group of what he calls "notable and sainted Ethiopians".<ref name="McGrath">{{cite journal |last1=McGrath |first1=Elizabeth |author1-link=Elizabeth McGrath (art historian) |title=Jacob Jordaens and Moses's Ethiopian Wife |journal=[[Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes]] |date=2007 |volume=70 |pages=247–285 |doi=10.1086/JWCI20462764 |jstor=20462764 |s2cid=193538684 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20462764 |issn=0075-4390}}</ref>{{rp|248, 253–254}}
"Cushite woman" becomes Αἰθιόπισσα in the Greek [[Septuagint]] and ''Aethiopissa'' in the Latin [[Vulgate]] Bible version (4th century). [[Alonso de Sandoval]], 17th century [[Jesuit]], reasoned that Zipporah and the Cushite woman was the same person, and that she was black. He puts her in a group of what he calls "notable and sainted Ethiopians".<ref name="McGrath">{{cite journal |last1=McGrath |first1=Elizabeth |author1-link=Elizabeth McGrath (art historian) |title=Jacob Jordaens and Moses's Ethiopian Wife |journal=[[Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes]] |date=2007 |volume=70 |pages=247–285 |doi=10.1086/JWCI20462764 |jstor=20462764 |s2cid=193538684 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20462764 |issn=0075-4390}}</ref>{{rp|248, 253–254}}

==Other narratives==
[[File:Delaroche Discovery of Moses.jpg|thumb|200px|Miriam watching over her infant brother Moses]]
The [[Midrash]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Tanchuma, Tzav 13}} See Rashi’s commentary on Nu. 12:1-15 throughout.</ref> explains the entire story as follows: It became known to Miriam and Aaron that Moses had separated from intimacy with his wife [[Zipporah|Tzipora]]. They disapproved of this separation because they considered her to be outstandingly righteous, much as a dark-skinned person stands out among light-skinned people—hence the reference to Tzipora as a "Cushite". This usage of the word Cushite is non-pejorative and is often used in Jewish sources as a term for someone unique and outstanding.<ref>{{cite book|title=see Moed Katan 16b}}</ref> In fact, [[King Saul]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Psalms 7:1}}</ref> and even the Jewish people<ref>{{cite book|title=Amos 9:7}}</ref> are referred to by the term "Cushite". Their complaint, therefore, was not about the ''union'' between Moses and Tzipora, but about their ''separation''. The only justification they could find for Moses' celibacy was in order to maintain his prophetic state. This explains their claim that God spoke not only to Moses but also to them, yet they had not separated from their spouses.

But God rebuked them by calling them all out "suddenly", causing Miriam and Aaron a great burning sensation since they lacked immersion in a ''[[mikva]]'' after marital relations. God thus demonstrated to them Moses' unique level of prophecy for which he had to be prepared at all times, thereby justifying his separation from Tzipora. Afterwards, "God's wrath flared against them."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Nu. 12:9}}</ref> Rabbi [[Louis Ginzberg]] wrote the anger of God to them.

{{quote|... I Myself ordered him to abstain from conjugal life, and the word he received was revealed to him clearly and not in dark speeches, he saw the Divine presence from behind when It passed by him. Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against a man like Moses, who is, moreover, My servant? ''Your censure is directed to Me, rather than to him'', for "the receiver is no better than the thief," and if Moses is not worthy of his calling, I, his Master, deserve censure.|''[[Legends of the Jews]] vol. III<ref>Ginzberg, Louis (1909). [https://philologos.org/__eb-lotj/vol3/contents.htm vol. III]'' (Translated by Henrietta Szold). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.</ref>}}

Afterward, Miriam is left with bodily [[tzaraat|tzara'at]], which according to Jewish sources is a divine punishment for slander.<ref>Shabbat 97a; Rambam, Tzara'at 15:10.</ref> This was because she, not Aaron, was the one who initiated the complaint against Moses.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Maharsha, Shabbat 97a}}</ref> Despite Miriam's intent to help Tzipora, she should have judged Moses favorably and approached Moses on Tzipora's behalf privately. Aaron asks Moses to intercede for Miriam, Moses prays to God to heal her, and God concedes after requiring a quarantine of seven days.

Both Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, but only Miriam contracted ''tzara'at''. It has been suggested that since according to the [[Hebrew Bible]] anyone with ''tzara'at'' was ''[[tamei]]'' ({{Bibleverse||Leviticus|13-14|HE}}), Aaron was spared this punishment in order not to interrupt his duties as [[High Priest of Israel|High Priest]].{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} However, noting the wording of the verse, "God's wrath flared against '''them''' [i.e., both Aaron and Miriam]", the Talmud appears to conclude that Aaron was also smitten with ''tzara'at'' initially, but was then immediately cured.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Shabbat 97a. This concurs with the opinion of R' Akiva, although R' Yehuda ben Beteira argues that since the verse mentions tzara'at explicitly only regarding Miriam, God's wrath toward Aaron was limited to rebuke alone without tzara'at}}</ref>

=== Alternative explanations ===
{{or section}}
[[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 051.png|thumb|''Miriam's Song'', by [[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld]] (1860).]]
It has been suggested that [[Josephus]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Antiq. 2:10:2}}</ref> and [[Irenaeus]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.viii.xxxii.html |title=Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, XXXII}}</ref> (who merely cites Josephus) identify the Cushite woman as [[Tharbis]], "the daughter of the king of the Ethiopians". However, while Josephus does describe a legend (which is not written in the Torah) wherein Moses marries this princess during a military campaign he leads in Ethiopia, according to Josephus this marriage occurs while Moses is still a royal prince of Egypt long before he re-discovers his oppressed Jewish brethren. After which time, upon fleeing as a solitary fugitive from Egypt,<ref>{{cite book|title=Ex. 1:15}}</ref> Moses marries Tzipora the daughter of Jethro the Midianite, as recorded in the Torah.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ex. 1:21}}</ref> Thus Josephus<ref>{{cite book|title=Antiquities 2:11:2}}</ref> himself records Moses' marriage to Tzipora as separate and subsequent to his earlier marriage to Tharbis. Furthermore, according to the conclusion of the Tharbis legend, Moses fashioned a miraculous ring which caused her to forget her love for him, and he then returned to Egypt alone.<ref>[[Walter Raleigh|Raleigh, Sir Walter]]. ''The History of the World'': Section IV, "Of Moses Flying out of Egypt", 1829 edition.</ref> Therefore, even according to Josephus, Moses' first marriage to Tharbis as military leader of Egypt terminated long before his later marriage to Tzipora as fugitive from Egypt, such that the Cushite wife of Moses mentioned in the Torah after the Exodus appears to be Tzipora, as explained above.

[[Richard Elliott Friedman|Richard E. Friedman]] writes that since Cush is generally understood to mean "Ethiopia", it is possible that the "Cushite woman" is not Tzipora. But he adds that since there is a place called Cushan which is a region of Midian, and Moses’ wife Tzipora has already been identified as a Midianite, it is possible that the term "Cushite" relates to Tzipora's being from Cushan.<ref name="Friedman">{{cite book|title=Who Wrote the Bible|date=May 1997|publisher=Harper|isbn=0-06-063035-3|location=San Francisco|page=[https://archive.org/details/whowrotebible000frie/page/78 78]|author=Richard E. Friedman|author-link=Richard Elliot Friedman|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/whowrotebible000frie/page/78}}</ref> However, Friedman's primary interest is not in the identity of the Cushite woman, but rather in the outcome of this story which establishes Moses' superiority over Aaron as an example of his claim that rival priesthoods created or publicized tales in order to legitimize their respective claims to privilege and power. He describes the Aaronid priesthood in the [[Kingdom of Judah]], which claimed descent from Aaron and which controlled the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], as opposed to a priesthood which claimed allegiance to Moses and was based at [[Shiloh (biblical city)|Shiloh]] in the Kingdom of Israel. Using interpretations from the [[documentary hypothesis]], he notes that this story, which he calls "Snow-White Miriam", was authored by the [[Elohist]] who he claims was from, or supported, the Shiloh priesthood, and thus promoted this tale to assert Moses’ superiority over Aaron and thereby belittle the Aaronid priesthood in Judah. However, the identity of the Cushite woman referred to in this story is tangential to Friedman and his opinion remains inconclusive.


==In the Druze religion==
==In the Druze religion==

Revision as of 07:30, 3 May 2023

Zipporah
Detail from Moses Leaving to Egypt by Pietro Perugino, c. 1482. Zipporah is in blue.[1]
Known forWife of Moses
SpouseMoses
ChildrenGershom (son)
Eliezer (son)
ParentJethro
RelativesSix sisters
Aaron (brother-in-law)
Miriam (sister-in-law)

Zipporah, or Tzipora (/ˈzɪpərə, zɪˈpɔːrə/; Hebrew: צִפּוֹרָה, Ṣippōrā, "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]

She is the mother of Moses' two sons: Eliezer, and Gershom.

In the Book of Chronicles, two of her grandsons are mentioned: Shebuel, son of Gershom; and Rehabiah, son of Eliezer (1 Chronicles 23:16–17Template:Bibleverse with invalid book).

Biblical narrative

The Daughters of Jethro, Théophile Hamel, c. 1850

Background

In the Torah, Zipporah was one of the seven daughters of Jethro, a Kenite shepherd who was a priest of Midian.[3] In Exodus 2:18Template:Bibleverse with invalid book, Jethro is also referred to as Reuel, and in the Book of Judges (Judges 4:11Template:Bibleverse with invalid book) as Hobab.[4] Hobab is also the name of Jethro's son in Numbers 10:29Template:Bibleverse with invalid book.

Moses marries Zipporah

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. Moses therefore fled from Egypt, and arrived in Midian. One day while he sat by a well, Reuel's daughters came to water their father's flocks. Other shepherds arrived and drove the girls away, so that they could water their own flocks first. Moses defended the girls and watered their flocks. Upon their return home, their father asked them, "How is it that you have come home so early today?" The girls answered, "An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock." "Where is he then?", Reuel asked them. "Why did you leave the man? Invite him for supper to break bread." Reuel then gave Moses Zipporah as his wife (Exodus 2:11–21Template:Bibleverse with invalid book).

Incident at the inn

Main article: Zipporah at the inn

After God commanded Moses to return to Egypt to free the Israelites, Moses took his wife and sons and started his journey. On the road, they stayed at an inn, where God came to kill Moses. 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!" God then left Moses alone (Exodus 4:24–26Template:Bibleverse with invalid book). The details of the passage are unclear and subject to debate.

The Exodus

Miriam and Aaron complain against Moses, illustration from The Bible and Its Story, Taught By One Thousand Picture Lessons (1908)

After Moses succeeded in taking the Israelites out of Egypt, and won a battle against Amalek, Reuel came to the Hebrew camp in the wilderness of Sinai, bringing with him Zipporah and their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. The Bible does not say when Zipporah and her sons rejoined Reuel/Jethro, only that after he heard of what God did for the Israelites, he brought Moses' family to him. The most common translation is that Moses sent her away, but another grammatically permissible translation is that she sent things or persons, perhaps the announcement of the victory over Amalek.[5] The word that makes this difficult is shelucheiha, the sendings [away] of her (Ex. 18:2Template:Bibleverse with invalid book).[citation needed]

Numbers 12

Moses and his Ethiopian wife Zipporah (Mozes en zijn Ethiopische vrouw Sippora). Jacob Jordaens, c. 1650

Moses' wife is referred to as a "Cushite woman" in Numbers 12. Interpretations differ on whether this Cushite woman [he] 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.[6][7][8] In the story, Aaron and Miriam criticize Moses' marriage to a Cushite woman. This criticism displeases God, who punishes Miriam with Tzaraath (often glossed as leprosy). Cushites were of the ancestry of either Kush (Nubia) in northeast Africa, or Arabians. 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. 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.[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.[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").[12][better source needed]

"Cushite woman" becomes Αἰθιόπισσα in the Greek Septuagint and Aethiopissa in the Latin Vulgate Bible version (4th century). Alonso de Sandoval, 17th century Jesuit, reasoned that Zipporah and the Cushite woman was the same person, and that she was black. He puts her in a group of what he calls "notable and sainted Ethiopians".[13]: 248, 253–254 

In the Druze religion

In the Druze religion, Zipporah's father Jethro is revered as the spiritual founder, chief prophet, and ancestor of all Druze.[14][15][16][17][18] Moses was allowed to wed Zipporah after helping save Jethro's daughters and their flock from competing herdsmen.[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.[21] This view has been used to represent an element of the special relationship between Israeli Jews and Druze.[22]

Art and culture

Zipporah, detail from Sandro Botticelli's Youth of Moses, c. 1480

Like many other prominent biblical characters, Zipporah is depicted in several works of art.

In Marcel Proust's story Swann's Way (1913), Swann is struck by the resemblance of his eventual wife Odette to Sandro Botticelli’s painting of Zipporah in a Sistine Chapel fresco, and this recognition is the catalyst for his obsession with her.[23]

Zipporah is often included in Exodus-related drama. Examples include the films The Ten Commandments (1956),[24] The Prince of Egypt (1998),[25] and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014).[26] She is the main character in Marek Halter's novel Zipporah, Wife of Moses (2005).[27]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Greek: Σεπφώρα, Sepphōra; Arabic: صفورة, Ṣaffūrah

References

  1. ^ Harwood, Edith (1907). Notable pictures in Rome. J.M. Dent. p. 6.
  2. ^
  3. ^ Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.[page needed]
  4. ^ "Judges 4 / Hebrew – English Bible / Mechon-Mamre". mechon-mamre.org. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  5. ^ See e.g. Ibn Ezra on Exodus 18:2 – ור׳ ישועה אמר: ששלוחיה הוא דורון ומנחה, כמו: שלוחים לבתו (מלכים א ט׳:ט״ז). והטעם: אחר שיגרה דרונה וזה קרוב אלי.
  6. ^ Brent MacDonald, Who was Moses' wife? A Midianite, a Cushite, or both?, 2015 at NotJustAnotherBook.com, accessed 13 August 2018
  7. ^ Dr. Elad Filler, Moses and the Kushite Woman: Classic Interpretations and Philo's Allegory, at TheTorah.com: A Historical and Contextual Approach, accessed 13 August 2018
  8. ^ Shlomo Skinner, The Mystery of the Cushite Woman, at Thinking Torah, accessed 13 August 2018
  9. ^ David M. Goldenberg. The curse of Ham: race and slavery in early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, chapter 8. p. 124.
  10. ^ Israël Shahak. Jewish history, Jewish religion: the weight of three thousand years. p. 25
  11. ^ Filler, Elad. "Moses and the Kushite Woman: Classic Interpretations and Philo's Allegory". TheTorah.com. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  12. ^ Tsedaka, Benyamim, and Sharon Sullivan, eds. The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah: First English Translation Compared with the Masoretic Version. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2013. ISBN 978-0802865199
  13. ^ McGrath, Elizabeth (2007). "Jacob Jordaens and Moses's Ethiopian Wife". Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes. 70: 247–285. doi:10.1086/JWCI20462764. ISSN 0075-4390. JSTOR 20462764. S2CID 193538684.
  14. ^ Corduan, Winfried (2013). Neighboring Faiths: A Christian Introduction to World Religions. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-8308-7197-1.
  15. ^ Mackey, Sandra (2009). Mirror of the Arab World: Lebanon in Conflict. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-3933-3374-9.
  16. ^ Blumberg, Arnold (1985). Zion Before Zionism: 1838–1880. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. p. 201. ISBN 0-8156-2336-4.
  17. ^ Rosenfeld, Judy (1952). Ticket to Israel: An Informative Guide. p. 290.
  18. ^ Lev, David (25 October 2010). "MK Kara: Druze are Descended from Jews". Israel National News. Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  19. ^ Nettler (1998). Muslim-Jewish Encounters. p. 139. ISBN 1-1344-0854-4.
  20. ^ Mordechai Nisan (1 Jan 2002). Minorities in the Middle East: A History of Struggle and Self-Expression, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 282. ISBN 9780786451333.
  21. ^ Eugene L. Rogan; Avi Shlaim (2001). The War for Palestine: Rewriting the History of 1948 (illustrated, reprint ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9780521794763.
  22. ^ Alex Weingrod (1 Jan 1985). Studies in Israeli Ethnicity: After the Ingathering. Taylor & Francis. p. 273. ISBN 9782881240072.
  23. ^ Meyers, Jeffrey (1972). "Proust's Aesthetic Analogies: Character and Painting in Swann's Way". The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 30 (3): 377–388. doi:10.2307/428744. ISSN 0021-8529. JSTOR 428744. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  24. ^ Thomas, Bob (12 January 2007). "Yvonne De Carlo, 84; Said Her "Munsters" Role Made Her Hot". Retrieved 7 March 2018 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  25. ^ Laird, Paul R. (2014). The Musical Theater of Stephen Schwartz: From Godspell to Wicked and Beyond. Scarecrow Press. p. 246. ISBN 9780810891920. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  26. ^ Tollerton, David (2016). Biblical Reception, 4: A New Hollywood Moses: On the Spectacle and Reception of Exodus: Gods and Kings. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 9780567672339. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  27. ^ "Zipporah, Wife of Moses". www.publishersweekly.com. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 10 September 2019.

Further reading

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