02-01-2010, 05:50 PM
In harmony with the statement found at Numbers 12:3, Moses must truly have been ‘the humblest man on the earth,’ because we actually know very little about him and his personal life. We know that he was married to a Midianite woman named Zipporah (the daughter of Jethro), and that he had at least two sons by her, Gersam and EliEzer. So, it comes as no surprise that there is quite a bit of controversy about the exact reason why Miriam and Aaron were so upset over Moses’ wife, who the account at Numbers 12:1 describes as an ‘Ethiopian woman.’ Was this Zipporah, or did he take another wife? And if it was another wife, what happened to Zipporah?
Unfortunately, we don’t know for sure, because the Bible simply doesn’t tell us. However, according to the WTS, this was Zipporah, and calling her an ‘Ethiopian’ wasn’t unusual, because people who lived in the Arabian Peninsula were referred to at the time as Ethiopians.
I question this conclusion and suspect that WTS writers were more interested in clearing any questions that might reflect poorly on Moses’ name than in looking at the matter objectively.
Since Moses had been married to Zipporah for at least sixty years prior to the Israelite’s second year in the desert, it seems unlikely that Miriam and Aaron would suddenly turn against Moses and start condemning him over this. Rather, the fact that they started questioning his right to represent God at that late date (after Zipporah was likely a great grandmother), indicates that this marriage was something that had happened more recently. Otherwise, the actions by Miriam and Aaron simply make no sense at all.
Also, the fact that Zipporah was one of the Midianites, who were descendants of Abraham (see Genesis 25:1) and close relatives of the Israelites, makes it very hard to believe that the Bible writer would refer to her as an Ethiopian, because they are an entirely different race that descended from Noah’s son Ham (see Genesis 10:7).
Actually, Ethiopia is a Greek word, so it stems from a time well after Moses (to about the Third Century C.E.), and it means The Land of the Blacks. Also notice that the Hebrew text doesn’t call her an Ethiopian but a Cushite (a descendant of Cush or a black person). So the term indicates that he had married a new wife, who was from a land of black people (not from the area of the olive-skinned descendants of Abraham).
Then why was Miriam particularly upset? Well, she was Moses’ older sister (likely the one who followed him as a baby and spoke to Pharaoh’s daughter), so she was probably very protective. Also, the woman he married wasn’t an Israelite, and her skin may have been much darker than that of others in the camp, so there could have been some racism involved.
Then what happened to Zipporah? The Bible just doesn’t tell us. Had Zipporah died; had she left Moses; or had he taken a second wife? Again, we just don’t know. However, just look at the mathematics: Moses married Zipporah when he was forty years old, so she was at least twenty years old (and likely older) at the time she was married. Then forty years later (when she was over 60), Moses went before Pharaoh and led the Israelites out of Egypt. Thereafter, Israel wandered in the desert for some forty years.
Now, we don’t know exactly when the problem arose over Moses wife, but let’s say it was ten years before Israel entered the promised land; so if Zipporah was still alive, she would have been more than ninety years old! And since Moses himself said that the average life span at the time was seventy or eighty, we would have to assume that she had died prior to this second marriage of Moses, which proved so objectionable to his brother and sister.
Unfortunately, we don’t know for sure, because the Bible simply doesn’t tell us. However, according to the WTS, this was Zipporah, and calling her an ‘Ethiopian’ wasn’t unusual, because people who lived in the Arabian Peninsula were referred to at the time as Ethiopians.
I question this conclusion and suspect that WTS writers were more interested in clearing any questions that might reflect poorly on Moses’ name than in looking at the matter objectively.
Since Moses had been married to Zipporah for at least sixty years prior to the Israelite’s second year in the desert, it seems unlikely that Miriam and Aaron would suddenly turn against Moses and start condemning him over this. Rather, the fact that they started questioning his right to represent God at that late date (after Zipporah was likely a great grandmother), indicates that this marriage was something that had happened more recently. Otherwise, the actions by Miriam and Aaron simply make no sense at all.
Also, the fact that Zipporah was one of the Midianites, who were descendants of Abraham (see Genesis 25:1) and close relatives of the Israelites, makes it very hard to believe that the Bible writer would refer to her as an Ethiopian, because they are an entirely different race that descended from Noah’s son Ham (see Genesis 10:7).
Actually, Ethiopia is a Greek word, so it stems from a time well after Moses (to about the Third Century C.E.), and it means The Land of the Blacks. Also notice that the Hebrew text doesn’t call her an Ethiopian but a Cushite (a descendant of Cush or a black person). So the term indicates that he had married a new wife, who was from a land of black people (not from the area of the olive-skinned descendants of Abraham).
Then why was Miriam particularly upset? Well, she was Moses’ older sister (likely the one who followed him as a baby and spoke to Pharaoh’s daughter), so she was probably very protective. Also, the woman he married wasn’t an Israelite, and her skin may have been much darker than that of others in the camp, so there could have been some racism involved.
Then what happened to Zipporah? The Bible just doesn’t tell us. Had Zipporah died; had she left Moses; or had he taken a second wife? Again, we just don’t know. However, just look at the mathematics: Moses married Zipporah when he was forty years old, so she was at least twenty years old (and likely older) at the time she was married. Then forty years later (when she was over 60), Moses went before Pharaoh and led the Israelites out of Egypt. Thereafter, Israel wandered in the desert for some forty years.
Now, we don’t know exactly when the problem arose over Moses wife, but let’s say it was ten years before Israel entered the promised land; so if Zipporah was still alive, she would have been more than ninety years old! And since Moses himself said that the average life span at the time was seventy or eighty, we would have to assume that she had died prior to this second marriage of Moses, which proved so objectionable to his brother and sister.