biology daily - the biology and biochemistry encyclopedia
biology daily articles and research Encyclopedia Dictionary Forums biology research links Weblinks Pictures Articles Blogs Newsletter

Zipporah

Zipporah or Tzipora (צִפּוֹרָה "Bird", Standard Hebrew Ẓippora, Tiberian Hebrew Ṣippôrāh), mentioned in the Book of Exodus, is Moses's wife.

Moses meets Zipporah when fleeing from Egypt. Her father is Jethro, a priest of Midian. Zipporah and Moses have two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.

Zipporah features in a puzzling and much-debated passage: At one point, as Moses is returning to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, Zipporah saves Moses's life. God is prepared to kill Moses, apparently because his firstborn son Gershom had not been circumcised, so Zipporah performs the circumcision and touched Moses's feet with the foreskin, saying, "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me." God then spares Moses.

It is unclear whether Zipporah is identical to the Cushite (i.e. black) wife that Moses takes according to the Book of Numbers. Jewish tradition holds the two to be identical, but much modern interpretation generally does not.

She is buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs in Tiberias.



07-14-2008 23:18:10
The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. How to see transparent copy
BiologyDaily.com 2005. Legal info   Privacy