Moshe's Family Life/0

Moshe's Family Life

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Moshe and Zipporah's Marriage

The Talmud Bavli Masekhet SanhedrinSanhedrin 82aAbout the Bavli recounts how when Moshe instructed the judges to execute the Israelites who had cohabited with the Midianite women and worshipped Ba'al Peor, Zimri accused Moshe of hypocrisy, as Moshe himself had married Zipporah the Midianite. The Talmud never completely rebuts Zimri's claim, and the Talmud Bavli Masekhet Bava BatraBava Batra 109bAbout the Bavli even suggests that because Moshe married the daughter of an idolater he had a descendant who was an idolatrous priest.¹ As a result, commentators struggle with what to make of Zipporah's Religious Identity and her marriage to Moshe. Their perspectives can be divided into two basic categories:

• Zipporah Believed in God

  See Zipporah's Religious Identity for sources which present Zipporah as a monotheist. One of the motivations for this approach is to justify her marriage to Moshe.

  • Zipporah came from a monotheistic family – R. SaadiaCritique of the Writings of R. Saadia Gaon p. 107About R. Saadia Gaon. See Zipporah – Overview for sources which link Zipporah and Reuel to Abrahamic lineage, and see Yitro's Religious Identity for other sources which describe Yitro's religious transformation before Moshe's arrival.
  • Zipporah was already a monotheist or became one despite coming from a family of idolaters² – R. Mubashir HaLeviCritique of the Writings of R. Saadia Gaon p. 107About R. Mubashir HaLevi. See also Divrei HaYamim LeMoshe RabbeinuOtzar HaMidrashim (Eisenstein p.359-360)About Divrei HaYamim LeMoshe Rabbeinu and Yalkut Shimoni#168About Yalkut Shimoni which describe how Zipporah followed in Hashem's ways and reached the level of the Matriarchs.³
• Zipporah Was a Heathen

  See Zipporah's Religious Identity for those who think Zipporah continued to adhere to idolatrous practices. This approach subdivides in how to understand or justify Moshe's actions:

  • Before Sinai there was no prohibition of intermarriage⁴ – RashiSanhedrin 82aAbout R. Shelomo Yitzchaki explains that before the revelation at Sinai, everyone had the status of Noachides, and Zipporah converted with the entire nation at Mt. Sinai.⁵ The Ramah's "grandfather clause" exception goes even a step further, maintaining that Zipporah continued to be permitted to Moshe despite remaining non-Jewish because he had married her before Sinai.
  • Moshe had no other options – Ibn EzraLong Commentary Shemot 28:1About R. Avraham ibn Ezra defends Moshe by claiming that there was nobody else to marry in Midyan. Alternatively, R. Dan cited by R. BachyaShemot 2:21About R. Dan explains that Moshe needed to marry the daughter of a priest, as only the priestly estates could afford him political asylum and protection from Paroh.⁶
  • Moshe made a mistake – See the Talmud Bavli Bava BatraBava Batra 109bAbout the Bavli cited above that the union resulted in an idolatrous descendant.⁷ See also the possibility raised in אחר שלוחיה that Moshe divorced Zipporah when he became the leader of the Jewish people.
  • Moshe had only limited religious affiliation at the time he married Zipporah – See Moshe's Early Life.

Did Moshe Divorce Zipporah?

• Moshe divorced Zipporah – R. Yehoshua in Mekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelYitro Amalek 1About the Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael and R. Elazar HaModai in Mekhilta DeRashbiShemot 18:2About Mekhilta DeRashbi. See אחר שלוחיה for elaboration.
• Moshe divorced Zipporah, but later remarried her – See אחר שלוחיה for R. D"Z Hoffmann's interpretation of the Midrash.
• Moshe never divorced Zipporah – most commentators.

Moshe's Descendants

Why Were They Not Chosen as Priests?

• Due to their maternal lineage – AbarbanelShemot 28About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, Minchah BelulahShemot 28:1About R. Avraham Rappo of Porto⁸
• Due to their paternal lineage – R. Yehuda HeChasidShemot 4:14About R. Yehuda HeChasid. According to this interpretation, Moshe himself was a חלל and invalidated for the priesthood, as he was the son of a divorced woman.⁹

The Cushite Woman

¹ This is predicated upon the Midrashic identification of the Levite "Yonatan son of Gershom son of Menashe" in Shofetim 18:30 as the grandson of Moshe. In addition, it assumes that Yitro himself was an idolater. See below that other commentators attribute Moshe's sons not being appointed as priests to their maternal lineage.

² See Zipporah – Overview and Yitro's Religious Identity.

³ For other sources which praise Zipporah's conduct, see Zipporah – Overview.

⁴ This position raises the question of whether the Patriarchs and other leaders of the nation adhered to a higher standard even before Sinai. For elaboration and parallel cases, see Prohibitions Before Sinai. Regarding whether there is a Biblical prohibition of intermarriage – see here.

⁵ See Chronology of Shemot 18 for elaboration.

⁶ As evidence for the measure of autonomy of the priestly estates, he cites Yosef's inability to buy up the property of the priests in Bereshit 47. R. Dan is most likely influenced by medieval church parallels, but see the discussion of Cities of Refuge for this practice in the Ancient Near East in general and ancient Egypt in particular. See also the Torah's objection to this practice in Shemot 21:14. It is noteworthy that Moshe was wanted by Paroh for murder. For more, see Was Moshe a Murderer.

⁷ Cf. the opinion of the Ba'alei HaTosafot cited in ChizkuniShemot 4:25About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach and the TurShemot 4:25About R. Yaakov b. Asher which suggests that Zipporah was initially concerned that as a Midianite she was not worthy to be married to Moshe and that she was the cause of Moshe being endangered at the inn. However, this opinion comes to the conclusion that this was incorrect.

⁸ Cf. the position rejected by Ibn EzraLong Commentary Shemot 28:1About R. Avraham ibn Ezra which apparently proposed that Moshe's marriage to Zipporah was the reason Moshe himself could not serve as the high priest. Ibn Ezra offers the alternative suggestion that Moshe was too preoccupied with his myriad other responsibilities.

⁹ According to the Midrash, Amram divorced Yocheved and then remarried her, before she gave birth to Moshe.