Zipporah, the Wife of Moses

Forgotten Women of History

Zipporah

Most people, when they think of Moses, imagine him standing alone before Pharaoh or parting the Red Sea. Yet at his side was a woman—a wife, a foreigner, and a figure of quiet defiance: Zipporah, daughter of Jethro of Midian.

Who Was Zipporah?

Zipporah appears only briefly in the Book of Exodus, but her presence is unforgettable. She was one of seven daughters of a Midianite priest. When Moses fled Egypt after killing an overseer, he found refuge in Midian, and at a well, defended Jethro’s daughters from abusive shepherds. In gratitude, Jethro offered him hospitality and the hand of his daughter, Zipporah.

That is the story’s surface, but beneath it lies something far more intriguing: a woman who stepped outside her cultural boundaries to follow a fugitive foreigner; who raised children between two worlds; who faced the weight of Moses’s divine calling and still kept her own courage.

What Zipporah Did

The Bible gives of Zipporah only fragments, but those fragments speak volumes. She undertakes one of the strangest and most dramatic acts in Scripture: the circumcision of her son on the journey to Egypt, when Moses fell ill and God “sought to kill him.” Scholars have debated the passage for centuries. Why did Zipporah act? Whose life was spared? The text does not explain, but it leaves one clear impression:

At a moment of mortal danger, it was Zipporah, not Moses, who saved their family.

Her quick thinking and ritual courage mark her as the agent of salvation in that scene, performing the covenantal act herself. It is a rare moment in biblical literature where a woman directly mediates between God and man.

Later Jewish and Islamic traditions give her greater depth: some portray her as black or dark-skinned, emphasizing her outsider status; others cast her as wise and strong-willed, a match for Moses’s fiery mission. A few Midrashic sources even suggest she left him temporarily during the Exodus, reminding us that prophetic callings often strain human bonds.

Whether read literally or symbolically, Zipporah stands as a bridge figure, bridging nations, faiths, and the masculine narrative of deliverance and the unseen feminine work that sustains it.

Zipporah in Fiction: Zipporah, Wife of Moses by Marek Halter

In his novel Zipporah, Wife of Moses (2005), French author Marek Halter brings this enigmatic woman vividly to life. The book imagines Zipporah as a proud Cushite princess: dark-skinned, politically astute, and passionately independent. A woman whose love for Moses becomes both a spiritual and cultural union.

Halter’s Zipporah is no shadow behind the prophet. She challenges him, counsels him, and helps shape his destiny. The novel explores race, power, and faith in the ancient world, giving voice to the silenced woman of the Exodus story.

If you enjoy fiction that breathes life into biblical silence, like Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent, then this is a powerful read.

Zipporah, Wife of Moses by Marek Halter - Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/405146.Zipporah_Wife_of_Moses

Why She Matters Today

Zipporah reminds us that history and Scripture are full of women who acted decisively, loved fiercely, and changed the course of stories told in men’s names. She is not only the “wife of Moses” but the woman who saved a prophet’s life.

Next week: another forgotten woman whose courage shaped her world.