Zipporah
Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, was Moses' wife and the mother of his two sons, Gershom and Eliezer (Exo.2.21; 4.25; 18.2).
Biography
Zipporah was a Midianite woman, the daughter of Jethro (also called Reuel), a priest of Midian. She became the wife of Moses after he fled Egypt and settled in the land of Midian, where he tended Jethro's flocks (Exodus 2:21). Together they had two sons: Gershom and Eliezer. One of the most striking episodes involving Zipporah occurs in Exodus 4:24–26, where, during the journey back to Egypt, she circumcised her son and touched Moses' feet with the foreskin, averting divine judgment. Later, after Israel's exodus from Egypt, Jethro brought Zipporah and the boys to meet Moses in the wilderness (Exodus 18:2–5), where she was reunited with her husband.
Significance
Zipporah's swift act of circumcision in Exodus 4:24–26 stands as one of Scripture's most enigmatic yet theologically weighty moments. Her decisive intervention preserved Moses' life at a critical juncture in redemptive history, demonstrating that obedience to the covenant sign of circumcision was non-negotiable even for the deliverer of Israel. As a Gentile woman who acted in faithful urgency on behalf of the covenant, she foreshadows the inclusion of the nations in God's redemptive purposes. Her story challenges readers to recognize that God's covenant demands cannot be deferred, and that those outside Israel's borders may at times model the faithfulness that God requires.
Verse Appearances (3)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]