Wife of Moses, daughter of Jethro
Zipporah
Named in 3 verses of Exodus, first in Exodus 2:21.
צִפֹּרָהZipporah
The name means “beauty; trumpet; mourning.” Hitchcock's Bible Names, 1869
About Zipporah Written by AI
Zipporah was the wife of Moses and the daughter of Jethro (also known as Reuel), the priest of Midian. She first appears in the biblical narrative when Moses fled from Egypt and settled in Midian (Exodus 2:21). Zipporah and Moses were married and had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. In Exodus 4:24 to 26, during Moses' return to Egypt, Zipporah circumcised their son and cast the foreskin at Moses' feet, saying, "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!" This enigmatic event seems to have resolved a divine threat against Moses' life. Later, when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, Zipporah and her sons were sent back to Jethro (Exodus 18:2). They were reunited with Moses when Jethro brought them to him in the wilderness (Exodus 18:5 to 6). As the wife of Moses, Zipporah played a significant role in his personal life and, by extension, in the history of Israel.
Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.
Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897
A female bird. Reuel’s daughter, who became the wife of Moses (Ex. 2:21). In consequence of the event recorded in Ex. 4:24-26, she and her two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, when so far on the way with Moses toward Egypt, were sent back by him to her own kinsfolk, the Midianites, with whom they sojourned till Moses afterwards joined them (18:2-6).
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.
Where the Bible names her
- Exodus 2:21
Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
- Exodus 4:25
But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched it to Moses’ feet. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said.
- Exodus 18:2
After Moses had sent back his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had received her,
From STEPBible's TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0): names, family, references and the AI written article. Verse text is the BSB.