I love how the Bible just drops nuggets of info on us like we already know it.
Case in point: In Numbers 12:1, there’s a passing mention of how Aaron and Miriam are angry with Moses because he married a Cushite woman (obviously), and they then somehow take that exact moment to turn it into an accusation against Moses’ exclusive leadership.
That’s like three stories in one, and don’t worry, we’ll get to them all. But can we take a second to pump the brakes and ask about Moses’ marital situation? When did the Cushite woman come into the picture?
The last time we met Moses’ wife, her name was Zipporah (Exodus 2:21; Exodus 4:24-26). And she wasn’t from Cush, she was from Midian (Exodus 2:16).
An easy explanation to this question would be to assume Cush and Midian are the same place, thus having the Text identify her as Zipporah in one place and “a Cushite woman” in the other.
Certainly there are strong arguments as to why this could be the right answer. The locations are very close to each other: Cush is just south of Egypt, and Midian is in the Sinai Peninsula. Both of those country’s boundary lines are debated to this day (see also Habakkuk 3:7).
Usually in narrative formats, when the text uses a location instead of a name, it’s because the location is important. It could be that the reason Aaron and Miriam are challenging Moses’ leadership is because he married someone from Cush, and not Israel.
Still, it seems odd to me that the Text would identify Zipporah throughout, and then pivot to calling her a “cushite woman,” almost in derogatory terms. To me, it seems more like a statement of fact, which would imply that Moses has remarried after Zipporah’s unrecorded death.
Unfortunately, there’s no other information on this woman outside of this singular reference in Numbers 12:1, so we’re left to speculate.
What do you think? Let me know at brady@coffeeandaBible.com!
