Friday, June 12, 2009

Moshe's Ethiopian Wife

The verse: Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Ethiopian wife, for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

Rashi: Tziporah wasn't really Ethiopian. Miriam and Aaron were just speaking in code. What they meant was that she was like, totally, beautiful.
Rashbam: Moshe took an Ethiopian wife during his long exile from Egypt, prior to the encounter with the burning bush:
Ibn Ezra: Tziporah wasn't Ethiopian, but Miriam and Aaron were not speaking in code. Euphemistically, they were saying that she was ugly, and that Moshe had therefore separated from her.


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