), Die gantze Heilige Schrifft Deudsch: Wittenberg 1545, 3 vols. Was this a peek into the kingdom of God when its established here on the new earth as the New Jerusalem descends out of heaven (Rev 21:1-4)? understands the Cushite woman to be an Ethiopian queen, focussing on Moses having separated from her (cf. Mollat, Limage du noir dans lart occidental 2.2 (ed. ), the Midianite whom the patriarch meets and marries at Exod 2:1121 and who is last heard of by name at Exod 18:14. Used by permission. Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the kings edict., Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds, refused to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ]Search in Google Scholar, Jellinek, A. Read them in the archive below. These interpretations seem to avoid or ignore the issue of whether the Cushite woman, referred to simply as uxor Moysi Aethiopissa (the Ethiopian wife of Moses), is a different character from Zipporah (Sephora in the Vg. Moses was born at a time when Pharaoh was trying to have all the male babies killed. In Philos reading, Moses Ethiopian wife represents unchangeable nature or unchangeable opinion since she is finely focused and can see the world properly. Numbers 12:1 tells the story of Miriam and Aaron slandering Moses for marrying a Cushite wife: Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married, for he married a Cushite woman. From the Second Temple period on, Jewish authors and sages have debated who this woman was and why Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses. All Rights Reserved. As a woman, Miriam has more in common with Moses wife and can be read as the one from whom greater empathy should have been forthcoming. ]Search in Google Scholar, Wendland, P., De fabellis antiquis earumque ad Christianos propagatione (Gttingen 1911).Search in Google Scholar. It bothered them that God would only speak to Moses, but that was not their choice, it was Gods choice. P;x9;j3v[qsX4kC_s&Musve` {V/ 1Ylk"k(bs3N8`05ggP$Sz2b`@aCl3{VI K7S0*2aAuCmFV:M:062vqIZB@ZNMZ ;6(k7:LPF^"~e5 2i>RM`4)*j0%u/,#d4
#/Wi_$HWB Moses later married Zipporah (Ex 2:21), so Moses was definitely married. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand. That is singular in regards to his wife. g?K'4i"bp+BB24P@_KJ L|SDcc/ F_cMSr.!Y4q+pRTViRp4F41">/Zx)nWUq[f2@mhx(fu. (On the different meanings of dibbr b see Levine: 32829). The complaint wasnt that Moses had more than one wife but that she was a Cushite woman. Remember that Moses was married before God called him. L. Bugner; Fribourg 1979) 931; ET: id., The Theme of Ethiopia and Ethiopians in Patristic Literature, in The Image of the Black in Western Art 2.1 (ed. It was at this juncture that Jacob Jordaens, a Flemish artist of Protestant inclinations though living in Catholic Antwerp, and a man familiar with the translations of Luther as well as the States Bible, produced ca. 7 Bible Verses to Read During Financially Hard Times, Ice Dragon: Legend of the Blue Daisies Movie Review, Phoenix Wilder And The Great Elephant Adventure Movie Review, The Boxcar Children: Surprise Island Movie Review. Previous post: Great Bible Verses and Advice for Counseling About Grief, Next post: 7 Bible Verses To Help Overcome Insecurity. Schalit, A., Mavo, in Yosef ben Matityahu [Flavius Josephus], Courts, J. M., Traitement patristique de la thmatique ethiopienne, in, Johnson, A. P., The Blackness of Ethiopians,, McGrath, E., Jacob Jordaens and Mosess Ethiopian Wife,, Wagenaar, H., White as Snow: Numbers 12 from an African Perspective,, Elad Filler, Elizabeth McGrath, Steven L. McKenzie, Dabbesheth Dreams and Dream Interpretation (Vol. YHWH responds suddenly (pitom), summoning Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to the tent of meeting, where he descends in a pillar of cloud and summons Aaron and Miriam to step forward. He did his graduate work at Moody Theological Seminary. Calvin, J., Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses, 4 vols. Hept 4.20) who, relying on the unstable meaning of Ethiopia/Cush, claimed that the term could be used (and was so used for example at 2 Chr 1415) for Midian. Though Artapanus omitted the story of the Ethiopian princess in his account of the war, Josephus may have chosen to include it in his work wishing to lend some Hellenistic flavor to Moses life and prove to his gentile audience that their claim of Jewish amixia, non-assimilation, was incorrect, since Moses himself had married a non-Jew (Schalit: lxxi). Rashbam used the midrash to emphasize that Rashi's explanation (that she was called Cushite because of her beauty) does not agree withpeshuto shel miqra (see Rashbam: 410, n. 77; cf. The LXX translates it as (Ethiopian, so also KJV). Philo, Mos. And they said, Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? PG 13:1019; Ledegang: 42630; Johnson: 17073). What is clear is that the blackness of Moses Aethiopissa was seized upon by the church fathers for its symbolic potential, and the association with the bride of the Song of Songs was often emphasized, notably by Origen, who took Moses as a prefiguration of Christ and the Ethiopian Wife as an image of the Church of the Gentiles (Ecclesia); Miriam, by contrast, punished by leprosy, represented the Synagogue (Synagoga), the old order displaced by the new (e.g. He continued to be a prominent figure among the religious leaders in Jesus day. All rights reserved. x\k_`AXJlIqbmOd~*o_s4 v v}K!%?`a+wu??*|'uKu8u~MsGv>)lxy?Oc)>MYmYo6nmp;6O!j'\myt;C[PmC0y6{|YACC6 This seems to show that Moses will also play a prominent role in the coming Kingdom. A. Schalit; Jerusalem 1944). M. Hallamish et al. As mentioned above, Onkelos maintains that Moses separation from Zipporah was the reason for Miriam and Aarons criticism. Biblical commentators committed to Moses monogamy generally disregarded Josephus Ethiopian princess as a fabrication and concentrated on presenting the case for the identity of the Aethiopissa with Zipporah. This notion, encouraged by the Vetus Latina reading of Songs of Songs 8:5 as quae est ista quae ascendit dealbata (who is she who arises, made white), was repeated in many contexts, though Bernard of Clairvaux contrasted Moses and his Ethiopian with Christ, who as the bridegroom of the Song of Songs not only humbles himself to wed a black woman but whitens her in the process (Moses could not change the color of skin but Christ could: Sed non potuit Moyses mutare pellem, potuit Christus; Sermones super Cantica Canticorum 39.4.10 [PL 183:981C]; Brunn: 27577). [Esp. ev. of id., Perush al sefer Bereshit (Jerusalem 31959).Search in Google Scholar, Goldenberg, D. M., The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Princeton, N.J./Oxford 2003).Search in Google Scholar, Filler, E., Moses and the Cushite Wife in Philo, in Moses the Man: Master of the Prophets (ed. 1.59. 17786]Search in Google Scholar, Mller, W. M./E. R. Rezetzko et al. Blanke; text ed. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him (Matt 17:2-3). And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him, Great Bible Verses and Advice for Counseling About Grief, 7 Bible Verses To Help Overcome Insecurity, 25 Encouraging Bible Verses About Strength, Words of Encouragement: 30 Uplifting Quotes, Turning the Hearts of the Fathers to Their Children -Malachi 4:6. M. D. Coogan et al. 2.67). He was in Pharaohs palace and had access to all of the riches of Egypt and to all of the women too. The artist may have known one previous representation of Num 12 which included theAethiopissa: a print of ca. ; VTSup 113; Leiden/Boston, Mass. 3.103) offers a unique explanation of this passage, in line with his philosophicalallegorical reading of the Torah, explaining the difference between the recognition of God experienced by Aaron and Miriam (two types of derivative knowledge) and the recognition of God experienced by Moses (who perceives God directly). After Moses received most of his training in Egypt, He had it made. Accordingly, SifBem 99, explains that Zipporahs unusual beauty was the reason for calling her a Cushite woman. Filler, Elad, McGrath, Elizabeth and McKenzie, Steven L.. "Moses Cushite Wife". Similarly, Moses wife is designated as Cusitische, to be understood, we learn, not as a Cushite descended from Ham but as a Midianite. It was likely a Judean legend popular among Hellenized Jews in the diaspora. F. Kur; Munich 1972).Search in Google Scholar, Brunn, M. B., Parables: Bernard of Clairvauxs Mapping of Spiritual Topography (Leiden/Boston, Mass. His Hebrew name, Mosheh, means drawn as in drawn out of water. Hebrews 11:23 says Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the kings edict. There are many different images of Moses in the Bible, one of which is that Moses is a forerunner for the Lord Jesus Christ in some ways. ), Chronik des Moses, in. Your documents are now available to view. Was he even married and was their some sort of controversy about his wife? That story, which was available in Latin from the time of Cassiodorus (6th cent. There are even a couple of manuscript illustrations of Moses marriage to the black princess (Devisse/Mollat: 4344; McGrath: 24851). 15201593], as well as Joseph Ibn Kaspi [12801345] in Matsref la-Kesef ad loc.). But the implication of the Ecclesia allegory with its focus on blackness was clear and confirmed by the circumstance that the Aethiopissa is never identified there as Zipporah. So Moses fled into the wilderness for forty years, which is known as a number of testing, and there in the desert, he encountered the Living God at the burning bush (Ex 3:2-6; Acts 7:32-35). Such a view continues to be a widespread in modern analyses, whether popular or scholarly, some even supposing that because the Aethiopissa was black, she must have been a slave (for examples see Goldenberg: 2527). The tribes of Cushan, which were apparently located south of todays Israel or in southern Jordan of today, were mostly assimilated to Midian (Cassuto: 198; Goldenberg: 220, n. 25). L. Bugner; trans. Moses was anything but weak, but meekness is having strength that remains under control. Moses did grow angry and it kept him from entering into the Promised Land, but as weve read, Moses is already in the Promised Land (Matt 17:1-4), because any place where Jesus is, is heaven itself. He then affirms to them that he speaks mouth to mouth with Moses, in contrast to visions and dreams used for (other) prophets, and he angrily rebukes them for daring to speak against Moses. It continues to be understood and presented as such by liberal clerics and theologians (e.g., Wagenaar) in reaction to racist interpreters. 9.27; see Wendland: 18). See also Ezek. G. Hirsch, Cush,JE 4 (New York 1903) 39495.Search in Google Scholar, Rashbam, Perush ha-Torah le-Rabbenu Shemuel ben Meir, vol. The encounter leaves Miriam with a skin disorder that renders her white as snow. At Aarons behest Moses intercedes for Miriam, and the disorder lasts only seven days, during which time she is shut out of the camp. In: Furey C, LeMon J, Matz B, Rmer T, Schrter J, Walfish B, Ziolkowski E (ed. In C. Furey, J. H. Volz/H. Jack has written 1231 articles on What Christians Want To Know! Already in the 17th century, however, Moses marriage to the Ethiopian woman was cited as an encouragement to cross-cultural marriage by writers as diverse as the Colombian Jesuit Alonso de Sandoval and the Dutch poet Jacob Cats (McGrath: 25357). Eusebius,Praep. One may however observe that the story combines a question about Moses' status in comparison to the prophets and a question about mixed marriages. Filler, E., McGrath, E. & McKenzie, S. (2021). 1566 by Maarten van Heemskerck illustrating Moses exemplary meekness in a set of The Eight Beatitudes; here the wifes Ethiopian otherness was shown only in her unusual style of dress. Both of these interpretations are found in Jewish exegesis. Has he not spoken through us also? And the Lord heard it (Num 12:1-2). Who was Moses wife? Jordaens, however, not only depicted Moses with an African woman, but presented the patriarch as her protector, confronting not Miriam and Aaron, but any and every viewer, in an image that seems almost designed to challenge the prejudices of his age. Please login or register with De Gruyter to order this product. Hence, the Cushite wife might still have been Zipporah. The tale begins with Moses in his youth as an Egyptian prince, leading the Egyptian army in a battle against the Ethiopians (cf. Commentators have taken two opposite approaches to what bothered Miriam and Aaron about the Cushite woman. According to one, they were bothered by the fact that Moses had divorced Zipporah, while, according to the other, they were bothered that he had married a Cushite woman (whether she is identified as Zipporah or not). 2.25253) offers one version of a fantastical tale in which Moses married an Ethiopian Princess. Cush is the name in the HB/OT for Nubia, the area south of Egypt (Jer 13:23; 2 Chr 12:3). 1170), a standard resource and supplement to the Bible which was translated and eventually printed in many editions up to 1500. Liss: 184). Trag. 1970).Search in Google Scholar, Wagenaar, H., White as Snow: Numbers 12 from an African Perspective, Africa Theological Journal 26.1 (2003) 7587.Search in Google Scholar. Is this woman to be identified with Zipporah, who is named as Moses wife in Exod 2:21; 4:25; 18:2? Has he not spoken through us also? And the Lord heard it, was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. [Heb. L. Bugner; Fribourg 1979); ET: id., The Image of the Black in Western Art 2.2 (ed. Tagged as: TNeof, for example (which is mostly a literal translation), expands and explains: as the Cushite woman is different in her body from every other creature, so was Zipporah handsome in form and beautiful in appearance and different in good works from all the women of that generation (about Zipporahs sublime virtue, see Philo,Cher. In contrast to Josephus reasoning (cited by Schalit) for mentioning the story about Moses marrying an Ethiopian princess, some rabbinic commentators point out the problem that Moses married a non-Israelite, whether Zipporah the Midianite or an unnamed Ethiopian woman (see bSan 82a). At the same time, by showing Moses wife with a hat that surrounds her head like a halo and is distinguished by a red cross, he perhaps also suggests the familiar idea of the Aethiopissa as a prefiguration of The Christian church (McGrath). In Hab 3:7 Cushan, a biform, occurs in parallel with Midian. The biblical adjective Cushite can relate to the land of Cush, located south of Egypt (e.g., Ezek 29:10), namely Ethiopia, or to Cushan as a region of or alternate name for Midian (Hab 3:8). Moses saw this and defended the mans daughters at the well, taking on all the shepherds and soundly sent them away. %PDF-1.3 taking lq) of a Cushite woman is the cause (al-dt) for Miriam and Aaron to speak against (dibbr b) their brother and question whether YHWH speaks exclusively through (dibbr b) him. W. G Ryan; Fribourg 1979) 931.Search in Google Scholar, Devisse, J./M. Ask God to keep them from harm and that they stick close to your Word of God. of id., Das vierte Buch Mose, Numeri (ATD 7; Gttingen 1966).Search in Google Scholar, Rmer, T., Israels Sojourn in the Wilderness and the Construction of the Book of Numbers, in Reflection and Refraction, FS A. Graeme Auld (ed. According to 2 Chr 21:16, the Cushites are located next to the Arabs. (ed. BHM 2:67). [Heb. Philo (Leg. It is on the Mount of Transfiguration that we get our last glimpse of Moses, as Peter, James, and John saw that Jesus was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. Zipporah, Jack Wellman is a father and grandfather and a Christian author and pastor of Heritage Evangelical Free Church in Udall, KS & also a Prison Minister. Moses was said to be the meekest man on earth (Num 12:3), but meekness is not weakness. Moses married, As in the LXX, the wife of Num 12 is described in the Vulgate asAethiopissa. Cassuto, U., A Commentary on The Book of Genesis, vol. YHWHs declaration that he speaks mouth to mouth to Moses also contrasts with the means used to communicate with prophets, although it no doubt came to be interpreted to mean that Moses was the preeminent prophet, along the lines espoused by Deut 34:10. There was some controversy, but not because Moses had done anything wrong, it was more of a matter of jealousy as Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. However, Cush was also a designation for part of Midian (Albright: 205, n. 49). The river Gihon of Gen 2:13, for example, is simply described as encircling Cus, which, the commentary tells us, should not be understood here as Moorenlandt, but rather as Arabia. It seems that these two men represent the Law and the Prophets, and Jesus represents the fulfillment of them both? If not, had Zipporah died previously or was Moses a bigamist? Miriam and Aaron both paid for it, but Miriam got the worse of it with leprosy, probably because she had started the whole thing, however God held Aaron responsible for going along with it, but Gods hand was not as severe on him. Ask that God keep them grounded in teaching His Word but to do so with all humility. Exodus 4:20 records the fact that Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. Thats when Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, brought him back to Jethro who asked him to live with him and work for him as a shepherd (another symbolic reference to Jesus). Why would the marriage cause Miriam and Aaron to question Moses leadership? << /Length 5 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> Why was Miriam alone punished and why was she afflicted with a temporary skin disorder? She would also have been a different person than Zipporah, who was from Midian in northern Arabia. There have always been grumblings against church leaders like pastors, deacons, elders, worship leaders, and ministry leaders. What this means is that, unlike other prophets who only have logic (Aaron) or sensibility (Miriam), Moses has a direct and unmediated relationship with God, represented by his having married perfect focus (the Cushite woman). ), Rmer, T., Israels Sojourn in the Wilderness and the Construction of the Book of Numbers, in, Filler, E., Moses and the Cushite Wife in Philo, in, Jellinek, A. Moses Cushite Wife. (trans. According to this interpretation, Miriam is saying that just because God speaks to Moses, Moses should not regard himself as too holy to remain married. 
5 Ways for Christians to Fight Bad Habits. Plate 13 Jordaens, Jacob, Moses and his Ethiopian Wife: oil on canvas (164549); Collection of Rubenshuis, Antwerp/Belgium Heritage Images/Fine Art Images/akg-images. The backstory for Moses separation from his wife is explained by R. Nathan in SifBem 99. In this context the question of Moses marriage to a black woman took on a particular interest. I. Abrahams; Jerusalem 1964); trans. 4 0 obj Goldenberg: 29, 22930, n. 17). Your purchase has been completed. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand., Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. Perhaps Num 12 avoids Zipporahs name because of its stress on her non-Israelite ethnicity, which is the concern of Miriams and Aarons complaint about Moses fitness for leadership. 2007) 41945.Search in Google Scholar, Wright, D. P., Notes on Numbers (NOAB; ed. A., Numbers 120 (AYB Commentaries 4; New York 1993).Search in Google Scholar, Milgrom, J., Numbers (JPSTC; Philadelphia, Pa. 1990).Search in Google Scholar, Noth, M., Numbers: A Commentary (trans. (See also SifZ 12 and Tans elaboration of Rabbi Nathans opinion). Miriam and Aarons complaint wasnt really about Moses wife but about Moses having all the authority. ; New York 32007).Search in Google Scholar. % Some connected the adjective Cushite to the nation of Cushan in parallel to Midian (as in Hab 3:7) on the assumption that Cushan is the archaic name of Midian. He could have been the next Pharaoh, but Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. It happened in Moses day and its happening today. 2 (ed. The problem with the former interpretation is that the Torah never mentions Moses marrying anybody other than Zipporah (see the commentary of Bekhor Shor). J. D. Martin; OTL; Philadelphia, Pa. 1968); trans. While it sometimes rendered references to Cushites and Aethiopes with terms related to Moors and moorishness, terms which undoubtedly signified black Africans to contemporary readers, it avoided this at crucial places. Read more about Moses here: Moses from the Bible. This meant that Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds (Acts 7:22), was likely trained in the sciences, geography, mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and most of the other disciplines known to Egypt. L. Bugner; Fribourg 1979).Search in Google Scholar, Goldenberg, D. M., The Curse of Ham (Princeton, N.J. 2003).Search in Google Scholar, Johnson, A. P., The Blackness of Ethiopians, HTR 99.2 (2006) 16586.Search in Google Scholar, Ledegang, F., Mysterium Ecclesiae: Images of the Church and its Members in Origen (Leuven 2001).Search in Google Scholar, McGrath, E., Jacob Jordaens and Mosess Ethiopian Wife, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 70 (2007) 24785.Search in Google Scholar, Snowden, F. M., Blacks in Antiquity (Cambridge, Mass. 1956).Search in Google Scholar, Coats, G. W., Rebellion in the Wilderness: The Murmuring Motif in the Wilderness Traditions of the Old Testament (Nashville, Tenn./New York 1968).Search in Google Scholar, Cross, F. M. Jr., Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel (Cambridge, Mass. A woman from Midian, though not Nubian, would have been dark-skinned, so that Miriams punishment of being made white as snow remains appropriate. Onkelos suggests that Miriam and Aaron were upset because Moses separated from the beautiful woman he married (cf. 36), Philo bases his allegory on the fact that Moses wife is described as Ethiopian, i.e., she is dark-skinned since black is the color of the eyes' pupils (which according to Plato reflect the contraction or focusing of the visual ray which Philo translates as perfect focus). Copyright 2010-2022 Telling Ministries LLC. As the story stands, Miriam is still the leading complainant; her name precedes Aarons in 12:1, though elsewhere Aarons comes first (12:45). Thats never changed. Josephus did not make up his story, since part of it (the campaign against Ethiopia) already appears in the work of Artapanus. While these questions remain open, the following responses are ventured as reasonable ways of answering them that have emerged in scholarly discussion.
5 Ways for Christians to Fight Bad Habits. Plate 13 Jordaens, Jacob, Moses and his Ethiopian Wife: oil on canvas (164549); Collection of Rubenshuis, Antwerp/Belgium Heritage Images/Fine Art Images/akg-images. The backstory for Moses separation from his wife is explained by R. Nathan in SifBem 99. In this context the question of Moses marriage to a black woman took on a particular interest. I. Abrahams; Jerusalem 1964); trans. 4 0 obj Goldenberg: 29, 22930, n. 17). Your purchase has been completed. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand., Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. Perhaps Num 12 avoids Zipporahs name because of its stress on her non-Israelite ethnicity, which is the concern of Miriams and Aarons complaint about Moses fitness for leadership. 2007) 41945.Search in Google Scholar, Wright, D. P., Notes on Numbers (NOAB; ed. A., Numbers 120 (AYB Commentaries 4; New York 1993).Search in Google Scholar, Milgrom, J., Numbers (JPSTC; Philadelphia, Pa. 1990).Search in Google Scholar, Noth, M., Numbers: A Commentary (trans. (See also SifZ 12 and Tans elaboration of Rabbi Nathans opinion). Miriam and Aarons complaint wasnt really about Moses wife but about Moses having all the authority. ; New York 32007).Search in Google Scholar. % Some connected the adjective Cushite to the nation of Cushan in parallel to Midian (as in Hab 3:7) on the assumption that Cushan is the archaic name of Midian. He could have been the next Pharaoh, but Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. It happened in Moses day and its happening today. 2 (ed. The problem with the former interpretation is that the Torah never mentions Moses marrying anybody other than Zipporah (see the commentary of Bekhor Shor). J. D. Martin; OTL; Philadelphia, Pa. 1968); trans. While it sometimes rendered references to Cushites and Aethiopes with terms related to Moors and moorishness, terms which undoubtedly signified black Africans to contemporary readers, it avoided this at crucial places. Read more about Moses here: Moses from the Bible. This meant that Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds (Acts 7:22), was likely trained in the sciences, geography, mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and most of the other disciplines known to Egypt. L. Bugner; Fribourg 1979).Search in Google Scholar, Goldenberg, D. M., The Curse of Ham (Princeton, N.J. 2003).Search in Google Scholar, Johnson, A. P., The Blackness of Ethiopians, HTR 99.2 (2006) 16586.Search in Google Scholar, Ledegang, F., Mysterium Ecclesiae: Images of the Church and its Members in Origen (Leuven 2001).Search in Google Scholar, McGrath, E., Jacob Jordaens and Mosess Ethiopian Wife, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 70 (2007) 24785.Search in Google Scholar, Snowden, F. M., Blacks in Antiquity (Cambridge, Mass. 1956).Search in Google Scholar, Coats, G. W., Rebellion in the Wilderness: The Murmuring Motif in the Wilderness Traditions of the Old Testament (Nashville, Tenn./New York 1968).Search in Google Scholar, Cross, F. M. Jr., Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel (Cambridge, Mass. A woman from Midian, though not Nubian, would have been dark-skinned, so that Miriams punishment of being made white as snow remains appropriate. Onkelos suggests that Miriam and Aaron were upset because Moses separated from the beautiful woman he married (cf. 36), Philo bases his allegory on the fact that Moses wife is described as Ethiopian, i.e., she is dark-skinned since black is the color of the eyes' pupils (which according to Plato reflect the contraction or focusing of the visual ray which Philo translates as perfect focus). Copyright 2010-2022 Telling Ministries LLC. As the story stands, Miriam is still the leading complainant; her name precedes Aarons in 12:1, though elsewhere Aarons comes first (12:45). Thats never changed. Josephus did not make up his story, since part of it (the campaign against Ethiopia) already appears in the work of Artapanus. While these questions remain open, the following responses are ventured as reasonable ways of answering them that have emerged in scholarly discussion.