Zipporah

“ But the fact that Zipporah started from her home in Midian to accompany her husband upon his mission in Egypt, and of her joining him when he had reached the wilderness, upon his return, shows that she was in sympathy with his work, and, doubtless, if up to the time the Lord suddenly withstood Moses at the wayside inn, she was not fully in accord with him in her faith, that this incident fully established her in the true faith. There is a legend which, if not true, is characteristic of the priest of Midian. ”

“ Now Zipporah could provide Moses with all sorts of dainties as he lay in the pit, and she did it for the space of seven years. At the expiration of this period, she said to her father: "I recollect that once upon a time thou didst cast into yonder pit a man that had fetched thy rod from the garden for thee, and thou didst commit a great trespass thereby. If it seemeth well to thee, uncover the pit and look into it. If the man is dead, throw his corpse away, lest it fill the house with stench. ”

“ The name רעוּאל (Reguel, friend of God) indicates that this priest served the old Semitic God El (אל) . This Reguel, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses, was unquestionably the same person as Jethro (יתרו) the חתן of Moses and priest of Midian (Exo 3:1) . Now, as Reguel's son Chobab is called Moses' חתן in Num 10:29 (cf. Jdg 4:11) , the Targumists and others supposed Reguel to be the grandfather of Zipporah, in which case אב would mean the grandfather in Exo 2:18, and בּת the granddaughter in Exo 2:21. This hypothesis would undoubtedly be admissible, if it were probable on other grounds. ”

“ Still He did not kill him; for his sin had sprung from weakness of the flesh, from a sinful yielding to his wife, which could both be explained and excused on account of his position in the Midianite's house. That Zipporah's dislike to circumcision had been the cause of the omission, has been justly inferred by commentators from the fact, that on Jehovah's attack upon Moses, she proceeded at once to perform what had been neglected, and, as it seems, with inward repugnance. The expression, “She threw (the foreskin of her son) at his (Moses') feet,” points to this (ל הגּיע, as in Isa 25:12) . ”

“ Zipporah nursed her first child for two years, and in the third year she bore a second son. Remembering his compact with Jethro, Moses realized that his father-in-law would not permit him to circumcise this one, too, and he determined to return to Egypt, that he might have the opportunity of bringing up his second son as an Israelite. On the journey thither, Satan appeared to him in the guise of a serpent, and swallowed Moses down to his extremities. ”

“ And I was forty years old when I fled out of Egypt; and I came to Jethro's house and stood by the well and found Zipporah his daughter; and when I saw her, I was pleased with her, and asked her to marry me. Then she related to me her father's custom, and it was this. 'My father proves every suitor for my hand by a tree which is in his garden; and when he comes to the tree, the tree clasps him in its branches.' Then I asked her where such a tree was, and she answered me, 'This is the staff which God created on the eve of the Sabbath, which was handed down from Adam to Joseph ”

“ That he may eat bread - That he may be entertained, and receive refreshment to proceed on his journey. Bread, among the Hebrews, was used to signify all kinds of food commonly used for the support of man's life.
Verse 21
Zipporah his daughter - Abul Farajius calls her "Saphura the black, daughter of Rewel the Midianite, the son of Dedan, the son of Abraham by his wife Keturah." The Targum calls her the granddaughter of Reuel. It appears that Moses obtained Zipporah something in the same way that Jacob obtained Rachel ”

“ Surv. (1892) ; J. A. Bower, “Whitby Jet and its Manufacture,” Journ. Soc. Arts (1874, vol. xxii. p. 80) .
JETHRO (or Jether, Exod. iv. 18) , the priest of Midian, in the Bible, whose daughter Zipporah became the wife of Moses. He is known as Hobab the son of Reuel the Kenite (Num. x. 29; Judg. iv. 11 ) , and once as Reuel (Exod. ii. 18) ; and if Zipporah is the wife of Moses referred to in Num. xii. 1, the family could be regarded as Cushite (see Cush) . Jethro was the priest of Yahweh, and resided at the sacred mountain where the deity commissioned Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. ”

“ They answered, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.” Jethro further inquired, “Where is he? Why is it that ye have left the man?”
We confess it was a somewhat ungrateful act on the part of these girls not to invite the young man to their father’s home, but it only shows that they were so modest as to be too bashful to make such an advance.
So Moses was invited to the home of the Midianite sheik, and in due time Zipporah was given to him in marriage, and she became the mother of his two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. ”

“ Zipporah his daughter.
02:002:022 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he
said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
02:002:023 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
02:002:024 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant
with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
02:002:025 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had
respect unto them. ”

“ Now a greater task lies before. It is one in which each of your band must meet danger separately and to his peril, if eyes are not lit and feet swift. More than that I cannot tell. But go onward until the sea is reached and there is a lake of water. Whoso touches that water is turned to stone, so take heed. But well indeed will it be if Zipacna is led there. Have ye not heard him sing:
I am Zipacna whom men cannot slay. ”

“ Zipacna was daily employed in heaping up mountains, while Cabrakan, his brother, shook them in earthquake. The vengeance of Hun-Apu and Xbalanque was first directed against Zipacna, and they conspired with a band of young men to bring about his death.
The young men, four hundred in number, pretended to be engaged in building a house. They cut down a large tree, which they made believe was to be the roof-tree of their dwelling, and waited in a part of the forest through which they knew Zipacna must pass. After a while they could hear the giant crashing through the trees. ”

“ Folks only called him that when they were full of fun or very cross; indeed, you could generally tell which by their tone.
“A robin in the overhanging boughs of an apple-tree whistled cheerily as Zip drew near. Instantly the boy seized a stone, and threw it at the red feathers. The bird uttered a shrill cry of alarm, but flew away unharmed, and presently was heard again far away in the orchard. Zip was rather glad of this, after all. He wasn’t a cruel boy, but whenever he saw a bird or a squirrel, something in him, he couldn’t tell what, made him throw stones at it. ”

“ The first look showed him a ragged tramp with battered hat, unshaven face and a bundle of clothes tied up in a dirty, faded red handkerchief strung on a cane over his shoulder. That one look was enough, for if there was one thing Zip despised and detested more than any other, it was a tramp. And for this one to dare to try to come in the front gate—the gate he never allowed anyone to enter unless they were well dressed—was more than he could stand, and he flew at the fellow as if he were the size of a lion and was going to devour him on the spot. ”

“ Zyp was by nature a child of the open air and the sun. Flowers that were wild she loved—not those that were cultivated, however beautiful, of which she was indifferent—and she had an unspeakable imagination in reading their fanciful histories and a strange faculty for fondling them, as it were, into sentient beings. ”

“ But Betsy could not move him, much less pull him out, although heartily assisted by her daughter.
“Run, Ziffa, run an’ fetch men!”
Ziffa ran like a hunted deer, so anxious was she for the deliverance of her Bible instructor. On turning sharp round a bend in the track, she plunged into the bosom of Ebony.
“Ho! hi! busted I am; why, what’s de matter, Ziffa? you travel like a cannon-ball!”
As he spoke, Zeppa and his son, who had been walking behind Ebony, came up. The panting child only replied, “Rosco—queek!” and ran before them to the fatal spot. ”

“ These ancient zipas, he argued, were the chieftains of a superior race of people. In the annual tribute from the royal treasury to the national god, who was supposed to live at the bottom of Lake Guatavita, they catered to the credulity of their subjects while, in reality, laughing [80] in their sleeves at them, so to speak, all the time. Men of their intelligence were not apt literally to throw away wealth they had themselves amassed, and which they must consider as belonging to them and to their descendants. ”

“ The next day at noon, when Zip came home with the doctor from making his morning visits to his patients, he was surprised to see all the furniture moved out into the side yard. At first he thought there must have been a fire, but when he saw Martha with a towel wrapped around her head, and Mrs. Huggins, the scrub-woman of the village, trying to squeeze a wide table through a narrow door, while Noah, their half-witted chore-boy, was beating carpets on the lawn, he knew it was spring house-cleaning. ”

“ And everyone was as pleased that he was found as he was that he was rescued, and their tears were turned to smiles at the comical picture he made, all covered with soot.
After trying to jump up on the doctor to lick his hands [Pg 44] in thanks for his freedom, he started for his usual bath tub, the watering trough.
"Here, where are you going so fast, Zip? Better stay here until I get a bucket of hot soapsuds to wash you off," called his master, but Zip did not stop, and the doctor followed him. Imagine his surprise when he saw him jump in the trough where he always watered his horses! ”

“ As it was made for the little finger of Hadji Baba, which was remarkably thin, it exactly fitted the middle finger of Ziffa, which was uncommonly fat. Seizing the ring, she thrust it into her bosom, resolving to astonish her friend Agnes. Then, running down-stairs to the old servant, was soon on her way to the consul's garden.
"Agnes," she said, on finding herself alone with her friend. "I want you to do something for—"
"Oh what a lovely ring!" exclaimed Agnes, as Ziffa drew it out of her breast and put it on. ”

“ As for Zip, he slunk away and ran back to the doctor's buggy just in time to jump in as the doctor started for home. So by the time Miss Belinda had gathered up Peter-Kins and saw that the turkey was more frightened than hurt, Zip was blocks away, laughing to himself at the whack the monkey and [Pg 58] turkey had gotten instead of him, and at the funny spectacle the three of them must have made as they ran around and around the yard. ”

“ Meanwhile, the grandmother Xmucane at home watched the growth of the canes, and was filled alternately with grief and joy, as these withered and again became green according to the varying fortunes of the grandsons in Xibalba. [III-32] Finally, to return to Xibalba, Hunahpu and Xbalanque rendered the fitting funeral honors to their fathers who had perished there, but who now mounted to heaven and took their places as the sun and moon; and the four hundred young men killed by Zipacna became stars in the skies. Thus ends the second division of the National Book of the Quichés. ”

“ Clasping thin, nervous fingers, Zyp looked up in my face fearfully.
“Have you seen Jason?”
“No. Has he come, too?”
“He’s gone on before to the mill to seek you.”
“God help him! I’ve been out all day. Is it the old trouble, Zyp?”
“Oh, Renny, I despair at last! I fought it while I was strong; but now—now.”
Her head sunk and she pressed a hand to her bosom again.
“What ails you, dear? Zyp, are you ill?”
“I don’t know. Something seems to suck at my veins. I have nothing definite. The wretchedness of life is sapping my strength, I suppose.” ”

“ I drove up and waited, and one of the two eunuchs went in and announced me, and presently the door of the harim opened and Ziba herself came down the steps and into the little front garden that was railed off from the street. It was my first glimpse of her and hers of me, although we had known one another since the autumn. She wore the white veil that goes over the ears and which meets the black dress or habara, but she had chosen one so transparent that I could catch the outline of her face below the eyes and brow, and even the curves and color of her small red mouth. ”

“ I thought I had never seen my Zilpha look so lovely. Love and happiness had added a softer grace to her whole being. I followed them to the door, and she kissed me twice before leaving me; then looking back, when she had gone a little way, and seeing me still standing there, she threw a kiss to me with her little hand, and looked so bright and joyous, that my aching heart felt a new pang of sorrow. What was it whispered to me then that I should never see her again?
“I went back to my work, and presently the master came and asked for Ida. He wished her to ride with him. ”

“ My heart was too full of one only other girlish figure to find room in itself for a rival. What was Zyp doing now?—the wonderful fairy child, whose phantom presence haunted all my dreams for good and evil.
As I walked from the office with Duke Straw that afternoon—for, as it was Saturday, we left early—a silence fell between us till we neared Cringle’s shop. Then, standing outside, he suddenly stayed me and looked in my face.
“Shall I hate or love you?” he said, with his mouth set grimly.
He made a gesture toward his deformed lower limbs with his hands, and shrugged his shoulders. ”