Book Review - Sex and the Believer
Moses the Polygamous
Didn’t know that Moses had two wives? Neither did I. That is because Torah does not come right out and state that he had two wives; again, we must read between the lines to see this.
Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); and they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)
Suddenly the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out. Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam.
When they had both come forward, He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. “Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even openly, and not in dark sayings, And he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?” (Numbers 12:1-8)
Moshe K. follows these verses with, “Now, he is clearly making a distinction between Tzipporah and the Ethiopian woman (a Kushite by definition).” I’m sorry, but once again what is clear to Moshe is not so clear to me. Where was Tzipporah’s name even mentioned? Where was the name of this “other wife” mentioned? It is not. What is said is that Moses had married a Cushite.
Missing here, in the book, is what the sages had to say regarding this Cushite woman:
‘[And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses] because of the Cushite woman that he had take;, to wife.25 Was she a Cushite [woman]? Was not her name Zipporah? But as a Cushite woman is distinguishable by her skin so was also Zipporah distinguished by her deeds. - Mo’ed Katan 16b
Apparently the Jewish sages believed this to be a reference to Zipporah and not another wife. So, where does this idea come from? Let’s look at the sources referenced by Mr. K. One of these sources is the book of Jasher, an extra-biblical text referred to twice in the Bible (Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18). In it we find tales from the lives of the patriarchs that are not always included in the book of Genesis. According to this book, Moses spent some time in Cush after leaving Egypt, and before going to Midian. The people of Cush are so taken with Moses that they depose the king, not only making Moses king in his stead, but also giving Moses the queen of Cush as his wife.
Mr. Koniuchowsky later admits that not only is this not the Cushite woman referenced in Numbers, but that the marriage was never consummated so therefore it cannot be considered a real marriage.
Ironically, the Ethiopian/Kushite woman that Moshe was later being criticized for in Bamidbar/Numbers 12, was most likely a different woman entirely, who sojourned with the Yisraelites, and followed YHWH; therefore she was an Ethiopian-Yisraelite by conversion and marriage. How do we know this? Moshe’s arranged marriage to the Kushite queen was long before his marriage to Tzipporah the Shemite. Tzipporah was a Shemite because her father was from Midyan who was a child through Avraham and Keturah - Avraham was from Shem. Aharon and Miriam would have no genealogical reason to criticize Moshe for his marriage to Tzipporah which took place long before Bamidbar/Numbers 12.
Well, according to the book of Jasher, there was a reason that Moses decided not to consummate his so-called marriage with the queen, and this reason is very important, as we shall soon see.
So Moses took the city by his wisdom, and the children of Cush placed him on the throne instead of Kikianus king of Cush. And they placed the royal crown upon his head, and they gave him for a wife Adoniah the Cushite queen, wife of Kikianus.
And Moses feared the Lord God of his fathers, so that he came not to her, nor did he turn his eyes to her. For Moses remembered how Abraham had made his servant Eliezer swear, saying unto him, Thou shalt not take a woman from the daughters of Canaan for my son Isaac.
Also what Isaac did when Jacob had fled from his brother, when he commanded him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, nor make alliance with any of the children of Ham. For the Lord our God gave Ham the son of Noah, and his children and all his seed, as slaves to the children of Shem and to the children of Japheth, and unto their seed after them for slaves, forever.
Therefore Moses turned not his heart nor his eyes to the wife of Kikianus all the days that he reigned over Cush. (Jasher 73:30-36)
According to these verses, the reason that Moses did not take the queen as his wife was not because she was already married, or because she worships pagan gods, but because she was a Cushite, and a descendant of Ham.
This is the same reason, according to MK, that Aaron and Miriam were complaining about Moses’ wife; she was a descendant of Ham, not Shem. Why would Moses change his mind? Why would take a second wife that is not a Shemite? Mr. Koniuchowsky offers an explanation:
Since there were non-Hebrew peoples that left Mizrayim/Egypt along with the Yisraelites, the most likely case scenario suggests that there apparently was an Ethiopian couple, or family who converted to the faith of Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov. If during the journey, the Ethiopian’s woman’s husband passed away, she would have been a widow. Moshe likely saw this need and rose to the occasion, and set an example of a pragmatic, compassionate polygyny. Why are her children never mentioned? She may have had only daughters, but the other possibility is the Moshe was raising up seed for the deceased man, and since the dead man was not noteworthy in the scheme of Scriptural documentation, no mention of those possible children is made. She may have also been barren. Why is her name not mentioned? Moshe knowing the stresses of extra responsibility did not want to sensationalize the taking on of additional wives. Also since she remains anonymous, it reinforces the idea that there is on Torah for the native Hebrew and for the ger convert. She represents all ger/alien converts in that sense.
Just a reminder, the above paragraph is prefaced with, “the most likely case scenario suggests,” and is not backed up by any Scriptural references whatsoever. It is nothing more than the imaginings of one man and is not enough to form doctrine, or prove that Moses was married to more than one woman. This is just one possible explanation. I have another possible explanation, but one that is backed up with Scripture.
According to Torah a man cannot appear before a Most Holy God while unclean. There are certain activities that can cause one to become unclean, like handling a dead body, or engaging in marital relations.
‘If a man lies with a woman so that there is a seminal emission, they shall both bathe in water and be unclean until evening.’ (Leviticus 15:18)
Now Moses had a very special relationship with El Shaddai. Unlike any other prophet before or since, Moses met often, face to face with Adonai at the tent of meeting.
And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the LORD would speak with Moses.
When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. (Exodus 33:8-11)
It seems to me that due to his higher calling, more was required of Moses. He had to be ready at any time to meet with Adonai on behalf of the people. Some times trouble couldn’t wait for him to make himself clean; in the case of judgment, there was not a moment to lose. Therefore, Moses would have had to remove himself from those activities that would cause him to become unclean… including having relations with Zipporah.
The question we need to ask ourselves is this: do the facts found in Torah support this theory?
Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); and they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And the LORD heard it. (Numbers 12:1-2)
The second verse completes the thought and that shows a reference to the office of prophet. It is almost as if they were asking, “Why is it different for Moses? Aren’t we prophets as well?” This seems more likely to me than the idea of a second wife… why take a second wife when you can’t even be intimate with the one you have due to leadership responsibilities? Remember that “more excellent way” that Moshe teaches women to strive for? Could it be that what we are actually seeing Moses demonstrate is not an example of pragmatic, compassionate polygyny, as MK suggests, but of this more excellent way? Could it be that Moses truly understood his role as that of bride, having betrothed himself to Adonai at Mt. Sinai?
Assuming this polygamous life, Mr. Koniuchowsky then interprets Aaron and Miriam’s attack to be against polygamy itself. Continuing his interpretation of Numbers 12:1-8 (refer back to the beginning of this section), MK continues:
Also, he is making it painfully obvious that the gripe of Aharon and Miriam was his additional marriage to the Ethiopian (Kushite) woman. Aharon and Miriam were trying to use Moshe’s polygyny as a way to invalidate Moshe’s leadership. Isn’t it clear?
I’m sorry, Mr. Koniuchowsky, but it is not clear to me. First you need to prove Moses’ polygamy, which, as far as I am concerned, you have not done.