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    Zipporah, Wife of Moses: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Zipporah, Wife of Moses: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Zipporah, Wife of Moses: A Novel
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    Zipporah, Wife of Moses: A Novel

    Written by Marek Halter

    Narrated by Ellen Reilly

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    In the time of the Pharaoh, a tiny infant is rescued from the banks of the Red Sea. She is named Zipporah, "the little bird." Although she is a Cushite by birth-one of the black people of the lands to the south-she is taken in by Jethro, high priest and sage of the Midianites. Jethro adores his adopted daughter, and she is an honored member of his family. But the blackness of Zipporah's skin sets her apart and will decide her future: she will be an outsider, and the men of her adopted tribe will not want her as a wife.

    But when she becomes a young woman, Zipporah's destiny changes forever. While drawing water at a well one day, she meets a handsome young man, a stranger. Like her, he is an outsider, a foreigner. His name is Moses. A Hebrew raised in the house of the Pharaoh, Moses is a fugitive, forced to flee his homeland of Egypt after murdering one of the Pharaoh's cruel overseers. Zipporah knows almost immediately that this man will be the husband and partner she never thought she would have.

    At first Moses wants nothing more than a peaceful life with the Midianites. He is content in his role as Zipporah's lover and the honorary son of Jethro the sage. But Zipporah refuses to let Moses forget his past or turn away from what she believes to be his true destiny. Although he is the love of her life and the father of her children, Zipporah won't marry Moses until he agrees to return to Egypt to confront Pharaoh and free his people. When God reveals himself to Moses in the burning bush, his words echo Zipporah's, and Moses returns to Egypt with Zipporah by his side. A passionate lover and a generous, thoughtful wife, Zipporah becomes the guiding force in Moses' struggle. With the help of her powerful father, she teaches the rebellious young man about the rule of law and the force of justice. Because of Zipporah-the outsider, the black-skinned woman-Moses becomes a defender of the oppressed and a liberator of the enslaved.

    A woman ahead of her time, Zipporah leaps from the pages of this remarkable novel. Bold, independent, and a true survivor, she is a captivating heroine, and her world of deserts, temples, and ancient wonders is a fitting backdrop to an epic tale.



    As Zipporah and Moses came closer to the queen of cities, the road parted company with the riverbank, and they found themselves facing a vast expanse of palm groves between the river and the hills and ocher cliffs, beyond which the desert began. And there, finally, rising into the blue sky, were the temples of Pharaoh.

    There were about ten of them, the largest surrounded by smaller ones, as if they had given birth to them. Seeming to grow out of the rock, the tops reaching up into the sky, they defied belief, so fantastically huge that beside them, even the cliffs seemed mere hillocks. Their faces shimmered in the heat like oil against the transparent sky. The neatly laid brick road leading to them burned in the sun.

    Zipporah remembered Moses' words about the splendor of Pharaoh's temples, but their hugeness surpassed anything she could have imagined. Nothing here was on a human scale. Not even the stone monsters with the heads of men and the bodies of lions that stood guard before them.

    Farther on, beneath great pyramids, they could see vast building sites. Colonnades and needles of white limestone and walls carved and painted with thousands of figures rose on the fronts of palaces hollowed out of the cliffs. There were unfinished monsters without wings, and statues without heads. In places, the roads became mere dirt paths, with bricks piled at the sides. And everywhere, the slaves swarmed, working, carrying, hammering, creating a din that rose into the heat of the day and was carried on the air from the farthest reaches of the building sites. -FROM ZIPPORAH



    Look for the Reader's Group Guide at the back of this book.


    From the Hardcov
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 5, 2005
    ISBN9780739311721
    Unavailable
    Zipporah, Wife of Moses: A Novel
    Author

    Marek Halter

    Marek Halter was born in Poland in 1936. During World War II, he and his parents narrowly escaped from the Warsaw ghetto. After a time in Russia and Uzbekistan, they emigrated to France in 1950. Halter embarked on a career as a painter that led to several international exhibitions. He is also the author of several internationally acclaimed, bestselling historical novels, including Messiah, The Wind of the Khazars, Sarah, Tzipporah, Lilah and the Book of Abraham, which won the Prix du Livre Inter.   

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    Reviews for Zipporah, Wife of Moses

    3.5/5

    115 ratings9 reviews

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    • 2/5
      A novelization of the story of Zipporah, Moses wife, this is not quite at the level of Anita Diamant's The Red Tent. The characters aren't fully drawn and not very much happens.
    • 3/5
      Enjoyed this book. Nice quick read. Brings the Bible story Moses to life.
    • 2/5
      Interesting idea, but I have seen better executions of historical fiction. Would have enjoyed more detail, and less liberty with the Biblical text.
    • 1/5
      I really liked this book until I got toward the end and it suddenly was over. It didn't finish; it just ended as if the author had something better to do and just wanted to be rid of this one.
    • 4/5
      Think a fluffier Red Tent (I recommend the Red Tent most highly, by the way).Moses' struggle with his destiny was compelling but the end wrapped up rather abruptly and Aaron and Miriam were portrayed quite poorly (although perhaps accurately. Who knows?).The book did leave me wondering how Zipporah, Gershom and Eliezer really died. I went to the Old Testament but didn't find my answer there or online.I do enjoy how historical fiction often leads me to further research.Halter includes the interesting backstory regarding Thutmose III and Hatshepsut, the pharaohs who are portrayed (perhaps accurately) as Moses' "adopted" brother and "adopted" mother, respectively.I've read Sarah and I'll read Lilah, if that's any indication of my regard for this book.
    • 3/5
      Started off having the potential to being one of my favorites of all time, but the ending I thought was rushed, and sacrificed my overall feeling of the book. Still worth the read, and I will probably read another by the same author.
    • 4/5
      This second story by Halter is easy to read, easy to believe, and is a delight throughout. He really fills in texture and detail to the biblical stories that fill a world. He captured the strength of Zipporah and Miriam by contrasting them, and their conflict, with the weakness and uncertainity of Moses. The story was completely different through the eyes of a black woman.
    • 5/5
      I only got to the first chapter before my plane landed. Rating will come later.Edited to add: Very good book. Wonderful descriptions of seemingly unimportant things that give texture to the entire story.
    • 5/5
      Slightly disappointing ending, but overall, a very strong book. Nice writing, believable characters, interesting story. Definitely recommended.