When Zipporah married Moses, did she automatically become a Jew?
Likewise, when Rahab married Salmon, and Ruth married Boaz. These women are mentioned in Jesus' bloodline.
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Asked February 08 2014
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Ken van Zyl
Supporter
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mark wilkinson
Supporter
Zipporah is not part of Jesus' bloodline, and is not included in the genealogies set out in Matthew or Luke. As the wife of Moses she was of the tribe of Levi and not Judah from whom Jesus was descended. Rahab was a Canaanite and was preserved through the destruction of Jericho. Joshua 2 shows that Rahab confessed her faith in the God of heaven and earth and spoke of Him as the LORD (Yahweh), thus identifying with the covenant name of God. She became a member of God's covenant people through her work of faith of hiding the spies and thus became eligible to marry Salmon and is mentioned as a distant ancestor of Jesus. Ruth was a Moabite, descended from Lot. Although she was born and brought up in an idolatrous community she left her land and family to embrace the God of Israel and freely used his covenant name, the LORD (Yahweh). Having converted to Judaism and proved it through her commitment to God's people Boaz had no hesitation in taking Ruth under his wing. He recognised that the LORD had already taken Ruth under his wing. Ruth thus became the great-grandmother of king David and so an ancestor of Jesus. I don't believe marriage automatically bestows living faith in anyone, any more than baptism can automatically make a person a Christian. Faith in the Lord must come first and be evidenced by the Christian community before they can be considered for marriage to one of Christ's people.
Vincent Mercado
Supporter
First of all, Moses was not a Jew (from the tribe of Judah), he is a Levite. Second, Zipporah was not a total foreigner, she may be a descendant of Abraham since her family worships the same one God. Rahab and Ruth are clearly not Jews by birth. Since they married Jews, it can be assumed that they converted to Judaism prior to their marriages, a requirement to be formally accepted in the Jewish community.
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