Did Moses marry twice?

[Conita]

Studying Mark Chapter 12. Verse 1 speaks of Aaron and Miriam speaking against Moses because Moses had married a Cushite woman. By that time Moses would have been married for many years to Zephora (spelling?) whom he married in Media. Why would Aaron and Miriam object at this point? Is this, then, Moses 2nd wife? My bible study partners did not come to an agreement. Thank you.

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Moses agreed to stay with him, and the man gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage.

• Exodus 2:21

Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on the pretext of the Cushite woman he had married; for he had in fact married a Cushite woman.

• Numbers 12:1

There is no definitive answer to your question.

Traditionally Zipporah has been identified as the “Cushite woman.” However this is problematic since Zipporah was a Midianite and not an Ethiopian. Various traditional explanations to get around this are that while Zipporah’s father was a Midiantie her mother was a Cushite or that while Zipporah was 100% Midianite her skin was dark enough that they considered her to more resemble a Cushite. Another traditional theory is that “Cushite” was a synonym for beauty and the expression was referring to Zipporah’s beauty, not her nationality.

Other ancient commentators theorized that Zipporah had died and Moses and had taken another wife and thus the “Cushite woman” is a second wife.

Equally problematic is trying to answer what Miriam and Aaron were objecting to. If we presume that Zipporah is the Cushite woman then the usual answer given is that Moses had neglected or separated from his wife and Miriam and Aaron thought it was behavior unbecoming of a prophet. If we presume that Zupporah and the Cushite woman are two different people then the usual explanation given is that Miriam and Aaron were objecting to Moses marrying a foreigner.