Once again, Marek Halter’s book sent me scrambling for my Bible to read about Zipporah. Her father was Jethro, a Midian priest. She and her sisters met Moses at a well as they were drawing water for their flock, and she did bear Moses two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Like Sarah, the bulk of this novel is based on Halter’s knowledge of life in ancient times.
This Zipporah is a Cushite, a dark-skinned woman, who is the adopted daughter of Jethro. We do eventually learn how she came to Midian, but there seems to be no point in not telling us sooner. She is intelligent, confident, and strong-willed; a good companion for Moses.
Halter does a good job in this novel of giving personalities to a number of the characters, particularly Jethro and Zipporah’s sisters, Orma and Sefoba. There is quite a bit more action in this book than in Sarah.
Halter gives us a good, albeit overly rosy, picture of life amongst ancient people of the desert, as well as a glimpse of the Egyptian civilization of the time. These depictions are probably the strongest feature of the book.
So-this is not the greatest book, but it is a quick and easy read, and does have some interesting material. I think I’ll take a break from the Canaan Trilogy and read something else now.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Crown Publishers 2005
Softcover edition-Three Rivers Press 2005
La Bibliofille 