Tuesday, March 29, 2022

The name Zipporah comes directly from the Hebrew word צפרה (ṣipporah), where it is the name of Moses's first wife mentioned in Exodus 4:24–27. She was the daughter of the Midianite priest Jethro. The root צפר (ṣippor) appears to relate to things dealing with birds, be it their piercing beaks, their twittering chirps, or their beautiful plumage. The Aramaic word צפר (ṣippor) means "bird," as in Daniel 4:9, 11, 18, and 30. The Hebrew noun צפרן (sipporen) means either "finger nail" or "stylus point": essentially something that scratches like a bird's beak. The Hebrew noun צפירה (sepîrah) refers to a kind of diadem or some beautiful kind of plumage atop the head, as in Isaiah 28:5. Today, the Hebrew noun ציפור (ṣîppōr) means "bird." The ancient Galilean town of Sepphoris (צפורי) is from this same root.