Zipporah

Women of the Bible

by Lois N. Erickson, Arthur S. Maxwell

Zipporah stood motionless. Her father's words whirled through her mind, and her heart surged with anger and pain. How could he give her to Moses a foreigner, a man she didn't trust?

Genres: Historical Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1990

Reviews

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best Biblical fiction I've read - and some of Lois Erickson's other books are better than this. To be fair, there's not much said about Zipporah in Exodus, which gives Erickson lots of room for poetic license, but I admit, I didn't much care for where she went and didn't always buy the plot devices or character development.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The only thing I think the author could have done better is not end the book at a cliff hanger since there is no sequel. All of the elements in this book were realistic. This is because “Zipporah” is based a on a true story in bible times. Zipporah is Moses’s wife and this is the story of Moses told through her eyes. I really enjoyed this book because of its action packed, romance, adventure, and suspense. The author did a really good job making all of the scenes of this book as exiting as possible. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about this bible story in a really fun and exiting way. Or if you just want a good novel to read, this book is for you! Happy reading!

[Evelynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ooooh, so much potential! The story of Zipporah has so many gaps to fill in, and I admire the author's attempt to complete it. But...I don't think she did it justice.

First, there was the plot. It was rather shallow to me, with no really interesting twists to keep the story moving. And the ending was abrupt.

Second, there was the time lapse. I found myself vaguely aware of time passing, but when I realized time had passed, lots of time had passed! Erickson skipped over years, leaving rather large development gaps. Big no-no for me.

Third, character development. I cringe just thinking about it. I didn't feel any romance, chemistry, or even attraction between Moses and Zipporah throughout the story. That's pretty sad. Moses was hardly there most of the time, Zipporah accepted and rejected and didn't have a very strong backbone, Misha was first naggy, then braggy, then distrusting and whiny, then half-accepting (I almost believe the author was trying to portray her as bipolar!); Azaz was too forceful....

Shall I continue? or do you get the point?

Lastly, the whole circumcision/covenant thingy dragged so badly for me! Ugh! I was like, "Why was this the main plot?!"

Over all, this was a disappointing rendition of the story of Zipporah for me. I am sad that I have to give this kind of review to such a promising story, but I can't justify a higher rating, IMHO.

[Pitterpat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this biblical could have been book. Zipporah and Huldah seemed like very real characters with very real problems that women face.