Many people have a problem with people marrying out of what is perceived as their race. I say perceived race because the bible only speaks of one race and that is the “man” and “woman”, as we see from the beginning:
Genesis 1:26-27
26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
This immediately lets us know that YHWH only made one race. What the bible does differentiate though, are the different nationalities or families that come from the first man ADAM and WOMAN created, which are the three sons of Noah after the flood i.e. SHEM, HAM, (J)YAPHETH.
So from the one race ADAM and WOMAN comes different types man that eventually developed seemingly different customs and traditions over time.
Let us look ate one of the greatest men in the Scriptures to see what its says about biracial relationships, and if indeed it was frowned upon in that time as many frown upon it today.
For this wife can look at the life of Moses and the wife that he married below:
Exodus 2:16-21
16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?
19And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.
20And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.
21And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
As we can see from our reading Moses was given Zipporah a Midianite form the Land of Ethiopia to marry and he did not object, even though we know that Moses was an Israelite from the tribe of Levi.
Exodus 2:1-10
1And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
2And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
3And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink….
10And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
So al this being said, Moses was an Israelite and his Wife was a Midianite. If we read on we see the objection that Moses had to face because of his choice of wife.
Numbers 12:1
1And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
We see Miriam and Aaron who were Moses’ sister and brother showing resentment towards Moses because of his choice of wife. Lets see what YHWH response is to this.
Numbers 12:5-10
5And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
6And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
9And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.
10And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
As we can see here YHWH changes Miriam colour to white, which is because as a woman it was not her place to speak against another male prophet.
Althoough the Most High’s Reason for turning Miriam leprous white is not soley because of them speaking against Moses wife and was also just because they spoke against a Prophet, this can still give us insight.
From this we can see that Moses wife evidently was not a hinderance to Moses even though she was not an Israelite and that there was disapproval of biracial relationships in that time even as there is today.
But let us get to the root of why Moses married Zipporah the Midianite. For this we can see some insight in to the character of Zippoarah.
Jasher 78:7-8
7 In those days Moses, the son of Amram, in Midian, took Zipporah, the daughter of Reuel the Midianite, for a wife.
8 And Zipporah walked in the ways of the daughters of Jacob, she was nothing short of the righteousness of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.
So if we read from the book of Jasher,we get a better insight intowhat Moses wife was like, she was called rightooues,even as rightoues as the Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, who were the originators of the seed of Israel.
It is important to note the fact that, it is not the nationality (wrongly called race) of the person that matters, but whether you and your partner desire to follow the ways of YHWH.
Other mixed relationships are the marriage between Jospeh and tand Mahlon and Chilion who were from the trible of Ephraiam
Joseph marriage to egyptian women, who is the mother of the tribe of Joseph (Ephriam) and Mannaseh:
Genesis 41:45
45And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
The story of Mahlon and Chilion
Ruth 1:1-4
1Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
2And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
3And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
4And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
So with the being said the YHWH puts more emphasis on the rightoeusness of people getting married than on the nationalities (race) of the two people.
Peace and Shalom
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