The answer is elusive and largely depends on whether ones wants to make an argument for monogamy or polygamy. And then, of course,e there are those who want to argue about interracial marriage.
The only name we have for Moses’ wife is Zipporah, her name meaning bird.
A Midian
And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. Ex. 2:21
This is the wife we are all familiar with. She was even in “The Ten Commandments.” Because ‘sons’ is in the plural and not the dual in Ex. 4:20 we know they had a least three sons, two of which are named Gershom and Eliezer, in Ex 16.
A Cushite
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman; Num. 12:1
The only other reference to this woman might be in Josephus’ “Antiquities of the Jews” – Book II, Chapter 10. How Moses made war with the Ethiopians, paragraph 2.
Or this is just another reference to Zipporah.
A Kenite
Then in Judges, we find this curious statement.
And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad; and they went and settled with the people. Judg. 1:16
Jethro/Reuel
Either Moses has a lot of fathers-in-law or the same guy has a lot of names.
Jethro/Jether – meaning wealthy or gift, Ex. 3:1. One time in the Masoretic or Hebrew Text his name is spelled or misspelled as Jether in Ex. 4:18.
Reuel/Ruel – meaning friend of God [ Ex. 2:15-21]
Habab – meaning beautiful or ornamented [Num. 10:29; Judg. 4:11]
The Text clearly states that Jethro is the priest of Midian. [Ex.3:1] However, it never says that he is in fact a Midianite. Many have suggested that He was in fact a Kenite, making Zipporah the Kenite wife.
Who were the Kenites? The first time they are mentioned is in Gen 15:19, where they are the people whose land God is giving too Abraham in the Vatar Covenant. They continued to be allied with Judah and are last mentioned in Jer. 35 as descendants of Rechab.
Could Zipporah have been also the Cushite wife? Possibly, we are not told where the Kenites came from. They do not appear in the “Table of Nations“ in Gen 9. They could very easily have been Cushites.
Lesson
Though we may be curious about details. The Bible does not provide an explanation to many things that are not pertinent to its goal of the reconciliation of man to God. Its prime message is one of salvation, regeneration, and sanctification.
The Song of Songs 