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Ze’ev Meshel

“The priest of Midian had seven daughters” who came to draw water from the well where Moses was sitting. After helping them water their flocks, Moses was invited to stay with them, and he married one of the daughters, a woman named Zipporah. The woman at the well in the photo at left wears traditional Bedouin garb: The long hooded robe (worn throughout Egypt) is called a jalabiyya; the ‘asaba is a black cloth worn around the forehead, especially by married women; a long veil of coins or shells decorates the face, while rings and bracelets adorn her hands.