Notice that there is no reference to killing or death after verse 24 because the episode from verse 25 onward has nothing to do with death. Now, in verse 24, the underlined him, refers not to Moses but to Pharaohs firstborn son. Some translations might be easier to read, but they may not be easier to understand. Genesis 17:10 reads, This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+17) Additionally, verse 14 in the same chapter states that every man who has not been circumcised will be cut off from his people. 26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. . (Genesis 17:9-12a). A bloody husband - Literally, "a husband of blood," or "bloods." The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". What do you hear the Spirit saying to you/your family/your church/your community. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Shiphrah and Puah. The difficult questions asked by scholars are easily answered, and some of them simply become irrelevant. This is supported by a midrash (Jewish interpretation) in the Book of Jasher (Sepir Ha Yasher) 79:8-12 (which is not the authentic Book of Jasher mentioned in the Old Testament). Why did Zipporah do what she did? sect. So as soon as the child was circumcised, the LORD relented from killing Moses, "So he let him alone" (v 26). See Exodus 2:11 4:31 for the Bible story. Confess and repent. Amen. Verse 24 says that the LORD met Pharaohs firstborn son in an inn and determined (sought) to kill him. She calls Moses, who represents Christ, a "bloody husband" and this represents the tribulation time. Moses said, "I have been a stranger in a strange land." Circumcision is a covenant, not a sacrifice that atones for sin. His name means "Help of my God" in Hebrew. Copyright The Sentinel | https://www.lewistownsentinel.com | 352 Sixth Street, Lewistown, PA 17044 | 717-248-6741, And it came to pass, at the encampment (inn), that the Lord met him and sought to kill him., And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant., Surely you are a husband of blood to me., And Jethro, Moses father-in-law came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness., I am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.. In Genesis 17:14 it says, And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant. Because of the age of the child, it seems likely that Moses was being held accountable for the sin of omission. ((c) Maimon. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. This interpretation also makes sense narratologically because the previous verse speaks of God promising to kill Pharaohs firstborn son. Answer: While the Bible does not state all of reasons God used to justify wanting to kill Moses, we can take what information is available and derive a fairly good explanation. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Also note that it says circumcisions plural. Lastly, one final question that I asked as I read the passage was what the situation symbolizes in relation to the entire text. Remember who you are; you are a bridegroom of blood. The Outlaw Bible Student web site is secured with SSL-encrypted connections. In what ways do you see the church dying, as Moses was dying on that road to Egypt? After the resurrection, Jesus invited Thomas to touch him in the bloody parts, his hand and his side. All rights reserved. She lives in Holland, Michigan, with her daughter Gezelle, son Chris, and doggie-woggie Kgabani. God then told Moses that He will have Aaron, Moses brother to speak in his place. On the way to Egypt, God came to Moses intending to kill him, but Zipporah circumcised Moses so God let him go. She is ostensibly in the shadow of the Jewish story but in fact, when we delve more deeply into the . Answer. It is mentioned in Genesis, chapter 17, when God repeats his covenant of solidarity with Abraham and his descendants and explains his demands. Note: Page 603 of the source. Zipporah's actions give us a clue. Devils Line Season 2: Release Date CONFIRMED or CANCELED! Does the Masoretic Text Underlying the KJV omit Joshua 21:36-37? Your email address will NOT be published. QUESTION: Why is Moses saved by Zipporah circumcising his son in Ex 4:24-26? Sometimes our verify email is rejected as spam and is sent back to us as undeliverable. God bless us all! Perhaps He may have thought the act was not that important and therefore did not do it. There is no need to ask these difficult questions. Verses 22-26 are summarized as follows: In verses 22-23, God tells Moses that God would kill Pharaohs firstborn son. Then she said, "You are a . But now the time had come that God would save His people. The term bloody husband is merely Zipporahs criticism of a husband who performs an apparently strange and bloody procedure. Zipporah casts the foreskin at Moses' feet and calls him a "bloody husband" simply because she is disgusted by the bloody procedure of circumcision. These verses, concerning a circumcision,2 are odd and confusing, and some commentators believe they are out of place. Only the Midrash, the Oral Traditions of Judaism, clarifies this answer. In fact, she may have discouraged the practice in her own way. If you have any suggestions and queries you can contact us on the below details. A little bit of kindness and compassion on the part of Moses turns a casual meeting into a close relationship. (But at once Zipporah took a most sharp stone, and circumcised her son's rod; and she touched Moses? Zipporah said to Moses A bloody husband you are to me, because of the circumcision. One may wonder why God would come to Moses to kill him before he was circumcised, but I think its a safe assumption that the Lord had told him to be circumcised but he refused. As a result the Lord decides not to kill Moses. Zipporah is Moses's patrilineal cousin and his second wife. But Zipporah took a flint and cut off her sons foreskin, and touched Moses feet with it, and said, Truly you are a bridegroom of blood to me! So he let him alone. 25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. What were the names of the two Hebrew midwives? Zipporah meets Moses at the well. As Moses and his family arrive back in Egypt he meets up with the Lord who seeks to kill him. Why do that? And in the Book of Ruth, it says, When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do, (Ruth 3:4).8. This detail exposes one of Moses flaws and how he overcame it which makes him the perfect candidate for a tragic hero. Change). Catullus. Note: Page 209 of the source. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Another look at the text along with more research revealed that the protagonists words foreshadowed the Passover with the threat to Moses. 25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. The underlined words above are words that were supplied by the NIV translators. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. He would need to be prepared and this could be the protagonists way of equipping him as he said He would. Source: The New International Encyclopdia, Volume 11 (Dodd, Mead) 1911 A.D. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The Exodus passage also refers to the term, bridegroom of blood, in many translations. Why did Zipporah say to her husband "You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me" in Exodus 4:25? Exodus 4:25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. It was on his way back to Egypt that the event described in the text took place. 1-No family or home is a perfect place to raise children. The writer asserts that perhaps the reference to blood-bridegroom reflects the custom of circumcision before marriage. We can prove that by tracing their lineages in scripture. You can use them to display text, links, images, HTML, or a combination of these. Start studying Bible Bowl (Exodus Chapters 1-5). What isnt immediately obvious in scripture is that Moses had two wives and Zipporah was the first. Interestingly, the modern English terms testify and testimony originated from this use. Every male child had to be circumcised or else 'that person shall be cut off from his people' (Genesis 17:14). Her father Jethro was the priest of Midian, and it was he that gave Zipporah to Moses to marry. Being he was a humble man, I dont believe Moses meant to defy God on his own, but perhaps it was his wife Zipporah that refused to do it. We must remember who we arebride of Christ, circumcised in our hearts, dead to sin, our flesh perpetually cast at the feet of Jesus in confession and repentance. Finally Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and caused it to touch his feet and said: 'It is because you are a . Moses fears for the safety of his son because the son had not yet entered into a covenant relationship with God. In Numbers 12:1, she also is called a Cushite ("black" or ancient "Ethiopian") woman. Upon returning to the home of their father, the sisters reported the incident of the Egyptian stranger who had come to their aid. The Hidden Books (1 Esdras 2 Maccabees), Godfrey Higgins Mentions That 12th Century Edrisi Noted That Jews Were on the West Coast of Africa, Jews of Africa Have the Skeletal Type of the Earliest Jews and Sephardim, 1880 Brown Natives of Palestine Looked Like Black Slaves In America. Compare Jeremiah 13:23 (translated "Ethiopian"). Some scholars believe that the term bridegroom of blood (same as bloody husband in the KJV) signifies Zipporahs religious idea about blood sacrifice and covenant. This article is part of the She Is Called Women of the Bible Study Series Prayer Great I Am, light the path before us we pray. A new section begins from verse 25. Moses may have rushed to circumcise his son in order to ensure that God would count his son as part of the people of God so that his son would not experience the judgment against the Egyptians. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. In Hebrew, her name means bird or little bird. We first meet Zipporahwho later became Mosess wifeat a well in her hometown of Midian. Shulchan Aruch, par. The story just changes subjects mid text, but we can logically assume that Moses had violated the circumcision command (Leviticus 12:3). When the passage is read correctly in the King James Bible, the passage becomes easy to understand. Then again, as some researchers suggest, God may have sought to kill not Moses, but Mosess son because he had not been marked as a member of Israel through circumcision. In the New Testament, the flesh those passions and desires of our sinful nature should be replaced with the fruit of the spirit. This interpretation makes sense grammatically because the nearest antecedent is firstborn in verse 23. Zipporah, having circumcised her son, corrected the mistake and saved her husband, whose life was in danger due to non-observance of the commandment. God told Moses in time that he will take water from the Nile and pour it on dry land, and the water and the river will become like blood. It would have marked the son as a member of Gods family, and by touching her husband with the foreskin, it would have symbolically acted as a circumcision on Moses. Zipporah had borne two sons to Moses, but he had failed to perform circumcision on his sons. Unlike his Egyptian peers, he was circumcised. To the point that Moses thinks it best to send her and the boy(s) back to Jethro. Having a break between verse 23 and 24 is not necessarily wrong because there seems to be a chronological break between the two verses (e.g. And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. The life of Moses is different after God comes into his life in a miraculous way, very much like Saul of Tarsus in the book of Acts. Sometimes its our careers, our family name, or our traditions that are such a part of us that we forget Pauls reminder that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and our identity is hidden in Christ. Moses left Egypt and ended up in Midian. Nedarim, fol. God can take our humble attempts and use them for His honor and glory. In verse 23, God makes it clear that he will slay Pharaohs firstborn son if Pharaoh refuses to let go of Israel. After God brought His people out of Egypt through the leadership of Moses, Jethro reunites Moses and his family in Exodus 18:5-6. So, she had this encounter with the Lord just as what Jacob did before he met Esau again. Note: Page 340 of the source. When Zipporah and her sisters spotted Moses the first time, they thought he was an Egyptian, and in many ways they were right. The Bible is filled with sexual innuendo, which celebrates sexual love. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. He has also had articles published in The Coming Home Journal and local newspapers and has written a childrens book. "Son of God" or "Son of the gods" in Daniel 3:25? Of her three appearances in the text, she only speaks one time, in Exodus 4. Yore Dea, Hilchot Milah, c. 264. sect. Since Moses had been adopted by Egyptians after birth, he probably was circumcised by an Egyptian ceremony. Why his feet? The flesh and blood in the hands of his wife Zipporah would not let Moses forget. Ask Anything. In his mission to Pharaoh, Moses was to be placed in a position of great peril; his life could be preserved only through the protection of holy angels.

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