She felt that this was God's way of showing His. I still wonder who warned Zipporah. Hilchot Milah, c. 2. sect. "Moses had been as good as taken from her by the deadly attack which had been made upon him. 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. Confess and repent. Why would such drastic measures be necessary? Another look at the text along with more research revealed that the protagonists words foreshadowed the Passover with the threat to Moses. (m) This act was extraordinary: for Moses was very sick and God even then required it. It is like, as if Moses was forgetting something or he was being bullheaded by not complying with something important. If under the age of 13, or the age of majority in your country, you may use this website only with the consent of a parent or guardian. Him in verse 24 refers to Pharaohs firstborn son. Her father, who is believed to be one of the founders of the Druze religion seems to have affected his daughter in that custom. The expression hatan damim [bridegroom Because of the important role that Jethro played in many of the biblical accounts, we may look at the effect he had as well. 1-No family or home is a perfect place to raise children. "And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Moses went to Jethro, his father in law, and asked him to let him go so he could go to his brothers in Egypt. 26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because . Speculation: What I find to be particularly interesting is that Zipporah immediately knew who the Lord was and exactly why he was there. 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". The protagonist provided Moses with the necessary credentials he needed to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and protected his family in the process. He belonged to the household of his maternal grandfather, Jethro (Yetro) the priest of Midian. Zipporah calls Moses a blood-bridegroom, "because she had been compelled, as it were, to acquire and purchase him anew as a husband by shedding the blood of her son" (Glass). (LogOut/ All the evidence seems to point to Zipporah and Jethro as being against it, but Moses was still held accountable before God. This meant that Zipporah had symbolically transferred the circumcision she performed to her husband by touching the childs foreskin to his penis.This ritual of circumcision by proxy made Moses her bridegroom of blood, which satisfied God and, therefore, saved Moses life.7, Euphemisms are used all throughout the Old Testament. Punishment for failing to be circumcised falls upon the child, not the father (Genesis 17:14). In Hebrew, Zipporah ( Tspporah) means "bird.". Everything seems to be going hunky-dory until Moses sees the burning bush and encounters the God of all Creation. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Moses' brother, Aaron, married a woman named Elisheba . From the material I have read, it looks like Zipporah put some pressure on her hubby not to circumcise the boy. QUESTION: Why is Moses saved by Zipporah circumcising his son in Ex 4:24-26? It does not store any personal data. In verse 26, the circumcision is finished and Moses lets go of his son. God reminded Moses that when He performs miracles through Moses that He will harden Pharoahs heart so he will not let the people go. Blood and water flow from the side of the bridegroom in those last moments on the cross. Source: Memorials of Gilbert Haven, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) 1880 A.D. Zipporah bore for him two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. At least, the Egyptian in him had to die in order for the bloody, Israelite Moses, in his truest identity, to fulfill the purpose for which he was born. Answer (1 of 3): The verses in question are Exodus 4:24-26, the context is Moses, his wife Zipporah and their son Gershom reaching an inn on their way from Midian to Egypt to announce the plagues to the Pharaoh. Now, he wanted to go back, but what would happen to him if he did? While he was in Midian he married Zipporah. This Old Testament procedure showed that the flesh must be physically sacrificed, whereas in this current age, the sacrifice of the flesh is spiritual. She took the razor-sharp flint stone and severed her son's foreskin. These scholars are thinking too hard. Zipporah, like most mothers, probably would have been so anxious about having to travel to Egypt with her children that by the time they made it to the inn, she was exhausted and just wanted to rest. How many children did they have? This is a unique case in the entire Bible when a woman performed the circumcision. Many non-Hebrews who have never seen circumcision might find the procedure utterly strange, inhumane, and disgusting. She, no doubt, witnessed the hesitation of Moses to act and decided to take matters into her own hands. The first concerns the meaning of the phrase bridegroom of blood which is mentioned twice in the excerpt. This leads to another point that perhaps the word foot is euphemistic for Moses genitals. Answer: Technically, no. I enjoy all that I have read so far. And Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and threw it at his feet, and said, "Surely a bloody husband you are to me." However, Zipporah is shown as fiercely devoted to her husband, even though he neglects her. Moses left Egypt and ended up in Midian. 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.. And it came to pass. (verse 24)), but there is no thematic break. Orange Is The New Black Season 8 Renewed Or Cancelled? Whats more, God had just revealed himself to Moses and demonstrated great power in and through him. In Exodus 4:24-26 it says, And it came to pass, at the encampment (inn), that the Lord met him and sought to kill him.. Eliezer was Moses' and Zipporah's second son. Maundy Thursday leads us to a bloody table and to a garden where Judas Iscariot has blood on his hands. We can also safely conclude that Zipporah opposed the circumcision of her son. Zipporah regarded the bloody rites of her husbands religion as cruel and barbarous, and cast the foreskin of her son at his feet, as though he were a Moloch requiring a bloody offering. Zipporah was not a Hebrew woman, but a Midianite ( Exodus 2:16-22 [16] Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. The meaning is: The marriage bond between us is now sealed by blood. One scholar believes that the surrounding verses highlight Moses as fearful or ill-equipped and Zipporah counteracts his timid behavior by stepping up to circumcise her son in order to save Moses and the Hebrews lives. Book of Revelation in the Textus Receptus. Romance, Passionate Love, Sexual Pleasures: What Does the Bible Say?. 2:16-22). (b) Maimon. The Text of Torah tells us this. She recently ended a 12-year tenure as lead pastor at Maple Avenue Ministries in Holland, Michigan. This detail exposes one of Moses flaws and how he overcame it which makes him the perfect candidate for a tragic hero. 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. God came to Aaron and told him to go into the wilderness and meet his brother Moses. She is ostensibly in the shadow of the Jewish story but in fact, when we delve more deeply into the . Zipporah, daughter of Jethro Reuel of Midian, was the wife of Moses. By performing the rite, Zipporah had recovered her husband; his life was purchased for her by the blood of her child. We are committed to writing about what God wants you to know not what some churches only want you to hear. All - I would like clarity as to why God wanted to kill Moses in Exodus 4:24: KJV: 24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. He has self-published three books, Common Thoughts on The Word in 2016 and Eye of a Needle in 2017 and Common Thoughts on The Word II in 2019. (http://www.egrc.net/articles/Rock/Exodus/BrideGroomOfBlood.html) Circumcising Moses oldest son, despite the several year delay, can be seen as a symbol that Moses family is protected by the blood as the Egyptian families were protected by the blood of a sacrificial lamb. Install this BHITB on your iPhone and then Add to Home Screen. Source: The New International Encyclopdia, Volume 11 (Dodd, Mead) 1911 A.D. She is a longtime student of the Word who brings dynamic and prophetic insights to her preaching, teaching, and pastoral life. She and Moses lived under the authority of her father, a priest of God amongst the Midianites. This could indicate why the protagonist threatened Moses life. Zipporahs story should always be told alongside Mosess, for without her, he would surely have died before returning to Egypt, still unclear about his true identity. The story of Moses being born to a Hebrew, hidden from the Pharaohs men until he was three months old, placed in a homemade basket on the Nile River, and found and raised by Pharaohs daughter is one of the most famous tales from the Old Testament. 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. 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. Now we can return to the obvious question at hand. at least, not anymore. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Exodus 4:25-26 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. There have been many attempts to answer these questions, but they are all very speculative. We can also safely conclude that Zipporah opposed the circumcision of her son. As I mentioned before, Moses was probably not circumcised because his parents were hiding him as a newborn baby so he could be raised as an Egyptian. It was then she said, A bridegroom of blood by circumcision, (Exodus 4:24-26, NRSV).1. We can prove that by tracing their lineages in scripture. Zipporah, the wife of Moses, receives very little exposure in the Bible. Circumcision was not the same medical practice it is today, but circumcision was a sign of the covenant God had made with Abraham and his descendants. Takedown request | View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org. When Moses fled from Egypt to the land of Midian, he met Jethro's seven daughters, who were having some trouble getting enough water for their flocks ( Exodus 2 ). Upon returning to the home of their father, the sisters reported the incident of the Egyptian stranger who had come to their aid. [17] Zipporah was Moses's first wife in the Bible. Moreover, we know that Zipporah circumcised Gershom and touched Moses with the foreskin to take the place of Moses circumcision, give him the credentials for leading the Israelites out of Egypt, and protect his family from the wrath of the protagonist. This passage is rather uneventful and straightforward if we read it properly. Moses fears for the safety of his son because the son had not yet entered into a covenant relationship with God. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her sons foreskin and touched Moses feet with it and said, Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me! So he let him alone. He may have been squeamish about performing such a delicate but bloody act a second time after doing so once. These questions address deep cultural, theological and soteriological issues. Crucifixion thoughts & How did they get the nails out? 25 So Zipporah took a flint, cut off her son's foreskin, and threw it at Moses' feet. 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