Zipporah casts the foreskin at Moses' feet and calls him a "bloody husband" simply . In this. Her father Jethro was the priest of Midian, and it was he that gave Zipporah to Moses to marry. Ask God to reveal these places and/or things. Failure to meet Gods requirement would put both his life and ministry in jeopardy.3. What surprised you in this Bible study session? that might not be part of it. Zipporah's actions give us a clue. Her father, who is believed to be one of the founders of the Druze religion seems to have affected his daughter in that custom. Devils Line Season 2: Release Date CONFIRMED or CANCELED! But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. At his feet.Moses feet, undoubtedly. ib. Another interpretation, however, has this danger hovering over Moses, and in order to save him, Zipporah circumcises their son.(http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/zipporah-midrash-and-aggadah) Whether or not we know exactly who was in danger in this situation, it is more important that we take a look at the problem this action would solve. The church is married to a bridegroom of blood. What were the names of the two Hebrew midwives? What was that all about? This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. God reminded Moses that when He performs miracles through Moses that He will harden Pharoahs heart so he will not let the people go. 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. 21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. 26 So the LORD let him alone. Grier graduated from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she received a BA in psychology. The narrative begins with a picture of Zipporah circumcising her son. A typical child would not stay still for a scary procedure such as circumcision. Eliezer was Moses' and Zipporah's second son. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This is a text widget, which allows you to add text or HTML to your sidebar. Then she said, "You are a . This act eventually became part of the agreement between God and Israel. Now, in verse 24, the underlined him, refers not to Moses but to Pharaohs firstborn son. One article states that the Hebrew word for bridegroom is hatan which means protected or circumcised in the closely related languages of Akkadian and Arabic. Thats who we are: dead because of our sins and alive because of Christ, through his life and by his blood. Ask Anything. Some parents who have taken their children to the dentist or vaccination will understand. With the prowess of The Lion Kings Mufasa to his son, Simba, Zipporahs actions roar, Remember who you are. You, Moses, are of the bloodline of Abraham. Zipporah circumcised her son as Moses held him still. Zipporah was one of seven Midianite sisters that mistook Moses for an Egyptian after he saved them from the men at the well ( Exodus 2:16-19 ). And it came to pass. (verse 24)), but there is no thematic break. (LogOut/ Zipporah meets Moses at the well. When Zipporah and her sisters spotted Moses the first time, they thought he was an Egyptian, and in many ways they were right. 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. Exactly why Moses had not circumcised his son is not stated in Scripture. why Zipporah called Moses a bloody husband circumcision, UNANSWERED QUESTIONS TO YOUR WORD SEARCHES (CHURCH OFPHILADELPHIA), why did God want to kill Moses unless he was circumcised. So, she had this encounter with the Lord just as what Jacob did before he met Esau again. It was a Monday morning Editors note: To submit a nonprofit announcement to The Sentinels Religion section, contact Tom Laub at (717) Each year Christians embark on spiritual journeys that culminate with Easter celebrations. His name means "Help of my God" in Hebrew. Naturally, this man who rescued these vulnerable young women was a likely suitor for one of the daughters of the Priest of Midian, and they lived happily ever after. 2:16-22). Rev. Did Moses write the first five books of the Old Testament? Zipporah and her six sisters were attending to their daily chores of drawing water and watering their fathers flock. Zipporah knew she was as much to blame for Moses' neglect. Halter portrays Zipporah as a proud, black-skinned woman who refuses to marry Moses, even after bearing his two sons, until he accepts God's mission to lead his people out of slavery. That is why when the circumcision was over, verse 26 says, he let him go. This he is Moses because the nearest male antecedent is bloody husband. This phrase is not about God letting Moses go, but about Moses letting his son go after the circumcision was over. Cast it at his feet - Showing at once her abhorrence of the rite, and her feeling that by it she had saved her husband's life. Zipporah the Midianite was a descendant of Midian, Abrahams son by his third wife Keturah. When Zipporah saw her husband dying before her eyes at the hand of the Lord, she made a split second decision to circumcise her son and throw his foreskin at the feet of her husband. Now, he wanted to go back, but what would happen to him if he did? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God." 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. Till 24, Pharaoh's first born son was the subject. Many translations (even some KJV editions) begin a new section after verse 23 (often with a new section heading), obscuring the fact that him in verse 24 refers to Pharaohs firstborn son mentioned in verse 23. In verse 24, God locks his target on the firstborn son. 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 ). Answer: Zipporah, the name of Moses' wife, is only referenced three times in the Bible (Exodus 2:21, 4:25, 18:2). Although it may seem outwardly there was nothing wrong, to God nothing is hidden! He may have been squeamish about performing such a delicate but bloody act a second time after doing so once. God said that if the children of Israel would not believe the first sign, they will believe the second. morter, brick, and all manner of service in the field. Moses told God that he wasnt eloquent with his speech, which aggravated God. 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. Now we can return to the obvious question at hand. Answer. This leads to another point that perhaps the word foot is euphemistic for Moses genitals. What do you hear the Spirit saying to you/your family/your church/your community. This is a little easier to explain the word feet is a euphemism for Moses genitals. The bride (the church) is restored to her bridegroom (Jesus) by shedding of blood.10, There is a detailed study on this subject of circumcision from ancient to modern times in an article titled Circumcision in the Bible: What was it really all about? When the passage is read correctly in the King James Bible, the passage becomes easy to understand. God told Moses to cast the rod to the ground, and it became a serpent. In what ways do you see the church dying, as Moses was dying on that road to Egypt? The threat of death was not on Moses but on Pharaoh's son. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. On the way, at a place where they spent the night, the Lord met him and tried to kill him. Well, to answer that question, we need a little more background information. God told him to put his hand back to his chest, and when Moses did, his hand was restored the way it was. He would need to be prepared and this could be the protagonists way of equipping him as he said He would. She called Moses a "bloody husband" because of the circumcision. The circumcision of one or both of Moses sons is one of those events. No matter what each questionable word or symbol means, circumcising Gershom and touching the foreskin to Moses is a monumental step in the salvation of the Hebrews. Brother of Goliath or Goliath in 2 Samuel 21:19? Through Zipporahs quick-thinking actions, she evoked the covenant by demonstration so Moses would remember his roots. Thank you for the explanation in simple terms. But now the time had come that God would save His people. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. On the way, at a place where they spent the night, the LORD met him and tried to kill him. And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. 26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. (Exodus 4:21-26, KJV). Exodus 4:25 (WYC) Zipporah took anon a most sharp stone, and circumcised the rod of her son; and she touched Moses? https://drmsh.com/thoughts-on-the-bridegroom-of-blood/, https://www.awordaboutgod.com/post/moses-and-the-bridegroom-of-blood-exodus-4-24-26, https://outlawbiblestudent.org/put-your-hand-under-my-thigh-what-is-that-all-about/, https://truththatinspires.com/biblical-insights/bridegroom-of-blood/, https://outlawbiblestudent.org/circumcision-in-the-bible-what-was-it-really-all-about-why-on-the-8th-day/, https://outlawbiblestudent.org/a-letter-from-an-atheist-about-the-12-commandments/, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-mohel/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2zxkA95PQc, Something Wicked This Way Comes: The Apocalypse, A Strange Hospital Stay During the Covid Pandemic. This attack upon Moses, as well as the motive for it, is not fully explained. If it was, she would not say he was a bloody husband because it would be an expectation that he should be circumcised. Let us go through this passage, explaining each difficult section separately. Moses was on his way to Egypt with his wife, Zipporah, and his sons, Gershom and Eliezer, when the following incident occurred: "It came about on the road at the lodging place that Jehovah got to meet him and kept looking for a way to put him to death. Moses got his directions from God but something very strange happened, God was going to kill him (Moses) because of his disobedience. So as soon as the child was circumcised, the LORD relented from killing Moses, "So he let him alone" (v 26). This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. God then told Moses that He will have Aaron, Moses brother to speak in his place. the Lord met him, and sought to kill himthat is, he was either overwhelmed with mental distress or overtaken by a sudden and dangerous malady. Zipporah The Woman Who Wrongly Opposed Her Husband. It is evident that Zipporah regarded this rite as both barbarous and unnecessary. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another, (John 13:34). The narrative is obscure, but the meaning seems to be, that, led during his illness to a strict self-examination, he was deeply pained and grieved at the thought of having, to please his wife, postponed or neglected the circumcision of one of his sons, probably the younger. Zipporah immediately takes a sharp stone cuts the foreskin off of her son and throws it at the feet of Moses and declares he is a bloody husband. Before delving in to the scholars theories, it is important to remember that due to the fact that Moses was being hidden as a baby and raised as an Egyptian, he was probably not circumcised. Concerned for her husband's safety, Zipporah overcomes her maternal feelings of aversion to the painful rite, performs herself, by means of one of the sharp flints with which that part of the desert abounds, an operation which her husband, on whom the duty devolved, was unable to do, and having brought the bloody evidence, exclaimed in the painful excitement of her feelings that from love to him she had risked the life of her child [Calvin, Bullinger, Rosenmuller]. 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." Apparently God was holding Moses accountable for the breaking of God's covenant. 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. So he let him go: So, God let Moses go; God did not take his life.] This interpretation also makes sense narratologically because the previous verse speaks of God promising to kill Pharaohs firstborn son. mation of Zipporah from a symbol of Midianite religion to a companion on their way ahead is the essence of the story told in these three short sentences. 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. Zipporah calls Moses a bridegroom because she had been compelled to acquire and purchase him anew as a husband by shedding the blood of her son, hence a bridegroom of blood. Moses and Zipporah went on to have two little boys together. Moses said, "I have been a stranger in a strange land." 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