Zipporah in the Bible was the wife of Moses and the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian. 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. Listed on Blogspots Whatever the reason, Zipporah had to think and act quickly in order to save her husbands life. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. What? 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. These speculative answers flirt with unscriptural principles. Verses 22-26 are summarized as follows: In verses 22-23, God tells Moses that God would kill Pharaohs firstborn son. 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 ). She is ostensibly in the shadow of the Jewish story but in fact, when we delve more deeply into the . 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 could indicate why the protagonist threatened Moses life. 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." So He let him go. Still, she was angry and flung the foreskin at "his feet," and said in Exodus 4:25 KJV, "'Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.'". Although it may seem outwardly there was nothing wrong, to God nothing is hidden! 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. This interpretation makes sense grammatically because the nearest antecedent is firstborn in verse 23. The first son of Moses and Zipporah was called Gershom, which means stranger. The name Gershom means foreigner. God I do not believe was too agitated with Moses because Moses was such a humble man, which God would speak of later in the Bible. Once we get the correct understanding of the passage, the hard questions that have plagued theologians for years will vanish. This has to be the bloodiest scene in the book of Exodus since the massacre of Hebrew male children in chapter 1. Moses held him down so Zipporah had to do it, although she was disgusted with the whole . The flesh and blood in the hands of his wife Zipporah would not let Moses forget. 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. It was then she said, A bridegroom of blood by circumcision, (Exodus 4:24-26, NRSV).1. People are asking the wrong questions because they are reading the passage incorrectly in faulty translations. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". 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. And, here comes Moses to the rescue. See References & Notes for the link.14, Copyright 2021, Dr. Ray Hermann Moses' brother, Aaron, married a woman named Elisheba . Why did God seek to kill Moses? Because Moses had chosen to side with the oppressed (the Hebrew slaves) rather than the oppressors (the ruling Egyptians). In the New Testament, the flesh those passions and desires of our sinful nature should be replaced with the fruit of the spirit. Only the Midrash, the Oral Traditions of Judaism, clarifies this answer. We are urged to die to all our false identities and to remember our true identity as siblings of the flesh and blood of the Bridegroom. . For the people of Israel, this was no small thing. Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) explains to Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) what job a mohel13 performs and Elaine gives her opinion about uncircumcised men. Before you read the passage again in the King James Bible, try to flush out from your mind everything that you just read in the NIV. Source: The New International Encyclopdia, Volume 11 (Dodd, Mead) 1911 A.D. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. Exodus 4:24-26. Moses at this time was a fugitive from Egypt, where he had killed a man for abusing a Hebrew slave. Zipporah circumcised her son as Moses held him still. Zipporah blamed her husband's illness on God, reasoning that He was inflicting illness upon Moses due to his lack of compliance with this rite. (m) This act was extraordinary: for Moses was very sick and God even then required it. Holy Week drags us reluctantly down the bloody path to Golgotha. 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. Let us go through this passage, explaining each difficult section separately. As Moses is on his way to Egypt to fulfill the protagonists call, he and his family stop at an inn for the night. Zipporah knew she was as much to blame for Moses' neglect. After doing the needful for her son like that, she owned Moses. Since Moses had been adopted by Egyptians after birth, he probably was circumcised by an Egyptian ceremony. 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. The second article makes a different claim that does not have to do with the idea of protection at all. But the problem is that these supplied names are incorrect. Zipporah meets Moses at the well. There is no need to ask these difficult questions. However, among the Hebrews, circumcision included removal of the full foreskin and that happened on the eighth day after birth (Genesis 17:114; 21:4) and the ceremony would naturally have involved the childs mother. His wife worried more about him then he worried about himself. Answer. We do not send any commercial advertising, and you can easily unsubscribe at any time. (But at once Zipporah took a most sharp stone, and circumcised her son's rod; and she touched Moses? Christmas warns us that flesh and blood matter to God. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Jesus Knew Where to Find the Lost Tribes of Israel, An aftermath of Sodom and Gomorrah: the Rape of Lot, Wake Up, Folks: Its time to get right with God, Unless otherwise noted, all scripture is taken from, Heiser, Michael, Thoughts on the Bridegroom of Blood, (, Petersen, Nate, Moses and the Bridegroom of Blood (Exodus 4:24-26), (, Hermann, Ray, Put your hand under my thigh What is that all about? (, Hermann, Ray Circumcision in the Bible: What was it really all about? Upon returning to the home of their father, the sisters reported the incident of the Egyptian stranger who had come to their aid. This article is part of the She Is Called Women of the Bible Study Series. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. 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. Moses and Zipporah went on to have two little boys together. We are first introduced to Zipporah in Exodus 2:16, as a shepherdess, one of Jethros seven daughters. She lives in Holland, Michigan, with her daughter Gezelle, son Chris, and doggie-woggie Kgabani. Zipporah was not a Hebrew woman, but a Midianite (Exodus 2:16-22). Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. In verses 25 and 26, Zipporah calls Moses a bloody husband because of his strange and bloody procedure of circumcision. The narrative begins with a picture of Zipporah circumcising her son. Her father Jethro was the priest of Midian, and it was he that gave Zipporah to Moses to marry. Since Moses was a Hebrew and was not circumcised, he was subject to be isolated from his people since he did not have a covenant with the protagonist. Her first reaction was to circumcise her son without being told to do so. Moses then took his wife Zipporah and his sons, and went to Egypt. She greatly disliked this rite but executed it in a successful attempt to spare Moses' life. In this. 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. Article (LogOut/ Zipporah is in blue. 26 So the LORD let him alone. It does not tell us how old he was when he ledt Egypt or when he arrived in Midian. He fled from Egypt because of it. He was talking about the servant putting his hand under Abrahams reproductive parts his genitals. Please be aware that, although the majority of posts found on this website are for general audiences, there may be certain controversial, mature, or adult content. . 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. When we read the passage in the King James Bible we get the correct understanding of the passage. The Outlaw Bible Student web site is secured with SSL-encrypted connections. Eliezer was Moses' and Zipporah's second son. Zipporah, being a woman, probably did not have enough strength to completely keep still a grown boy. 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. The action was petulant and reproachful. 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