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| Q: | Genesis, Exodus In Exodus 4:24, why didn't Moses circumcise his son in the tradition of Abraham? How did Zipporah know she had to circumcise her son to save Moses? | ||||||
| A: | The questions you ask have puzzled commentators for centuries. The text does not answer either of these questions so our answers are only guesses. God's strong reaction to Moses' failure suggests this was due to negligence on Moses' part. Zipporah probably was aware of this from the teaching she received from Moses. Going a little further out on the limb commentators have added the following suggestions. The failure of Moses to circumcise his son was an act of negligence and disobedience. The penalty for neglecting circumcision was to be "cut off" from God's people (Genesis 17:14). This explains why God threatened Moses with death. The apparent reason that Zipporah had to quickly circumcise their son was that Moses was unable to do so because he was incapacitated by the blow the Lord had sent against him. By touching Moses with their son's foreskin Zipporah was demonstrating that the offense which threatened Moses' life had been removed. Her quick action may also have been due to the fact that she realized that the threat to her husband's life was her fault. Most commentators believe that Moses' failure to circumcise his son was due at least in part to the objections of Zipporah. Her comments after she had circumcised their son imply that this ritual was disgusting to her. She said to Moses, "You are a bridegroom of blood to me." This suggests that she thought that her marriage to Moses was forcing her to subject her son to a rite she found repulsive, yet this was the only way she could keep Moses as her husband. The opinion that Zipporah was not in agreement with all that God was requiring of Moses receives some support from the fact that Moses sent her away during the time that he was confronting Pharaoh (Exodus 18:2). Although much about this incident remains a mystery, the basic lesson is clear: God expected that a man who was going to be the leader of his covenant people would be faithful in observing the regulations of that covenant within his own family. | ||||||
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