Baidarka

Here is a rather enigmatic passage from the Torah.

Exodus 4-24 At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met {Moses} [2] and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and touched {Moses'} feet with it. [3] "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me," she said. 26 So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said "bridegroom of blood," referring to circumcision.)

What the.....?
God? Demon? Demi- Urge?
What did the old boy do to make the all mighty one mad?
Whose feet? Feet? Does feet mean penis? What's a "bridegroom of blood"?
What's missing here?

Amaleq13

This is the Amplified Bible's take on it (from the Bible Gateway):

Exodus 4
24Along the way at a [resting-] place, the Lord met [Moses] and sought to kill him [made him acutely and almost fatally ill].
25[Now apparently he had [1] failed to circumcise one of his sons, his wife being opposed to it; but seeing his life in such danger] Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it to touch [Moses'] feet, and said, Surely a husband of blood you are to me!
26When He let [Moses] alone [to recover], Zipporah said, A husband of blood are you because of the circumcision.
27The Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mountain of God [Horeb, or Sinai] and kissed him.
28Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and all the signs with which He had charged him.
29Moses and Aaron went and gathered together [in Egypt] all the elders of the Israelites.
30Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

Footnotes


He who is on his way to liberate the people of the circumcision has in Midian even neglected to circumcise his second son Eliezer (J.P. Lange, A Commentary). It was necessary that at this stage of Moses' experience he should learn that God is in earnest when He speaks, and will assuredly perform all that He has threatened (J.G. Murphy, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus).


PS Belated thanks to Toto for showing how to rename a link.

Magdlyn

That's funny, I had recently noticed this strange enigmatic pericope as well. I was rereading Moses' story at Easter week, as I caught part of the Charlton Heston 10 Commandments on TV (very tacky and taking great liberties with the story).

YHWH seeking to kill Moses right after giving him his commission seemed exceedingly strange to me too. I brought this up on another bd I go to, and several Jews just assumed Moshe did not circumcize his sons or have any of the escaping Hebrews circed on the voyage. One of his lieutenants (Aaron or Josh) had to get everyone circed just before entering Canaan after the 40 yrs.

Yes, I have read feet is a euphemism for penis. YHWH seeking to kill Moses being yet another euphemism, for making him ill, is a handy explanation, but one wonders if it is correct.

Ah, these ancient myths. So cryptic. At any rate, Zipporah saves the day, giving new meaning to the word zipper.

Dean Anderson

So Moses got his foreskin caught in his Zipporah...

Any man can tell you that that is one eye-watering experience.

Amaleq13

:notworthy