24. inn--Hebrew, "a halting place for the night."
the Lord met him, and sought to kill him--that is, he was either
overwhelmed with mental distress or overtaken by a sudden and dangerous
malady. 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. To dishonor that sign and seal of the covenant was
criminal in any Hebrew, peculiarly so in one destined to be the leader
and deliverer of the Hebrews; and he seems to have felt his sickness as
a merited chastisement for his sinful omission. 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].
JFB.
Outline
1 Moses' rod is turned into a serpent
6 His hand becomes leprous
10 He is loath to be sent
14 Aaron is appointed to assist him
18 Moses departs from Jethro
21 God's message to Pharaoh
24 Zipporah circumcises her son
27 Aaron is sent to meet Moses
31 The people believe them
Ancient Customs
Rod
bosom
leprous as snow
slow of speech
slow tongue
the inn
circumcision
bowed their heads
worshipped
Quick Reference Map
Map of the Nile River and Egypt
(Click to Enlarge)
Ancient Topics
rod of God
Ancient People
God, Moses, Aaron, Jethro, Zipporah, elders
Geography
Midian
Egypt
Quick Reference Maps
The Old Testament
Exodus Resources
Moses
and the Exodus
The Giving of the Law
The
Tabernacle
The Wilderness Wanderings