God

Moses, the man upon whom God built the nation of Israel, brought his people out of the land of Egypt. By God’s power, he divided the waters of the Red Sea. By God’s power, summoned manna in the wilderness. By God’s power, he led the Israelites despite their obstinate attitudes. He is a greatly respected patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike. But, imagine his legacy to be non-existent. Imagine that he died under the will of the God who sent him. Exodus 4:24-26 is brief story that nearly describes such a scenario. This exegetical study will partake in an attempt to better understand Exodus 4:24-26 through examining its historical and literary context and looking into the scholarly opinions about the topic. The proposal this paper will make is that God is in control of everything. Though He had just called Moses to rescue the nation of Israel, He shows Moses and family his complete sovereignty. God tried to kill someone, but atonement was made and ‘he let him alone’. Despite God’s absolute sovereignty, He still has perfect grace and mercy.
Historical context
The primary idea discussed in the following section is the topic of circumcision. The clarification at the end of Exodus 4:24-26 bolsters the thought which holds circumcision as the reason for the attack. A brief and necessary look into the history of the practice is essential to grasp meaning behind Exodus 4:24-26.
The origin of circumcision is unclear. It is clear it did not begin at God’s covenant of circumcision with Abraham in Genesis 17. According to the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, depictions of circumcisions have been dated to the 3rd millennia B.C.E. despite claims of 23rd century Egyptians inceptions.
The first mention and command of circumcision in...

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...ferring that the direct object of v. 24 is Moses’ son. The pronouns later on in the passage are just as ambiguous and will be discussed in due time.
The final phrase of v. 24 is ‘baqqesh hamitow’ meaning ‘sought to kill him’. This is rendering of this phrase is often disputed. Benno Jacob translates this phrase as ‘threatened to kill him’. Some translations soften the phrase with ‘was about to kill him’. The NIV translates these words to mean ‘tried to kill him’. The question in regards to this phrase is the ‘attempt’ or ‘try’ by God to kill. Elsewhere in the Bible (i.e. God strikes Uzzah dead in 2 Sam. 6:7), God kills without warning or reservation, but in this passage God’s actions are less clear. How does God “seek to kill” someone when he knows everything? The fact that God only sought to kill His target is important to grasp when discussing theories later.