Indeed, when seen in the light of jewish scripture and tradition, the life of. But zipporah took a flint and cut off her sons foreskin, and touched his feet with it, and said, truly you are a bridegroom of blood to me. New living translation but moses wife, zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. It is significant that the blood that protects is the blood of the son. But zipporah took a flint knife, cut off the foreskin of her son and touched it to moses feet, and said, surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me. Let those who have ears to hear, hear the message of our messianic faith. It was as though god had given moses a second chance and he had begun life as her husband over as a bridegroom cf. At that time she said bridegroom of blood, referring to circumcision. I was reading from the book of exodus and ran across this strange to me passage. She cut off her sons foreskin and touched moses feet with it. The funniest bible verses you have to read to believe. So he met moses at the mountain of god and kissed him. It was then she said, a bridegroom of blood by circumcision. The bible s teaching on the relationship of jesus christ to his church is intensely practical.
The phrase blood groom looks to me like an idiom regarding marrying jews, that a jew is a blood groom because he requires circumcision of the sons. She, then, says, a bridegroom of blood by circumcision. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, new living bible reads. A strange story in the bible is when moses and his wife and son return to egypt. Moses had been as good as taken from her by the deadly attack which had. Bridegroom of blood sermon by johnny wilson, exodus 4. What is the significance of touching moses feet with his. Moses already had two kids and was married, so he could not have been the the bridegroom. This muchdebated passage is one of the more perplexing conundrums of the pentateuch.
However, in arabic hatan or khatin refers to circumcision hebrew study bible, pp. The foolish said to the prudent, give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. Cohen is rabbi of the stanmore synagogue in london, and a frequent contributor to. Jesus christ, the bridegroom, past and future desiring god. When she said a bridegroom of blood, she was referring to the circumcision. The word bridegroom comes from the old english brydguma, which was a combination of bryd bride and guma man. Jesus in every book of the bible author unknown in genesis, jesus christ is the seed of the woman. The book is supposed to be an allegory for gods love, but it reads very much like an erotic poem. That christ is the bridegroom, having the church as his. April 10, 2009 zipporah, the bridegroom of blood, and what they mean to you and me. Childs, the book of exodus london and philadelphia, 1974, p. Then zipporah took a flint and cut off her sons foreskin and touched moses feet with it and said, surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me.
Oh, and by the way, in these three overlooked verses, yahweh tries to kill moses. It was then that she said, a bridegroom of blood, because of the. Darby bible 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. We believe that the holy spirit inspired both the writing and the preservation of the bible, so wed. This view helps explain the use of zxa in verse 26. What exactly is happening in the passage about the circumcision of. But zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her sons foreskin and touched moses feet with it. Karl barth claims the most difficult parts of scripture have better and more. In jesus the bridegroom, dozens of familiar passages in the bible the exodus, the song of songs, the wedding at cana, the woman at the well, the last supper, the crucifixion, and even the second coming at the end of time are suddenly transformed before our eyes. Zipporah is moses wife, and moses is the guy who told pharaoh to let my people go, triggering an. The exodus passage also refers to the term, bridegroom of blood, in many translations. In exodus 4, which deals with gods call on moses, we catch a glimpse of the supreme importance with which god views his blood covenant.
At that time she said, a bridegroom of blood, because of the circumcision. New heart english bible then zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet. The bible is a story of gods relationship with mankind, and most books put god front and center. The apparent incoherence of the placement and the meaning of verses 2426 extends from the fact that it makes little sense for god to want to kill moses right after he has called him to return to egypt as the chosen delivered of israel. Eli lizorkineyzenberg is the president of israel bible center, a premier institute of online higher learning located in central israel. It was then that she said, a bridegroom of blood, because of the circumcision. But zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her sons foreskin, and touched moses feet with it. That passage echoes the hebrew bible s book of joel, one of judaisms 12 minor prophets. In numbers, he is the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Allen is professor of bible exposition, dallas theological seminary, dal.
Zipporah calls moses a blood bridegroom, because she had been compelled, as it were, to acquirehim anew as a husband by shedding the blood of her son glass. This passage has perplexed many students of the word over the years. This is supported by a midrash jewish interpretation in the book of jasher sepir ha yasher 79. And so our bridegroom came to pay our dowry and pledge his betrothal with blood on the 8 th day in accordance with the covenant of promise that the new year would be commemorated with that which would bring in the new era of the new testament, the blood of christ shed for you who would be his bride. Just look up all the instances of bridegroom in the bible. But at midnight there was a shout, behold, the bridegroom. In this way she had gotten him back as her husband, so to speak. The story ends well, but unpacking its meaning is still problematic. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.
Apparently zipporah regarded her act of circumcising her son as what removed gods hand of judgment from moses and restored him to life and to her again. Bridegroom of blood series contributed by johnny wilson on feb, 2009 message contributor. She touched his feet with the foreskin and said, now you are a bridegroom of blood to me. The bride of christ must come to the realisation that her bridegroom is indeed a bridegroom of blood. Zipporah, the bridegroom of blood, and what they mean to. It has much to teach us about how christians can be godly husbands and wives. As a young christian, i read through the exodus story with a wonderful little commentary by bernard ramm, called his way out. Then she said, you are a bridegroom of blood, because of. Zondervan illustrated bible backgrounds commentary of the old testament bridegroom of blood exod 4. Zondervan illustrated bible backgrounds commentary of the old testament bridegroom of blood. Blood moon will be a sight to behold during total lunar eclipse. Many biblical scholars consider the passage fragmentary. Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
What makes the most sense to me is that moses had neglected circumcision of gershom and perhaps of himself, in accordance with the ancient rite revealed to abraham as a sign of the covenant. Zipporah at the inn is the name given to an episode alluded to in three verses of the book of exodus. The word bridegroom appears in the bible in both testaments and carries the same meaning. What exactly is happening in the passage about the. The word bridegroom is used often in the bible as a metaphor for god, specifically for jesus christ. Websters bible then zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet. Seeing the gospel in the book of exodus was foundational for my own christian understanding, but this little book was a window to a larger theological landscape, and was part of my pathway to eventually studying theology and the job i now enjoy. Some scholars see a foreshadowing of the last plague where blood protects the israelites firstborn.
The biblical story would then be justifying this idiom by a giving it a biblical narrative. Moses, maximus, and a bloody valentine the gospel coalition. Jesus, the godman, is the main character in all four books. The book of exodus begins in chapter 1 with a brief recital of. The passage is placed in the context of moses return to egypt, but the rationale for its placement is obscure. This passage is regularly spoken of by scholars as one of the more enigmatic texts in the old testament. He is the author of several books, the most recent of which. Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me, she said. Posted in uncategorized, women in the old testament tagged bridegroom of blood, circumcise, circumcision, exodus, god, moses, zipporah at 2. But moses wife, zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son.
Zipporah at the inn is the name given to an episode alluded to in three verses of the book of. The sequence of four consecutive blood moons known as a tetrad has occurred several times before, in 190910, 192728, 194950, 196768, 198586, and 200304. It is possible that zipporah claimed concerning her husband. Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lampsand went to meet the bridegroom. The bridegroom of blood keil writes that the phrase, a bridegroom of blood, was spoken by zipporah because by performing the circumcision she had saved moses from gods wrath death. A bridegroom of blood or a groom protected by blood. The narrator returns in the verses in question to describe the circumcision scene.