After his commissioning at the burning bush, Moses returned to his father-in-law to let Jethro know his intention to return to Egypt. At this point Moses apparently did not say anything about his conversation with God (Exo 4:18).
God provided more encouragement for Moses to return, letting him know that he was no longer wanted for murder in Egypt (v 19). Verse 20 notes that "Moses took the staff of God in his hand", an indication that he was accepting the position to which he had been called. He headed back toward Sinai with his wife Zipporah and sons Gershom and Eliezer.
On that trip God let him know that he needed to fully embrace his calling and identity as a member of the covenant people. Apparently one of Moses' sons was not yet circumcised, and God confronted him on that issue. Verse 24 says that God "met him and sought to put him to death" (v 24). Zipporah, who knew what the issue was and how to do a circumcision, circumcised the son and saved Moses' life.
Different scenarios have been proposed for the background of these mysterious events. In one of them, Zipporah has previously resisted having the son circumcised and now grudgingly does so. In this scenario, her statement that "surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me" (v 25) was meant derisively.
In another scenario, Moses himself also had not been circumcised properly as an infant because of the threat of death that hung over Israelite children at the time. In this scenario, Moses was the one who had dragged his feet on the issue, and Zipporah was actually happy to have it resolved. When she removed her son's foreskin, she "touched Moses' feet" ( v 25), "feet" being a euphemism for his genital area. In this way, she hoped that God would accept her action as a "circumcision by proxy" for Moses, so that their marriage would be considered a covenant marriage with Moses now a valid "bridegroom of blood."
In a third scenario, it is Moses' firstborn son Gershom whose life is in danger. Moses has dragged his feet on the issue, perhaps having given Gershom only a partial "Egyptian-style" circumcision in the past. Zipporah touches the foreskin to Gershom's genitals and declares Gershom a blood relative as part of the circumcision ceremony, saving Gershom's life (see Douglas Stuart's commentary on Exodus).
In any scenario, Zipporah is the heroine in this episode.
Moses and Aaron had a joyful reunion at Sinai. At this point, Zipporah and her sons may have been sent back home, perhaps at Aaron's urging. Aaron would have known what dangers might be awaiting them in Egypt and may have advised Zipporah to go back (see Exod 18:2-4).
Moses and Aaron went on to Egypt, where they met with the elders of Israel and convinced them through the special signs that God had given Moses that their deliverance was at hand (Exod 4:28-31).
A midrash identifies an additional factor that might have helped convince the elders. Verse 31 mentions that the elders "heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel" (v 31). This language about God's "visiting" them previously had been used by Joseph at the end of his life. "God will surely visit you," Joseph had said (Gen 50:25). In the midrash, the Hebrew phrase for "surely visit", pakod pakad'ti, was known as a kind of password that would identify their deliverer. Serah the daughter of Asher had preserved the memory of the password, God had passed it on to Moses at the burning bush (Exod 3:16), and Moses and Aaron's knowledge of the password helped convince the elders.
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