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English Standard Version
Exodus 4:24
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- CondensedParallel Translations
It happened on the way at a lodging place, that the LORD met him and wanted to kill him.
And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.
And on the way, at the place of overnight lodging, Yahweh encountered him and sought to kill him.
As Moses was on his way to Egypt, he stopped at a resting place for the night. The Lord met him there and tried to kill him.
Now on the way, at a place where they stopped for the night, the Lord met Moses and sought to kill him.
Now it happened at the lodging place, that the LORD met Moses and sought to kill him [making him deathly ill because he had not circumcised one of his sons].
But it came about at the overnight encampment on the way, that the LORD met Moses, and sought to put him to death.
And as he was by the waye in the ynne, the Lord met him, and would haue killed him.
Now it happened at the lodging place on the way that Yahweh encountered him and sought to put him to death.
One night while Moses was in camp, the Lord was about to kill him.
At a lodging-place on the way, Adonai met Moshe and would have killed him,
And it came to pass on the way, in the inn, that Jehovah came upon him, and sought to slay him.
On the way to Egypt, Moses stopped at a place to spend the night. The Lord met Moses at that place and tried to kill him.
And it came to pass when Moses was on his way to the inn that the LORD met him and sought to kill him.
At a camping place on the way to Egypt, the Lord met Moses and tried to kill him.
On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the Lord confronted him and intended to put him to death.
And it happened on the way, in the lodging place, Jehovah met him and sought to kill him.
And as he was by the waye in the Inne, the LORDE met him, and wolde haue slayne him.
And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that Jehovah met him, and sought to kill him.
Now on the journey, at the night's resting-place, the Lord came in his way and would have put him to death.
And it came to passe by the way in the Inne that the Lorde met hym, and woulde haue kylled hym.
And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.
And it came to passe by the way in the Inne, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.
And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord met him by the way in the inn, and sought to slay him.
And it came to pass on the way at the lodging place, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.
Now at a lodging place along the way, the LORD confronted Moses and was about to kill him.
And whanne Moises was in the weie, in an yn, the Lord cam to him, and wolde sle hym.
And it cometh to pass in the way, in a lodging place, that Jehovah meeteth him, and seeketh to put him to death;
And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that Yahweh met him, and sought to kill him.
And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.
It happened on the way at a lodging place, that Yahweh met him and wanted to kill him.
And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him.
On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the Lord confronted him and was about to kill him.
The Lord met Moses at a resting place on the way and would have put him to death.
On the way, at a place where they spent the night, the Lord met him and tried to kill him.
And it came to pass, on the way, in the resting-place for the night, that Yahweh fell upon him, and sought to kill him.
And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him, and would have killed him.
At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to kill him.
On the journey back, as they camped for the night, God met Moses and would have killed him but Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' member with it. She said, "Oh! You're a bridegroom of blood to me!" Then God let him go. She used the phrase "bridegroom of blood" because of the circumcision.
Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the LORD met him and sought to put him to death.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the inn: Genesis 42:27, The account in this and the two following verses, although rather obscure, seems to imply, that on their way to the land of Egypt, an angel appeared to Moses, and sought to kill his son, on account of his father's non-observance of the Lord's positive command to Abraham, that every man child of the Jewish nation, or born in his house in servitude, should be circumcised on the eighth day; and the Zipporah, at the command of Moses, immediately fulfilled the injunction, and thus averted the wrath of God, denounced against the disobedient: "The uncircumcised man child, whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people." Genesis 17:14
the Lord: Exodus 3:18, Numbers 22:22, Numbers 22:23, 1 Chronicles 21:16, Hosea 13:8
sought: Genesis 17:14, Leviticus 10:3, 1 Kings 13:24
Reciprocal: Luke 2:7 - the inn Luke 10:34 - an inn
Cross-References
Then the Lord said to him, "Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.
Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And it came to pass by the way, in the inn,.... As Moses and his family were travelling in their way to Egypt, at an inn where they stopped for the refreshment of themselves and cattle, or in order to lodge all night: so it was, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him; not the uncircumcised son of Moses, as some think, but Moses himself, who had neglected the circumcision of his son; that from the context, and the fact of Zipporah, after related, seems to be the reason of the divine displeasure, and not his bringing his family with him, supposed to be an hinderance of him in his work, nor of his staying too long at the inn, and not hastening his journey, which are the reasons given by some: and Moses's neglect of circumcision was not owing to the disuse of it among the Midianites, who being the descendants of Abraham, it is highly probable they retained this rite, and that it was used in Jethro's family, since Zipporah well understood the nature of it, and how to perform it; and it looks as if her eldest son had been circumcised before, seeing only one was now circumcised by her; but the Midianites perhaps followed the same practice as the Ishmaelites did, who were their neighbours, and the descendants of Abraham also, who deferred it till their children were thirteen years of age; or if this child was a very young one, it might have been put off, because of the journey they were just about to take, and purposing to do it when come into Egypt; but this was resented by the Lord in Moses, who had such knowledge of the law of God; and this displeasure of Jehovah might be signified either by inflicting some disease upon him, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi think, which threatened him with death, or by appearing in a terrible manner, as the angel of the Lord did to Balaam, with a drawn sword in his hand.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
In the inn - Or “resting place.” See Genesis 42:27 note.
Met him, and sought to kill him - Moses was attacked by a sudden and dangerous illness, which he knew was inflicted by God. The word “sought to kill” implies that the sickness, whatever might be its nature, was one which threatened death had it not been averted by a timely act. Zipporah believed that the illness of Moses was due to his having neglected the duty of an Israelite, and to his not having circumcised his own son; the delay was probably owing to her own not unnatural repugnance to a rite, which though practiced by the Egyptians, was not adopted generally in the East, even by the descendants of Abraham and Keturah. Moses appears to have been utterly prostrate and unable to perform the rite himself.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Exodus 4:24. By the way in the inn — Genesis 42:27. The account in this and the following verse is very obscure. Some suppose that the Exodus 4:23 is not a part of the message to Pharaoh, but was spoken by the Lord to Moses; and that the whole may be thus paraphrased: "And I have said unto thee, (Moses,) Send forth שלח shallach, my son, (Gershom, by circumcising him,) that he may serve me, (which he cannot do till entered into the covenant by circumcision,) but thou hast refused to send him forth; behold, (therefore,) I will slay thy son, thy first-born. And it came to pass by the way in the inn, (when he was on his journey to Egypt,) that Jehovah met him, and sought (threatened) to kill him (Gershom.) Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut away the foreskin of her son, and caused it to touch his feet, (Jehovah's, who probably appeared in a bodily shape; the Septuagint call him the Angel of the Lord,) and said unto him, A spouse by blood art thou unto me. Then he (Jehovah) ceased from him (Gershom.) Then she said, A spouse by blood art thou unto me, because of this circumcision." That is, I who am an alien have entered as fully into covenant with thee by doing this act, as my son has on whom this act has been performed.
The meaning of the whole passage seems to be this: - The son of Moses, Gershom or Eliezer, (for it does not appear which,) had not been circumcised, though it would seem that God had ordered the father to do it; but as he had neglected this, therefore Jehovah was about to have slain the child, because not in covenant with him by circumcision, and thus he intended to have punished the disobedience of the father by the natural death of his son. Zipporah, getting acquainted with the nature of the case and the danger to which her first-born was exposed, took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son. By this act the displeasure of the Lord was turned aside, and Zipporah considered herself as now allied to God because of this circumcision. According to the law, (Genesis 17:14,) the uncircumcised child was to be cut off from his people, so that there should be no inheritance for that branch of the family in Israel. Moses therefore, for neglecting to circumcise the child, exposed him to this cutting off, and it was but barely prevented by the prompt obedience of Zipporah. As circumcision was the seal of that justification by faith which comes through Christ, Moses by neglecting it gave a very bad example, and God was about to proceed against him with that severity which the law required.
The sharp stone mentioned Exodus 4:25 was probably a knife made of flint, for such were anciently used, even where knives of metal might be had, for every kind of operation about the human body, such as embowelling for the purpose of embalming, circumcision, &c. Ancient authors are full of proofs of these facts. Genesis 50:2.
It is probable that Zipporah, being alarmed by this circumstance, and fearing worse evils, took the resolution to return to her father's house with her two sons. See Exodus 18:1, &c.
