On the way at a lodging place, Yahweh met Moses and wanted to kill him.
Parallel translations
- KJV And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.
- BSB Now at a lodging place along the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him.
- NKJV And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him.
- NASB But it came about at the overnight encampment on the way, that the Lord met Moses, and sought to put him to death.
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
On the journey God meets Moses and seeks to kill him, a startling and debated episode. It underscores that even God's chosen servant must not neglect God's covenant requirements.
Overview
This brief, difficult passage records God confronting Moses at a lodging place with deadly seriousness, most likely over the uncircumcised state of his son. Faithful interpreters differ on the exact details, but the thrust is clear: covenant obligations cannot be neglected, even by the deliverer. The scene sobers us with God's holiness and prepares for Zipporah's decisive act in the verses that follow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gen 17:14The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”
- Num 22:22–23God’s anger burned because he went; and Yahweh’s angel placed himself in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
- Hos 13:8I will meet them like a bear that is bereaved of her cubs, and will tear the covering of their heart. There I will devour them like a lioness. The wild animal will tear them.
- Lev 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” Aaron held his peace.
- Exod 3:18They will listen to your voice, and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall tell him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh, our God.’
- 1 Chr 21:16David lifted up his eyes, and saw Yahweh’s angel standing between earth and the sky, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
- Gen 42:27As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey food in the lodging place, he saw his money. Behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.
- 1 Kgs 13:24When he had gone, a lion met him by the way and killed him. His body was thrown on the path, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the body.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 4:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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