Posted by Steven Benjamin on October 19, 2009, 5:43 pm
Exodus Chapter 4 continued
Okay, Exodus chapter 4 brings to surface the issue of Moses’ Circumcision. I wanted you to study the matter out before I commented in full. Now while I believe my view comes by inspiration,
the thing about inspiration is, unless you the person in the position of consideration, believe the author to be inspired, the thing presented is merely, or can be dismissed to merely speculation. If you studied the matter out, then you found there were various view points on this subject all embracing usually one of three ideas. The first, and the one I was taught in Bible College by Jack Schaap at Hyles Anderson Bible College, is that some say Moses had not been circumcised, nor his child, else he would have seen to the task itself, though I do recall Jack Schaap going into the issue of varying viewpoints on the subject as well in his discussion. Schaap recounts the passage of Exodus 4:25 in which Moses’ wife throws the bloody foreskins at his feet with disgust and tells him “Surely thou art a bloody husband unto me.” This as she has just circumcised her son, which is concretely outlined in Exodus 4:25 as well, so we know with certainty that the child had not been circumcised.
Other viewpoints suggest that Moses was circumcised at birth, due to Exodus 2:2 outlining he stayed with his natural mother 3 months before being set on the river in that basket, and logically it stands to reason he would have been circumcised. Such reasoning would continue saying we know he knew he was a Hebrew, and their customs having been raised in the house of Pharaoh’s Daughter by his own mother serving as his nanny, and later showing such in his Murder of an Egyptian. Thus he would have known the importance of circumcision and therefore in failing to see to it his own child was circumcised, and therefore God made Moses sick unto death and then Moses knowing his Sin had to have his wife circumcise the child.
I lean towards this explanation and it is here where the opinions vary again, the first being on whether or not Moses himself was circumcised prior to this encounter in Exodus 4, which I believe he was, and Now the next point of controversy: Who Got Sick? Some viewpoints offer it was Moses only, others the Child only, and others Both He and the Child. Those who say it was the child only who got sick, lean towards Moses not having been circumcised prior, else he would have seen to the act himself on his son. Such viewpoint leans to suggest that in trying to hid him as an infant, such explains Moses’ mother did not circumcise him. So, Zipporah having to Circumcise Moses first to save his life, then also had to do likewise with their child, as Moses was too weak at such point.
Those who say it was Moses only who got sick, fall on both sides of the argument of whether or not he was circumcised prior. One suggests Moses’ was so sick, it was “now or die” moment, and Zipporah was forced to act quickly, and Circumcising her son to save Moses’ life, the other that she before or after do so on her son, did likewise to Moses.
Those who say both Moses and the Child fell sick, also fall on both sides of the fence adopting various logics with combinations of the aforementioned reasons to support their positions.
(Continued next post)
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