מאת: אבנר רמו
אל: avnerramu @ aol.com
When Abraham was ninety-nine years old God appeared to him and made with him a covenant:
זאת בריתי אשר תשמרו, ביני וביניכם ובין זרעך אחריך: המול לכם כל-זכר.
ונמלתם את בשר ערלתכם; והיה לאות ברית ביני וביניכם.
“This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt Me and you” (Gen 17:10-11).
וערל זכר אשר לא-ימול את-בשר ערלתו--ונכרתה הנפש ההוא מעמיה: את-בריתי הפר.
“And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he had broken My covenant” (Gen 17:14).
Mosess Journey into Egypt and the Circumcision of His Son Eliezer - detail 2 by Pietro Perugino
Moses's Journey into Egypt and the Circumcision of His Son Eliezer by Pietro Perugino, c. 1482.
Although we read that Moses’ wife Zipporah bore a son, who was named Gershom (Ex 2:22), we are not told that he was circumcised. In fact, verse Ex 4:25 suggests that Moses’ son was not circumcised on the eighth day of his life.
As Moses and his wife and son(s) were returning to Egypt:
ויהי בדרך, במלון; ויפגשהו יהוה, ויבקש המיתו.
“And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place, that YHWH met him, and sought to kill him” (Ex 4:24).
The following verse suggests that Zipporah understood that God was about to kill her son because he was not yet circumcised. We therefore, suggest that the word במלון (bamalon) in verse Ex 4:24 is a misspelled: באשר לא מלוהו (baasher lo maluhu) - “for he was not yet circumcised” A similar expression we find in the Book of Joshua: כי לא-מלו אותם בדרך - “because they had not been circumcised by the way” (Jos 5:7).
In the Book of Exodus we read: ונתתה נפש תחת נפש - “then you shall give life for life” (Ex 21:23; see also: 1 Ki 20:39, 42; 2 Ki 10:24), and in the Book of Deuteronomy we find:
כי הדם הוא הנפש - “for the blood is the life” (Deu 12:23; see also: Gen 9:4-5; Lev 17:11).
Now we read in the Book of Exodus:
ותקח צפרה צר ותכרת את-ערלת בנה, ותגע לרגליו; ותאמר, כי חתן-דמים אתה לי.
“Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said: Surely a bridegroom of blood are you to me” (Ex 4:25).
The understanding of the words חתן-דמים as: “a bridegroom of blood” is peculiar and is not supported by the Greek translator who wrote here: “the blood of the circumcision of my child is staunched.” However the comparison with verses Ex 21:23 and Deu 12:33 suggests that
חתן-דמים (khathan damim) is a misspelled: תחת-דמים (thakhath-damim) - “in exchange for blood.”
Now, after the circumcision, Zipporah touches her son’ legs and says: כי תחת-דמים אתה לי - “in exchange for blood you are mine.” Quite a normal response of a greatly relieved mother.