Zipporah's Anger and Frustration as a Mother in Exodus
Zipporah, whose name can mean "beauty," "trumpet," or "mourning" [1], is depicted in Exodus 4:24-26 as acting decisively to save Moses' life, an act that some interpretations suggest stemmed from anger or frustration. The narrative describes Moses and his family on their journey to Egypt when "the Lord met him and sought to kill him" [4]. This divine encounter is widely understood to be a consequence of Moses' failure to circumcise his son [3, 4].
The text does not explicitly state Zipporah's emotional state, but her actions are swift and forceful. She "took a flint and cut off the foreskin of her son and touched Moses' feet with it and said, 'Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!'" [Exodus 4:25]. Immediately after this, "he let him alone" [Exodus 4:26].
Rabbinic tradition offers a vivid portrayal of the severity of the situation and Zipporah's response. Rabbi Yehuda bar Bizna taught that because Moses was negligent about the circumcision, "destructive angels named Af, meaning anger, and Ḥeima, meaning wrath, came and swallowed him, and only his legs were left outside" [5, 6]. This dramatic imagery underscores the mortal danger Moses faced and highlights the urgency of Zipporah's intervention. Her act of circumcision, performed with a flint, was not merely a ritual but a life-saving measure in this context.
The phrase "bridegroom of blood" (Exodus 4:25) is subject to various interpretations. Some scholars suggest it refers to the blood of the circumcision establishing a covenantal bond, perhaps between Zipporah and Moses, or between Moses and God [3]. The urgency and the unusual nature of Zipporah performing the circumcision herself, rather than Moses, suggest a moment of crisis where traditional roles were set aside.
While the biblical text does not explicitly detail Zipporah's anger or frustration, the circumstances strongly imply it. Moses had been called by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, a mission of immense importance [2]. His failure to perform the covenantal sign of circumcision on his son put his own life at risk and, by extension, jeopardized the entire mission. Zipporah's quick thinking and decisive action, even if born of frustration with Moses' negligence, were instrumental in averting disaster.
Zipporah is identified as the daughter of Jethro, also known as Reuel or Raguel, the priest of Midian [7]. Moses had married her after fleeing Egypt following his killing of an Egyptian [8, 10]. Later in the biblical narrative, Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses "because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married" [Numbers 12:1]. While some traditions identify this "Ethiopian woman" as Zipporah, others suggest it might refer to a different wife [9]. Regardless, Zipporah's role in the wilderness journey is significant, particularly in this critical moment of crisis at the inn.
The episode at the inn serves as a stark reminder of the importance of covenant obedience, even for God's chosen leaders. Zipporah's intervention, whether driven by anger, fear, or a deep understanding of the covenant, ensured Moses' survival and the continuation of his divine commission.
Sources
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Zipporah — beauty; trumpet; mourning”
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Exodus — going out, departure”
- Exodus (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Exodus 4:24: 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 hindera”
- Exodus (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Exodus 4:24: inn--Hebrew, "a halting place for the night." the Lord met him, and sought to kill him--that is, he was either overwhelmed with mental distress or overtaken by a sudden and dangerous malady. The narrative is obscure, but the meaning seems to be, that, led during his illness to a strict self-examination, he was deeply pained and grieved at the thought of having, to please his wife, postponed or neglected the circumcision of one of his sons, probably the younger. To dishonor that sign and seal of the covenant was criminal in any Hebrew, peculiarly so i”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 32a.3: Rabbi Yehuda bar Bizna taught: At the time that Moses our teacher was negligent about the circumcision, the destructive angels named Af, meaning anger, and Ḥeima, meaning wrath, came and swallowed him, and only his legs were left outside. Immediately, “Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son” (Exodus 4:25), and immediately “He let him alone” (Exodus 4:26).”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 183a.63:3: Rabbi Yehuda bar Bizna taught: At the time that Moses our teacher was negligent about the circumcision, the destructive angels named Af, meaning anger, and Ḥeima, meaning wrath, came and swallowed him, and only his legs were left outside. Immediately, “Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son” (Exodus 4:25), and immediately “He let him alone” (Exodus 4:26).”
- Exodus (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Exodus 3:1: Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian,.... Who was either the same with Reuel or Raguel, spoken of in the preceding chapter; or, as others think, a son of his, the father being now dead; seeing it was now forty years since Moses came into Midian, Act 7:30. Demetrius (c), an Heathen writer, expressly says that Jothor a son of Raguel, and Zipporah or Sepphora, as he calls her, was his daughter, whom Moses married: now this was the business Moses was chiefly concerned in during his stay in Midian; keeping the sheep of his father-in-law”
- Exodus (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Exodus 2 (introduction): INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 2 This chapter relates the birth of Moses, and his preservation in an ark of bulrushes, Exo 2:1. His being found by Pharaoh's daughter, took up, and put out to nurse by her, and adopted for her son, Exo 2:4, some exploits of his when grown up, taking the part of an Hebrew against an Egyptian whom he slew, and endeavouring to reconcile two Hebrews at variance, when one of them reproached him with slaying the Egyptian, Exo 2:11, which thing being known to Pharaoh, he sought to slay Moses, and this obliged him to flee to Midian, Exo 2”
- Numbers (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Numbers 12:1: And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses,.... Miriam is first mentioned, because she was first in the transgression, and so was only punished; Aaron was drawn into the sin by her, and he acknowledged his fault, and was forgiven: it must be a great trial to Moses, not only to be spoken against by the people, as he often was, but by his near relations, and these gracious persons, and concerned with him in leading and guiding the people through the wilderness, Mic 6:4, because of the Ethiopian woman, whom he had married, for he had married an Ethiopian woman; not a qu”
- Exodus (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Exodus 2 (introduction): Amram and Jochebed marry, Exo 2:1. Moses is born, and is hidden by his mother three months, Exo 2:2. Is exposed in an ark of bulrushes on the riser Nile, and watched by his sister, Exo 2:3, Exo 2:4. He is found by the daughter of Pharaoh, who commits him to the care of his own mother, and has him educated as her own son, Exo 2:5-9. When grown up, he is brought to Pharaoh's daughter, who receives him as her own child, and calls him Moses, Exo 2:10. Finding an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, he kills the Egyptian, and hides him in the sand, Exo 2:11, Exo 2:12. ”