Exodus 4:24

Exodus 4:24 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.
• New International Version (NIV)At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him.

Context of Exodus 4:24

22And thou shalt say to Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah: Israel is my son, my firstborn. 23And I say to thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me. And if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill thy son, thy firstborn. And it came to pass on the way, in the inn, that Jehovah came upon him, and sought to slay him. 25Then Zipporah took a stone and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, A bloody husband indeed art thou to me! 26And he let him go. Then she said, A bloody husband — because of the circumcision.

Exodus 4:24 word by word

וַיְהִ֥י בַדֶּ֖רֶךְ בַּמָּל֑וֹן וַיִּפְגְּשֵׁ֣הוּ יְהוָ֔ה וַיְבַקֵּ֖שׁ הֲמִיתֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

• wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• soughtבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245

Cross-references for Exodus 4:24

• Genesis 42:27And one of them opened his sack to give his ass food in the inn, and saw his money, and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.
• Genesis 17:14And the uncircumcised male who hath not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his peoples: he hath broken my covenant.
• Exodus 3:18And they shall hearken to thy voice. And thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, hath met with us; and now, let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God.
• Numbers 22:22And God's anger was kindled because he went; and the Angel of Jehovah set himself in the way to withstand him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two young men were with him.
• 1 Chronicles 21:16And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Jehovah stand between the earth and the heavens, and his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. And David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
• Hosea 13:8I will meet them as a bear bereaved of her [whelps], and will rend the covering of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lioness: the beast of the field shall tear them.
• Leviticus 10:3And Moses said to Aaron, This is what Jehovah spoke, saying, I will be hallowed in them that come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron was silent.
• 1 Kings 13:24and he departed. And a lion met him by the way and slew him; and his corpse was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the corpse.

Commentaries on Exodus 4:24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24By the way in the inn - See Clarke's note on 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…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 24In 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…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-31Verses 24-31 God met Moses in anger. The Lord threatened him with death or sent sickness upon him, as the punishment of his having neglected to circumcise his son. When God discovers to us what is amiss in our lives, we must give all diligence to amend it speedily. This is the voice of every rod; it calls us to return to Him that smites us. God sent Aaron to meet Moses. The more they saw of God's bringing them together, the more pleasant their interview…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24-26This incident is mysterious. Zipporah immediately circumcising her son suggests she and Moses had previously discussed it and decided it was unnecessary. Why would having an uncircumcised son make God want to kill the rescuer he had prepared and called? It would seem strange for Moses to arrive in Egypt claiming to represent the God of the Israelites' ancestors, but would not do what God commanded them (Genesis 17:10). This might cause the people to be…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2424. 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…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 4:24

• Circumcision
• Inn
• Moses

In the dictionaries

• Bosom
• Dead
• Inn
• Leprous
• Slow
• Spokesman
• Zipporah
• Bloody
• Egypt
• Exodus, the

Commentaries on Exodus 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings