English Standard Version
Exodus 4:24
24At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (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.
Context of Exodus 4:24
22Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23and I say to you, "Let my son go that he may serve me." If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.'" At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. 25Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it and said, "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!" 26So he let him alone. It was then that she said, "A bridegroom of blood," because of the circumcision.
Read all of Exodus 4Exodus 4:24 word by word
וַיְהִ֥י בַדֶּ֖רֶךְ בַּמָּל֑וֹן וַיִּפְגְּשֵׁ֣הוּ יְהוָ֔ה וַיְבַקֵּ֖שׁ הֲמִיתֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 4:24
- Genesis 42:27And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack.
- Genesis 17:14Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
- Exodus 3:18And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.'
- Numbers 22:22But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him.
- 1 Chronicles 21:16And David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
- Hosea 13:8I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open.
- Leviticus 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord has said: 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" And Aaron held his peace.
- 1 Kings 13:24And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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