God tries to kill Moses, but his wife saves him with his son’s foreskin

Everyone knows the story: the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt, God spoke to Moses in a burning bush, and then Moses asked Pharaoh to “let my people go.”

That’s all true, except for a short, 3-verse interlude that never seems to make it into the movies. After being commissioned by God from the burning bush, Moses is on his way back to Egypt when this suddenly happens:

At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then [Moses’ wife] 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!” So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision. (Exodus 4.24-26)

There’s no immediate context or explanation as to why God is suddenly trying to kill Moses, why Zipporah thinks to circumcise their son to save Moses, or why touching the child’s foreskin to Moses’ feet assuages God intent to kill Moses.

But it all worked out (close call!), Moses was able to continue on with his mission, and the rest is history.