Texts in Conversation
In Exodus, the Masoretic text says Zipporah circumcised either Moses or her son to end God's sudden attack, a famously difficult passage. The Samaritan Pentateuch says she 'circumcised her heart,' using Deuteronomy's command to circumcise the heart to explain the story.
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Exodus 4:24
Hebrew Bible
22 You must say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord has said, “Israel is my son, my firstborn, 23 and I said to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve me,’ but since you have refused to let him go, I will surely kill your son, your firstborn!”’” 24 Now on the way, at a place where they stopped for the night, the Lord met Moses and sought to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off the foreskin of her son and touched it to Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26 So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” referring to the circumcision.)
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Samaritan Exodus 4:24
Samaritan Penteteuch
Samaritan
22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: 23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. 24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to stun him. 25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and circumcised her blocked heart and brought herself to his feet, and said, you are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me. 26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.
Date: 130-120 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... 4:24-26 “Circumcised her blocked heart” — The Israelite Samaritan version is a special and different version from the Masoretic text and in the case of the incident at the lodging-place pronunciation results a variation. In the Jewish version, verse 25 has the pronunciation of “benah,” meaning her son. In the Samaritan version it is pronounced “binnah" meaning her heart ..."
Tsedaka, Benyamim
The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah: First English Translation Compared with the Masoretic Version
(pp. 132-133) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2013
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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