I started to read the Bible from cover to cover

[Angry Dragon]

In doing this I have run across some things that do not make sense to be
One of them being Exodus 4:21-27 this quote below is from NIV and I am reading the KJV


21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”

24 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses[a] and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)

27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.

I am lost in these words, makes no sense to me. Anyone out there that can tell me what I am missing??

[procon]

1. I did that too whilst in my late teens and at the end I found no rational answers.

There are some universally accepted platitudes that might teach those who are interested the basic tenets of how to be a decent human being, but those same concepts are expressed in many other philosophies and in widely disparate cultures. Finished, I was very disappointed to discover that the vast majority of the text seemed to be little more than a huge con job, a how-to-workbook intended for the rich and powerful so they have an easy method to control and fleece the superstitious and naive yokels.

That's my own take away, and one of several reasons that I am an atheist; your milage may vary.

[Angry Dragon]

4. just trying to get more understanding

[safeinOhio]

2. After trying to get through the OT, I

was relieved when a Rabbi told me it was written for Jewish people, not me.

So, I skipped much of it and just moved on to the NT. Now I keep a Red Letter Bible around and only read what Jesus says about an issue. Not that I buy any of it, just a story.

Suggest reading Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman, when you get there. The Professor takes an academic look at the NT.

[Angry Dragon]

5. Thanks

[TexasProgresive]

3. It is a bit cryptic. I'm going to post the notes from "The New American Bible" (Catholic)

* [4:24–26] This story continues to perplex commentators and may have circulated in various forms before finding its place here in Exodus. Particularly troublesome is the unique phrase “spouse of blood.” Nevertheless, v. 26, which apparently comes from the hand of a later commentator on the original story, is intended to offer some clarification. It asserts that when Zipporah used the problematic expression (addressing it either to Moses or her son), she did so with reference to the circumcision performed on her son—the only place in the Bible where this rite is performed by a woman. Whatever the precise meaning of the phrase “spouse of blood,” circumcision is the key to understanding it as well as the entire incident. One may conclude, therefore, that God was angry with Moses for having failed to keep the divine command given to Abraham in Gn 17:10–12 and circumcise his son. Moses’ life is spared when his wife circumcises their son.

[Angry Dragon]

6. That makes sense ......... I was stymied why god was trying to kill Moses

[FiveGoodMen]

7. I did the same thing and it was probably my biggest single step on the road to disbelief

I think if you poll any group of atheists on why they left religion, about half will say that they read the whole bible.

Some of it doesn't seem to make sense.

Some parts contradict other parts.

And the Old Testament is just full of cruelty. (Not to mention the horror movie that is The Revelation)

[Angry Dragon]

8. I am an agnostic.......it will not hurt me to read it

[bekkilyn]

9. According to notes in my NRSV study bible

4:24-26: The kinship ties beween the Lord and Moses' family are acted out in this story.

4:24: It is unclear who is being attacked by the Lord during the night: Moses' son Gershom? Or Moses himself? In either case, the attack probably represents the Lord's claim on firstborn.

4:25-26: Zipporah stops the attack by circumcising Gershom and warding off the deity with the bloody foreskin. "Feet" is a euphemism for genitals. It is unclear whether Zipporah touches Moses' genitals or is making a symbolic reference to God. Her statement, "Truly you are a bridegroom of blood to me!" eliminates Gershom as the object of her action. If Moses is the object of her action, then the story may represent an ancient understanding of circumcision as a rescue of the firstborn from the divine claim upon their lives, with Moses representing the firstborn. If the Lord is the object of her action, then the story underscores the familial bond between God and human beings. In the context of the book of Exodus, the story prefigures the death of the Egyptian firstborn and the power of the Passover blood to ward off the divine destroyer.

[The Bunny]

10. There is some crazy stuff in the Old Testament

Perhaps it makes more sense in the original Hebrew?

[Angry Dragon]

11. probably would ............ before all the changes from the translations