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Why Did God Want to Kill Moses?

The Concept of the Dangerous God in Exodus 4:24–26

Summary/Abstract: The strange pericope of Exodus 4:24–26 is discussed in numerous articles, mainly from the perspective of religious history or rhetorical criticism. Building on the results of previous research, this study confirms earlier suggestions that this passage cannot be connected well with its current context, specifically with the larger call narrative of Ex 3:1–4:18, or with the smaller preceding unit in vv. 20–23. It is unlikely though that Ex 4:24–26 would be an entirely independent text. The earliest narrative segment within the current pericope, reconstructed here as consisting of vv. 19.24–26, was the original follow-up of the Moses-story in Ex 2, specifically 2:23a. The rhetorical claim of our pericope differs from the better-known call narrative in Ex 3:1–4:18, while its terminology is deeply rooted in Ex 2, providing the ultimate reason for the theological problems evoked by the passage. The observations regarding rhetorical and logical problems within Ex 4 seem to be corroborated by independent text-historical arguments, derived mainly from the Old Greek.

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