Holy Ground

The subject of this painting is a very curious domestic dispute between Moses and his wife Zipporah that is very briefly described in Ex 4: 23-6. In the background are Moses' feet flanking the central image of the burning bush. On the right is the staff that God gave to Moses. The roman numerals refer to the Ten Commandments. In the upper third of the painting the profile of Zipporah overlays the darkened profile of Moses which in turn contains the Biblical text that describes the drama taking place: God is threatening to kill Moses’ first-born son because he has not been circumcised according to the Covenant that God made with Moses. Apparently, Zipporah, like a protective Jewish mother, had refused to let Moses circumcise him---maybe he was her favorite. Any way, she quickly grabbed a “flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it at Moses’ feet” declaring, “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me!” thus saving the life of her son. The flint knife is displayed as “exhibit A” circled with an inscribed white line, a reminder of Zipporah’s folly, her resourcefulness and ultimately, God’s grace extending back through the Old Testament