The WEIRDEST Part of Exodus (The Bridegroom of Blood Episode) 

I like your interpretation, its paints Zipporah as not only a supportive partner who helps her husband accept himself and his role, but also someone willing to step up when need be.

“Bridegroom of Blood” sounds like something that would be said in Fromsoft games, and no one would agree what the heck it means.

"Bridegroom of blood? Sounds interesting!" OH GOD

It's always interesting to look at verses like these because whoever compiled Exodus thought this part was important. Otherwise, they wouldn't have included it, but the cultural context necessary to understand it has been lost to time.

Learning about the Bible in church: 😪 Learning about the Bible by watching Jake's videos: 🤩🤩🤩🤩

Bro I love the fact God is usually calling as if it is was part of a discord or zoom meeting

Rabbis, Priests, and Academics have argued over and studied this passage for centuries. Now Jake is adding to the list of arguing and studying.

little correction: at 6:23 the word for bridegroom is spelt "חתו" when it should be spelled "חתן", the last letter should just be slightly longer.

"He's a stranger in a strange land." The saying: 😃 The book: 💀

It's about to get religious here. Can't wait

Orthodox Jewish school graduator here! Very interesting take. Personally when I studied it in school our teacher gave a cool possible explanation to this story. It happens right after God displays Moses his powers (the snake, the leprosy) And gives him the instruction to demonstrate these miracles to the Kartums (idk how to call them in English sorry). For each miracle, Moses experience it first on himself, then learns to control it after commiting a certain action, right? Now this cycle happens again. God tells Moses that he intends to kill The Egyptians first borns, and threatens or intends to kill Moses' own son- but not really, he is teaching him again how to control this power and protect people from it: by bloodletting, just like the Hebrews did later when they painted their walls with blood. There are still many questions regarding this bizarre, fascinating story, but thats just a nice take I remember. BTW looove the bible videos! :) Are you a native Hebrew speaker?

I really love how much you use guns in these videos lol. Moses killing someone ? A gun ? Norse warrior killing a monster ? A Gun. It makes me laugh

Looking at the story in the vein of the Documentary Hypothesis video: the Bridegroom of Blood story is usually considered as being from the J source, and Joel Baden (following off of Benjamin Bacon) argues that originally in J, Moses leaving Midian (vv. 19-20a) & the Bridegroom of Blood story may have been placed _before_ the Burning Bush, rather than after. Now, this re-arranging doesn't necessarily serve to explain much of the specific details (God's intentions, the circumcision's purpose, "bridegroom of blood"'s meaning, etc), and is still compatible with several of the other given suggestions. However, it does re-contextualize the story as more of a test of Moses by God to see if he is the right person to serve as his prophet in Egypt, rather than God seemingly switching up on Moses after already having given him the job.

This is really interesting As an atheist, I love learning about the Bible It’s such an interesting piece of literature

I was not expecting to start my morning learning about forced circumcision. good vid 👌

Me: what's the context? Jake: BIBLE

8:36 Hey it's me! the comment in the centre Btw, the rest of your pronunciation in that video was great and in this video you preformed even better. Great video, Love your channel and keep up with the good work!

Dear advertisers, This video is so friendly to you. I just couldn't help but watch through every single ad. I even clicked on one because of the family friendly mood i was put in by this video.

I like the idea of Zipporah delivering this (presumably in context) sick one-liner, then immediately following up with an awkward explanation.

HELP I DIDNT EXPECT THIS VID TO BE 12 MINUTES FOR A VID ABOUT 3 MERE VERSES, You are literally good at explaining jake, also i miss your fresh look

The biblical authors were smoking that burning bush when they wrote all of this.

🎶Ur playing with the big boys now🎶

When i was reading this part i was so confused and caught off guard it was so random

11:15 "This is (Zephora) taking the situation into her own hands" Yea... that's one way of putting it. Snip snip stab stab.

The best context I've ever heard for the use of "God hardened his heart" In the Bible is to think of it like this: God is the sun and the hearts of men are made of either wax or clay. When the sun touches wax It melts and becomes malleable, but when it touches clay it becomes hard and unworkable. In the wider context of Exodus this does kind of make sense because Even after seeing the power of God, the Pharaoh doesn't immediately Acquiesce to the entirety of Noah's demands reasoning that the aim of the Israelites could be to cause harm to Egypt. So in that sense his heart was hardened by suspicion of God's intentions rather than God intentionally making him be difficult. No idea if this is the best way to look at it, but It does seem to fit as the only way to make hardened clay workable again is to destroy it and start over.

The Old Testament needs the same parental warning as Game of Thrones.

“Get Out Of My House! Exodus!”

Holy shit, I just started reading the bible and got to that passage literally the day before this came out, and I had no idea what it was talking about.

I'm not religious at all but very much interested in history and the real background behind the bible stories or any of the myths you cover. Your videos are so enjoyable to watch with the funny animations and great-to-listen-to voice. I am always curious if a new video of yours arrives in my notifications. Thank you for your work!

Wow! I can feel myself getting Holier-Than-Thou with this one

6:50 - Little correction- The case of a person who'd murdered and is forgiven if he lives in a city of refuge until the death of the high priest is not actually that similar to Moses's case because you can only be forgiven for your murder if it was an accident (Beshogeg). In the case of Moses killing the egyptian man was intentional, thus the rule wouldn't apply here

Very good, as always! Thank you! I love your videos!

LOVE these animations!

Jake got a character design update to match his art style! Instead of whites in the eyes, he has colored wide dots.

That sounds like something you would see in an episode of a series about the exodus that the author add to make the story and characters make more sense

Hello, a religious (Orthodox) Jew here. Just wanted to say, regarding your explanation (and maybe this passage in general, IDK): an interesting fact is that in the biblical context, the Midianites are also descended from Abraham - something I don't remember being referred to by commentators on this. Not sure it matters that much, considering historical evidence of circumcision being generally practiced in the area, but when you take the perspective of it being a part of Moses' theoretical identity struggle... Maybe Zipporah had traditions that were related to those of the Israelites, maybe that was a part of her motive there. IDK. I might be a part of a very conservative religious group, but trying to understand the Bible in your own terms is still something I find interesting. Though there was a huge disagreement about it not too long ago...

8:38 let’s gooo he put me in the video

I unapologetically love this take on it. I always sort of gloss over that part of exodus, and never really think to deep into Moses’ motivations.

The active form of the verb when God is hardening the heart of the pharaoh could just mean he let his heart be hardened, not that he actively hardened it. This is how many other sentences are translated.

Considering the time period how they recorded time and how we do it might not be the same so 80 years to them might not be 80 years to us

Is there a possibility that at one point there were multiple gods in the story that were later collapsed into a single one? That would explain the confusing decision of recruiting Moses then immediately turning on him. Perhaps it could also explain how this Yahweh considers only the Israelites to be his people and not the Egyptians as well

I know it was just your personal opinion that made you up with this story but when I think about it, it makes so much sense! Honestly thank you for your hot take!

I love this episode, very informative

This section was one of the first of MANY passages I read while growing up, when I was a good faithful religious household child, that made me think "well this is just silly ain't it". Exodus is crazy bazar.

I love how your style has evolved over time and how much better the quality of your animations is now

Okay... Now I'm curious to see how it's written in my grandma's bible, I don't remember this part at all. 😅 Great job, though!

Don't know if this will help in later videos, but a great deal of Bible stories follow the Kiastic trope where the beginning and the end comment on each other with the middle being the more important part.

6:16 you made a mistake in hebrew "bridegroom" in hebrew is חתן (Hatan) with the letter final nun you wrote חתו (Hato) with the letter vav which mean "his fear"

thank you, THANK YOU for removing those perilous pupils! those ominous eyes! those languishing lookers! 👀👀👀👀

I appreciate that you took the time to understand this passage instead of just mocking/or being disgusted (but of course, it ain't wrong to call this one weird imo ... 'cuz it is.)

That burning bush must’ve been GOOD STUFF for all this to happen after it

God so gangster with the Glock. Good vid, I look forward to your next animation development.

Hi, if you want to explain more weird rituals in other religions, you can cover the Ashvamedha/ the horse sacrifice in the Vedic tradition. Trust me, it gets VERY weird.

It feels valuable to point out that Zipporah is quoted as saying "surely you are a bloody husband unto me" in the KJV. I've also heard it explained that 1) God hardening Pharaoh's heart was not an active decision by God, but rather it means the thought of God getting what he wants makes Pharaoh angry. Last note, to my understanding God attempts to kill Moses because having an uncircumcised child would make him unacceptable to the Israelites and incapable of leading them. This is a "scared straight" tactic, as God would have known that Zipporah would put the pieces together, and/or God getting ready to start the entire liberation plan over with someone else. I did enjoy you adding more considerations to why their son wasn't circumcised practically speaking.

This is like a Dan McClellan TikTok but animated. Love it!

Your analysis is the best one of all the ones, tbh.

These mysteries and ambiguity was caused by how the book was composed, by reconciling multiple sources, according to the documentary hypothesis: J: Yahwist (10th-9th century BCE)[1][2] E: Elohist (9th century BCE)[1] Dtr1: early (7th century BCE) Deuteronomist historian Dtr2: later (6th century BCE) Deuteronomist historian P*: Priestly (6th-5th century BCE)[3][2] D†: Deuteronomist R: redactor Same as how the gospels have some different details, but they were not coalesced into one gospel.

bro, i speak Hebrew and i have the bible in Hebrew and i read it and it DOES NOT make sense

Neat detail! The first bunch of plagues, it reads that pharaoh had hardened his heart on his own, then later it becomes God being the one doing it. Which makes it look like God gave him a chance to let them go on his own, then after denying Moses, was railroaded until the last plague

This video is well made as always

Thank you for elaborating on bloody foreskin, Dubs. Exactly what I was looking for. 💯 ❤

Ima get a soda for this

The "Layman's Hot Take" is pretty similar to a presentation I gave in college (undergrad, so don't take it too seriously, *I am an idiot* ). There, I suggested that Moses's name, traditionally derived from Hebrew _moshe_ or "to draw out" could, according to some scholars, also be derived from Egyptian _mesu_ or "child/son" (like in the name Thutmose, "child of Thoth", just without a theophoric element). The possibility of it being either/or (possibly both for some narrative irony) fueled my thesis of Moses living his whole life within liminal spaces, first between Hebrew and Egyptian as you pointed out, and then between mortal and divine following the exodus out of Egypt. It might not necessarily have been intentional, either by the original authors of Exodus and Numbers, or even by their redactors, but I had fun thinking about it back then. I wasn't really going at it from a theological, faith-based, or even scholarly angle, but from a simple storytelling perspective.

Zipporah being badass to react quickly making the solution as circumcision. The circumcise animation cracks me up 😭😭😭😭

YESS!! I was hoping for more of these

Another great video

Damn your animation is getting really good.

I just found you and I find your contact extremely entertainand and I will love more ❤

"Bridegroom of Blood" Sounds like the title of a horror movie about a guy who murders multiple wives.

As an atheist who had been to a Christen school(which I regret my mental health was damaged to the point I was thinking of unaliving myself) The way you did God in personality is so accurate to what my head has of him, Also like if God was real, THEN WHY DIDN’T TELL MY TEACHERS THAT THEY ARE DOING OVER THE TOP DAMAGE TO MY HEALTH

Can you make a video about finnish mythology please

This this! I've been wondering about this passage for 3 years and after 3 years I finally get an explanation 😅

The entire holey bible is sick AF! Love your videos!

I really like the new style of animation its so much skinnier and I also like the part where you actually add movement to Moses when he's stirring something very nice

Jake is a must😊

Your interpretation honestly seems the most human. I like it

Love this stuff! ❤️‍🔥

11:02 why was that so well animated

the explanation for the hardening of the pharaoh’s heart is because that was who he was. in the chapter he defies constantly is shown proof his punishment was that hardening.

Hahahaha Gotta love Jake’s Films, And Dont mean to make you feel old But I still remember Enjoying your videos Used in Our History class (Our highschool Teacher also likes the way you Yeach History too) back in Early highschool, And now that I'm almost done with college, Still love them

Why would it make more sense that the older one would get the punishment instead of the newborn? When David impregnated Bathsheba, their newborn received a slow death as punishment instead of the older David or Bathsheba. So God killing a newborn isn't really out of the question.

2 whole verses!

Your theory makes so much sense, that it's actually very unlikely to be right. The odd and esoteric reasons of the people from biblical times is nearly incomprehensible to us

the end felt like reinventing church like ‘heres my interpretation i’ll tell to this large crowd and you can all comment and discuss after”

I love your channel so much. You put in a lot of work into making solid content ❤

I love how the law that you can get out of town to avoid prosecution is like foreshadowing for Jesus. We sin, get sent out of Eden and we can’t go back until the high king (Jesus) dies. Crazy stuff

love these vids

Your interpretation is as good as any. I like the idea of identity conflict. I'm also glad my wife has different means if persuasion.

Man we need a playlist

Oh hey, your avatar finally got glasses as well! That’s been bugging me for some time.

I actually like your interpretation the best

Bridegroom of blood definitely refers to the baby. The word translated as bridegroom didn't originally mean bridegroom, but "son-in-law". In the bible there's a unique verb that usually means "to get married", but is between the father-in-law and the son-in-law (all these words come from the same root ẖ-t-n) Anyhow, in the Mishna (Niddah 5:3) there's a section about a baby who passes away at 1 day old (before the brith) and it ends with "and he shall be to his father and mother and all his relatives as a full bridegroom." Edit: you can look at the entry for חתן on Wiktionary for extra detail.

I would argue that you are definitely a Bible scholar. Your videos are great. Keep up the good work. :)

Yes! I cant get enough of these, lol. ❤😊

There is a phrase missing from the start of the Bible (and this applies to all the various books). ״ לא תקרא את הדברים הבאים פשוטו כמשמעו״ Which translates as: “Thou shalt not read the following literally.”

most interesting, now I wonder about this hold Cow made out Gold episode while Moses was up in the mountain either making the ten commandments or God giving the ten commandments to Moses, meanwhile the Hebrew were creating and worshipping a Golden Cow like it was their god?

This is my favorite channel Jake doubleyoo or as I like to call it stupid myths

Excellent video! Very eloquently and poetically explained!

your take on those passages are the kind of thing you'd hear a rabbi say during a torah service, you're honestly thinking like one!

Your interpretation makes a lot of sense. Zipporah definitely has her head on straight in multiple stories.