And it came to pass by the way, in the inn
As Moses and his family were travelling in their way to Egypt, at
an inn where they stopped for the refreshment of themselves and
cattle, or in order to lodge all night: so it was, that the Lord
met him, and sought to kill him; not the uncircumcised son of
Moses, as some think, but Moses himself, who had neglected the
circumcision of his son; that from the context, and the fact of
Zipporah, after related, seems to be the reason of the divine
displeasure, and not his bringing his family with him, supposed
to be an hinderance of him in his work, nor of his staying too
long at the inn, and not hastening his journey, which are the
reasons given by some: and Moses's neglect of circumcision was
not owing to the disuse of it among the Midianites, who being the
descendants of Abraham, it is highly probable they retained this
rite, and that it was used in Jethro's family, since Zipporah
well understood the nature of it, and how to perform it; and it
looks as if her eldest son had been circumcised before, seeing
only one was now circumcised by her; but the Midianites perhaps
followed the same practice as the Ishmaelites did, who were their
neighbours, and the descendants of Abraham also, who deferred it
till their children were thirteen years of age; or if this child
was a very young one, it might have been put off, because of the
journey they were just about to take, and purposing to do it when
come into Egypt; but this was resented by the Lord in Moses, who
had such knowledge of the law of God; and this displeasure of
Jehovah might be signified either by inflicting some disease upon
him, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi think, which threatened him with
death, or by appearing in a terrible manner, as the angel of the
Lord did to Balaam, with a drawn sword in his hand.