The Semitic root ḫtn, which in Hebrew means “to become related through marriage,” bears an additional connotation in Arabic: “to circumcise.” Hebrew and Arabic are related languages; that is, like French and Spanish, they share a common ancestor. Because Arabic is vastly better attested than biblical Hebrew, scholars often look to Arabic to illuminate biblical obscurities. See John Kaltner, The Use of Arabic in Biblical Hebrew Lexicography Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 28 (Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1996). For fuller discussion of Exodus 4:24–26, see Propp, “That Bloody Bridegroom,” Vetus Testamentum 43 (1993), pp. 495–518; and Exodus 1–18, Anchor Bible 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1998), pp. 233–241.
