JPS 1999/2000
וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יי אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ בֹּ֣א דַבֵּ֔ר אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֖ה מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרָ֑יִם וִֽישַׁלַּ֥ח אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵאַרְצֽוֹ׃ וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֔ה לִפְנֵ֥י יי לֵאמֹ֑ר הֵ֤ן בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֹֽא־שָׁמְע֣וּ אֵלַ֔י וְאֵיךְ֙ יִשְׁמָעֵ֣נִי פַרְעֹ֔ה וַאֲנִ֖י עֲרַ֥ל שְׂפָתָֽיִם׃
יי spoke to Moses, saying, “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites depart from his land.” But Moses appealed to undefined, saying, “The Israelites would not listen to me; how then should Pharaoh heed me, me— a man of impeded speech!”
JPS 2006
(יב) וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֔ה לִפְנֵ֥י יי לֵאמֹ֑ר הֵ֤ן בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֹֽא־שָׁמְע֣וּ אֵלַ֔י וְאֵיךְ֙ יִשְׁמָעֵ֣נִי פַרְעֹ֔ה וַאֲנִ֖י עֲרַ֥ל שְׂפָתָֽיִם׃
(12) But Moses appealed to יי, saying, “The Israelites would not listen to me; how then should Pharaoh heed me, me—who gets tongue-tied!”
Jhos Singer, Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible, ed. Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer, 2006
The phrase Moses uses is "ani aral s'fataim," which literally translates as "I am [of] uncircumcised lips." Aral means "foreskinned" or "uncircumcised," though it can also mean "blocked," sealed," or "impeded." This same word occurs in other places in the Torah to mean: unyielding (Lev. 26:41), restricting (Ex. 19:23), or a foreskin itself. Aral is alternately defined as restrict power/lose control. S'fataim literally means "lips," though it can also mean "speeech" or "edge." Blocked speech, sealed lips, unyielding edge, restricted power, lose control... As a queer person, I find these images altogether too familiar. How many times have I found myself in an awkward social situation or encountered a homophobic joke or listened to a sexist remark only to feel myself go silent, feel my power drain out of me, or lose my voice? How is it that I can know myself so well, be so firmly at home in my gender freakiness, and yet find myself back in the closet in the blink of an eye?