CHAPTER IV _Moses continuing to express his fear that the Israelites would not_ _credit his Divine mission_, 1; _God, to strengthen his faith, and to assure him that his countrymen_ _would believe him, changed his rod into a serpent, and the serpent_ _into a rod_, 2-5; _made his hand leprous,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:2. _A ROD._] מתה _matteh_, a _staff_, probably his shepherd's crook; see Leviticus 27:32. As it was made the instrument of working many miracles, it was afterwards called the _rod of God_; see Exodus 4:20.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:3. _A SERPENT_] Of what sort we know not, as the word נחש _nachash_ is a general name for serpents, and also means several other things, see Genesis 3:1: but it was either of a kind that he had not seen before, or one that he knew to be dangerous; for it is said, _he fled from before... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:4. _HE PUT FORTH HIS HAND, AND CAUGHT IT_] Considering the light in which Moses had viewed this serpent, it required considerable faith to induce him thus implicitly to obey the command of God; but he obeyed, and the noxious serpent became instantly the miraculous rod in his hand! Imp... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:5. _THAT THEY MAY BELIEVE_] This is an example of what is called an imperfect or unfinished speech, several of which occur in the sacred writings. It may be thus supplied: _Do this before_ _them_, that they may believe that the Lord - hath appeared unto thee.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:6. _HIS HAND WAS LEPROUS AS SNOW._] That is, the leprosy spread itself over the whole body in thin _white scales_; and from this appearance it has its Greek name λεπρα, from λεπις, _a scale._ Dr. Mead says, "I have seen a remarkable case of this in a countryman, whose whole body was... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:8. _IF THEY WILL NOT BELIEVE - THE VOICE OF THE FIRST SIGN,_ _c._] Probably intimating that some would be more difficult to be persuaded than others: some would yield to the evidence of the _first_ miracle others would hesitate till they had seen the _second_; and others would not bel... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:10. _I AM NOT ELOQUENT_] לא איש דברים _lo ish debarim, I am_ _not a man of words_; a periphrasis common in the Scriptures. So Job 11:2, איש שפתים ish sephathayim, a man of lips, signifies one that is _talkative_. Psalms 140:11, איש לשון ish lashon, a _man of tongue_, signifies a _prat... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:11. _WHO HATH MADE MAN'S MOUTH? C._] Cannot he who formed the mouth, the whole organs of speech, and hath given the gift of speech also, cannot he give utterance? God can take away those gifts and restore them again. Do not provoke him: he who created the _eye_, the _ear_, and the _mo... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:12. _I WILL BE WITH THY MOUTH_] The Chaldee translates, _My_ WORD, _meimeri, shall be with thy mouth_. And Jonathan ben Uzziel paraphrases, _I and my_ WORD _will be with the speech of thy mouth_. Genesis 15:1, Genesis 15:1, and _"_Leviticus 25:10_"_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:13. _SEND - BY THE HAND_ OF HIM WHOM _THOU WILT SEND._] Many commentators, both ancient and modern, have thought that Moses prays here for the _immediate_ mission of the _Messiah_; as if he had said: "Lord, thou hast purposed to send this glorious person at some time or other, I bese... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:14. _AND THE ANGER OF THE LORD WAS KINDLED AGAINST MOSES_] Surely this would not have been the case had he only in _modesty_, and from a deep sense of his own unfitness, desired that the _Messiah_ should be preferred before him. But the whole connection shows that this interpretation... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:15. _I WILL BE WITH THY MOUTH, AND WITH HIS MOUTH_] Ye shall be both, in all things which I appoint you to do in this business, under the continual _inspiration_ of the Most High.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:16. _HE SHALL BE THY SPOKESMAN_] Literally, _He shall speak_ _for thee_ (or in thy stead) _to the people_. _HE SHALL BE TO THEE INSTEAD OF A MOUTH_] He shall convey every message to the people; _and thou shalt be to him instead of_ _God _- thou shalt deliver to him what I communicate... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:17. _THOU SHALT TAKE THIS ROD_] From the story of Moses's rod the heathens have invented the fables of the _thyrsus_ of Bacchus, and the _caduceus_ of Mercury. Cicero reckons five _Bacchuses_, one of which, according to Orpheus, was born of the river _Nile_; but, according to the com... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:18. _LET ME GO, I PRAY THEE, AND RETURN UNTO MY BRETHREN_] Moses, having received his commission from God, and directions how to execute it, returned to his father-in-law, and asked permission to visit his family and brethren in Egypt, without giving him any intimation of the great e... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:19. _IN MIDIAN_] This was a new revelation, and appears to have taken place _after_ Moses returned to his father-in-law previous to his departure for Egypt.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:20. _HIS WIFE AND HIS SONS_] Both Gershom and Eliezer, though the birth of the latter has not yet been mentioned in the Hebrew text. Exodus 2:22. _SET THEM UPON AN ASS_] The Septuagint reads the word in the plural, εκι τα ὑποζυγια, _upon asses_, as it certainly required more than on... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:21. _BUT I WILL HARDEN HIS HEART_] The case of Pharaoh has given rise to many fierce controversies, and to several strange and conflicting opinions. Would men but look at the whole account without the medium of their respective creeds, they would find little difficulty to apprehend t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:22. _ISRAEL IS MY SON_, EVEN _MY FIRSTBORN_] That is, The Hebrew people are unutterably dear to me.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:23. _LET MY SON GO, THAT HE MAY SERVE ME_] Which they could not do in Goshen, consistently with the policy and religious worship of the Egyptians; because the most essential part of an Israelite's worship consisted in sacrifice, and the animals which they offered to God were sacred am... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:24. _BY THE WAY IN THE INN_] Genesis 42:27. The account in this and the following verse is very obscure. Some suppose that the Exodus 4:23 is not a part of the message to Pharaoh, but was spoken by the Lord to Moses; and that the whole may be thus paraphrased: "_And I have said unto... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:27. _THE LORD SAID TO AARON_] See Exodus 4:14. By some secret but powerful movement on Aaron's mind, or by some voice or angelic ministry, he was now directed to go and meet his brother Moses; and so correctly was the information given to both, that they arrived at the _same time_ on... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:30. _AARON SPAKE ALL THE WORDS_] It is likely that Aaron was better acquainted with the Hebrew tongue than his brother, and on this account he became the spokesman. Exodus 4:14, Exodus 4:14. _DID THE SIGNS_] Turned the _rod into a serpent_, made the _hand_ _leprous_, and _changed_ th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Exodus 4:31. _THE PEOPLE BELIEVED_] They credited the account given of the Divine appointment of Moses and Aaron to be their deliverers out of their bondage, the miracles wrought on the occasion confirming the testimony delivered by Aaron. _THEY BOWED THEIR HEADS AND WORSHIPPED._] See a simi... [ Continue Reading ]