1Moses' rod is turned into a serpent: 6his hand is leprous: 10he is unwilling to be sent; Aaron is appointed to assist him. 18Moses departeth from Jethro. 21God's message to Pharaoh. 24Zipporah circumciseth her son. 27Aaron is sent to meet Moses. 29They go to the Israelites, and the people believe them.
1AND Moses answered and said, But, behold, 1they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.
1 Namely, the Israelites.
2And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, 2A rod.
2 Verse 20 it is called, the rod of God, because great things were done therewith by the power of God.
3And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, 3and it became a 4serpent; and Moses 5fled from before it.
3 Exod. 7:15 it is said, which was turned to a serpent.
4 In Exod. 7:10 it states: and it became a serpent, but it may also be called a dragon.
5 Namely, for fear.
4And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his 6hand:
6 Hebr. palm.
5That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
6¶And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
7And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.
8And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken 7to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
7 That is, according to the word, confirmed by the first sign. Here a voice is attributed to the sign, (as Gen. 4:10, to the blood) because God speaks unto men by such signs.
9And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shalla become blood upon the dry land.
a Exod. 7:19.
10¶And Moses said unto the LORD, 8O my Lord, I am not 9eloquent, neither heretofore, 10nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
8 See of the Hebrew particle here used, translated with O, Gen. 43:20.
9 Hebr. I am no man of words; that is, I am not eloquent.
10 Moses despaired altogether of the amendments of his tongue, since he found no improvement thereof, whiles God was instructing him for this commission.
11And the LORD said unto him, Who hath 11made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
11 Hebr. set, or, put. Psalm 94:9.
12Now therefore go, and Ib will be with thy mouth, and 12teach thee what thou shalt say.
b Mat. 10:19; Mark 13:11; Luke 12:12.
12 Namely, by my Spirit, as Christ likewise promised the same to His apostles, Mat. 10:19, 20; Mark 13:11, and Luke 12:11, 12.
13And he said, O my LORD, 13send, I pray thee, 14by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
13 Hebr. send by the hand thou shalt send; that is, send such a one whom Thou knowest is more capable to be sent than I am, for such a message or employment.
14 That is, by the service, as Exod. 9:35; Psalm 77:20; Hag. 1:1; Mal. 1:1; Acts 7:35.
14And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I 15know that he can speak well. And also, behold, 16he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
15 Hebr. that speaking he shall speak; that is, that he is a fluent speaker, that he can and will speak to good purpose.
16 Other, he goeth forth.
15And thouc shalt speak unto him, and put 17words 18in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.
c Exod. 7:2.
17 Those which I have, or yet shall speak unto thee.
18 That is, thou shalt clearly instruct, and strictly charge him to declare faithfully My words, where it shall be requisite. See Isa. 51:16; 59:21; Jer. 1:9; 5:14.
16And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee 19instead of a mouth, and thou 20shalt be to him instead of God.
19 That is, he shall be thy spokesman and convey the words. Other, in stead of the mouth.
20 That is, thou shalt have the direction of all, and enjoin and command him in My Name what he shall say, and he shall hear and obey thee, as Myself. Compare Exod. 7:1.
17And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do 21signs.
21 Whereof mention shall be made in Exodus 7; 8; 9; 10; 11.
18¶And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.
19And the LORD 22said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought 23thy life.
22 Or, had said.
23 Or, thy soul, that is, thy life. See Gen. 19:17; that is, those who sought to put thee to death. See similar phrase, 1 Sam. 22:23; 1 Kings 19:14; Psalm 54:3; Mat. 2:20.
20And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the 24rod of God in his hand.
24 The same rod namely, which God had bidden him to take along, verse 17, and by the means whereof God would work signs. Exod. 17:9. This rod is likewise called the rod of God, to show that the power of working miracles was not in the rod, nor in Moses, by only in God.
21And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, 25which I have put in thine hand: but I will 26harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
25 That is, which I am resolved and about to perform through thy service and My power.
26 Other, stiffen, harden, namely, withholding My grace from him, and delivering him over to his own evil will and affections to that of his own malice, and through the devil’s instigation, he shall take from these very miracles the more occasion and motive to withstand My commandments. The similar phrase, see Exod. 10:1; Deut. 2:30; Joshua 11:20.
22And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, 27Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
27 That is, the people or posterity of Israel: who are called God’s firstborn son, for being chosen the first, out of grace, out of all Gentiles to be the people and children of God, and being as acceptable therefore unto God as the firstborn are unto their parents.
23And I 28say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
28 Other, I have said to thee.
24¶And it came to pass 29by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill 30him.
29 Namely, toward Egypt.
30 For having neglected the circumcision of his son. See Gen. 17:14.
25Then Zipporah took 31a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and 32cast it at his feet, and said, 33Surely 34a bloody husband art thou to me.
31 Other, a stony knife.
32 Other, made it (the dissected foreskin namely) touch his (namely, Moses’) feet. Others take it as Zipporah had thrown her son before her husband’s feet.
33 Understand these words, as if Zipporah had said to her husband, I had to ransom thy life with the blood of my son, whom I have circumcised: and thus thou art become a new bridegroom unto me.
34 Hebr. a bridegroom of bloods.
26So 35he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, 36because of the circumcision.
35 Namely, God, or the angel, who was about to slay Moses.
36 It seems she was not well pleased with the circumcision of her sons.
27¶And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him 37in the mount of God, and kissed him.
37 Called, Horeb, Exod. 3:1.
28And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.
29¶And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:
30And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
31And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had 38looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
38 Namely, with compassion, as Exod. 3:7.