Exodus 6

Exo 6:1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.

With a strong hand - yad chazakah, the same verb which we translate to harden. The strong hand here means sovereign power, suddenly and forcibly applied. God purposed to manifest his sovereign power in the sight of Pharaoh and the Egyptians; in consequence of which Pharaoh would manifest his power and authority as sovereign of Egypt, in dismissing and thrusting out the people.

Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh - For the fact that the first visit paid by Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh was simply intended to bring out the attitude of Pharaoh towards the purposes of Jehovah, and to show the necessity for the great judgments of God, is distinctly expressed in the words, “Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh.”

Exo 6:2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:

There appears to have been an interval of some months between the preceding events and this renewal of the promise to Moses. The oppression in the meantime was not merely driving the people to desperation, but preparing them by severe labor, varied by hasty wanderings in search of stubble, for the exertions and privations of the wilderness. Hence, the formal and solemn character of the announcements in the whole chapter.

I am the Lord - It should be, I am Jehovah, and without this the reason of what is said in the 3d verse is not sufficiently obvious. Jehovah, the self-existent Being, the Being of beings, the everlasting I am, the unchangeable Jehovah, true, firm, and constant to his promises, ever to be believed, and always to be depended on.

l am Jehovah - The same with I am that I am, the fountain of being and blessedness, and infinite perfection. The patriarchs knew this name, but they did not know him in this matter by that which this name signifies. God would now be known by his name Jehovah, that is, A God performing what he had promised, and so giving being to his promises. A God perfecting what he had begun, and finishing his own work. In the history of the creation God is never called Jehovah, till the heavens and the earth were finished, Gen_2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. When the salvation of the saints is completed in eternal life, then he will be known by his name Jehovah, Rev_22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last, in the mean time they shall find him for their strength and support, El - shaddai, a God All - sufficient, a God that is enough.

And God spake unto Moses--For his further encouragement, there was made to him an emphatic repetition of the promise (Exo_3:20).

Exo 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

By the name of God Almighty - EL-Shaddal, God All-sufficient; God the dispenser or pourer-out of gifts.

But by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them - This passage has been a sort of crux criticorum, and has been variously explained. It is certain that the name Jehovah was in use long before the days of Abraham, Gen_2:4, where the words Jehovah Elohim occur, as they do frequently afterwards; and Gen_15:2, where Abraham expressly addresses him by the name Adonai Jehovah; and Gen_15:7, where God reveals himself to Abraham by this very name: And he said unto him, I am Jehovah, that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees. How then can it be said that by his name Jehovah he was not known unto them? The words may be considered as used comparatively: though God did appear to those patriarchs as Jehovah, and they acknowledged him by this name, yet it was but comparatively known unto them; they knew nothing of the power and goodness of God, in comparison of what the Israelites were now about to experience. The simple meaning is this, that though from the beginning the name Jehovah was known as one of the names of the Supreme Being, yet what it really implied they did not know. El-Shaddai, God All-sufficient, they knew well by the continual provision he made for them, and the constant protection he afforded them: but the name Jehovah is particularly to be referred to the accomplishment of promises already made; to the giving them a being, and thus bringing them into existence, which could not have been done in the order of his providence sooner than here specified: this name therefore in its power and significancy was not known unto them; nor fully known unto their descendants till the deliverance from Egypt and the settlement in the promised land. It is surely possible for a man to bear the name of a certain office or dignity before he fulfills any of its functions. King, mayor, alderman, magistrate, constable, may be borne by the several persons to whom they legally belong, before any of the acts peculiar to those offices are performed. The King, acknowledged as such on his coronation, is known to be such by his legislative acts; the civil magistrate, by his distribution of justice, and issuing warrants for the apprehending of culprits; and the constable, by executing those warrants. All these were known to have their respective names, but the exercise of their powers alone shows what is implied in being king, magistrate, and constable.

by my name Jehovah was I not known to them - which he had in the preceding verse called himself by. This is not to be understood absolutely; for it is certain that he had made himself known by this name, and this name was known unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Gen_15:6, and though the name Jehovah itself was known to the patriarchs, by which they were assured that God is eternal, immutable, and faithful to his promises; yet he was not known as to the efficacy of this name, or with respect to the actual performance of his promise, as he now would be by delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt, and bringing them into the land of Canaan; though perhaps, by reading the words with an interrogation, the clause will appear more plain, "and by my name Jehovah was I not known to them

by my name Jehovah was I not known to them - This passage has occasioned much discussion; and it has been thought by many to intimate that as the name Jehovah was not known to the patriarchs, at least in the full bearing or practical experience of it, the honor of the disclosure was reserved to Moses, who was the first sent with a message in the name of Jehovah, and enabled to attest it by a series of public miracles.

Exo 6:4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.

I have also established my covenant - With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with their posterity, so that it is sure and firm, and shall never be made null and void:

the land of their pilgrimage - not being in actual possession of any part of it, but lived as pilgrims and strangers in it, as their posterity now did in another land not theirs.

Exo 6:5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.

I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel - He means their groaning on occasion of the late hardships put upon them. God takes notice of the increase of his people's calamities, and observes how their enemies grow upon them. For the Lord is not only the eternal and immutable Being in his purposes and promises, and a covenant keeping God; but he is compassionate and merciful, and sympathizes with his people in all their afflictions; he takes notice of their sighs and groans, as he now did those of his people in Egypt:

I have remembered my covenant - concerning bringing them out of Egypt into the land of Canaan, which he would quickly do, and thereby make it appear he was mindful of his covenant, which is indeed never forgotten by him, though it may seem to be.

Exo 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:

With a stretched out arm – In Isaiah 53:1, the arm of the Lord is Jesus. Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? The entire chapter of Isaiah 53 is a description of Jesus. Here the bible mentions that God will redeem Israel with a stretched out arm. A veiled reference to the redemption made possible by Messiah, Jesus, as Egypt is a type depiction of sin. As God redeemed Israel from Egypt with His arm, so we are redeemed from sin by Jesus.

and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm - with an arm stretched out from heaven to earth; even by the exertion of his almighty power, openly and manifestly displayed in the lighting down of his arm upon the enemies of his people, and in delivering them out of their hands:

With a stretched out arm - With almighty power: A metaphor taken from a man that stretches out his arm, to put forth all his strength.

Exo 6:7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

I will be to you a God - This was precisely the covenant that he had made with Abraham. Genesis 17:7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you.

And ye shall know that I am the Lord your God - by the promises fulfilled, the favors granted, and the deliverances wrought for them:

And I will take you to me for a people - Out of the hands of the Egyptians, and out of their country, to be in a political sense his kingdom and subjects; and in a religious sense a holy people to himself, to fear, serve, worship, and glorify him, by walking according to laws and rules given them by him; and this he did by setting up and establishing a civil and ecclesiastical polity among them:

and I will be to you a God - their King and their God to rule over them, protect and defend them, they being a theocracy; and their covenant God and Father, giving them various spiritual privileges, the adoption, the glory, the covenant, the law, service, and promises: The adoption of Israel as the nation of God took place at Sinai Exo_19:5 And now if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me above all the nations; for all the earth is Mine.

Exo 6:8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.

Which I did swear - I have lifted up my hand. The ancient and usual mode of appealing to God was by lifting up the right hand, and was considered as a form of swearing. Gen_14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of Heaven and earth. It is thus that Isa_62:8 is to be understood: Isa_62:8 The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength.

And I will bring you in unto the land - The land of Canaan:

and I will give it you for an heritage - to be possessed as an inheritance by them, so long as they were obedient to his will.

Exo 6:9 And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

They hearkened not - The contrast between the reception of this communication and that recorded in Exo_4:31 is accounted for by the change of circumstances. After their cruel disappointment, they were quite absorbed by their misery, unable and unwilling to attend to any fresh communication. Their bondage was become so extremely oppressive that they had lost all hope of ever being redeemed from it. The increased severities inflicted on the Israelites seem to have so entirely crushed their spirits, as well as irritated them, that they refused to listen to any more communications

Anguish of spirit - shortness of spirit or breath. The words signify that their labor was so continual, and their bondage so cruel and oppressive, that they had scarcely time to breathe.

Exo 6:10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

And the Lord spake unto Moses - At another time, and renewed his orders to him to go again to Pharaoh, and require their dismission:

Exo 6:11 Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

Go out of his land - Moses is now bidden to demand not a permission for a three days’ journey (Exo_3:18 note), which might be within the boundaries of Egypt, but for departure from the land.

that he let the children of Israel go out of his land - this demand had been made before, but was rejected with an haughty air, and now it is repeated, before the Lord proceeds to punish him for his disobedience, that his judgments upon him might appear more manifestly to be just and right. God repeats his precepts, before he begins his punishments.

Exo 6:12 And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?

uncircumcised lips--A metaphorical expression among the Hebrews, who, taught to look on the circumcision of any part as denoting perfection, signified its deficiency or unsuitableness by uncircumcision. The words here express how painfully Moses felt his want of utterance or persuasive oratory.

Uncircumcised lips - An uncircumcised ear is one that does not hear clearly; an uncircumcised heart one slow to receive and understand warnings; uncircumcised lips, such as cannot speak fluently. The recurrence of the hesitation of Moses is natural; great as was the former trial this was far more severe; yet his words always imply fear of failure, not of personal danger.

Uncircumcised lips - He had an impediment in his speech, could not speak freely and readily, but with difficulty; perhaps stammered, he was not eloquent, which was his old objection, and had been fully answered before: and by this it appears that there was no alteration in the speech of Moses since God spoke with him at Mount Horeb. Some think Moses expected to have had this impediment removed, and tacitly hints at it here, not being so well satisfied with Aaron's being joined with him as his mouth and spokesman, which seemed to carry in it some reflection upon him.

Exo 6:13 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

gave them a charge - The final and formal charge to the two brothers is given, as might be expected, before the plagues are denounced. God's authority is sufficient to answer all objections, and binds us to obedience without murmuring or disputing. With this verse begins a new section of the history forming a concluding summary, and preparing the way for the genealogy that follows, the heading of which is given in Exo_6:14.

Exo 6:14 These be the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben.

These be the heads of their fathers' houses -- The insertion of this genealogical table in this part of the narrative was intended to authenticate the descent of Moses and Aaron. Both of them were commissioned to act so important a part in the events transacted in the court of Egypt and afterwards elevated to so high offices in the government and Church of God, that it was of the utmost importance that their lineage should be accurately traced. Moses records for the satisfaction of Hebrew readers, to whom genealogical questions were always interesting, the descent and position of the designated leaders of the nation. The enumeration of only four generations, Levi, Iohath, Amram, Moses, is unmistakeably related to Gen_15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full, where it is stated that the fourth generation would return to Canaan.

These be the heads - rashey, the chiefs or captains. The following genealogy was simply intended to show that Moses and Aaron came in a direct line from Abraham, and to ascertain the time of Israel’s deliverance. The whole account from Exo_6:14-26 inclusive, is a sort of parenthesis, and does not belong to the narration; and what follows from Exo_6:28 is a recapitulation of what was spoken in the preceding chapters.

These be the heads of their father's houses - Not all are of the families of Moses and Aaron; but the two first seem to be taken notice of for the sake of the third, and that order might be observed, and that it might plainly appear that the deliverers of Israel were Israelites: This genealogy ends in those two great patriots, Moses and Aaron; and comes in here to show that they were Israelites, bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh, whom they were sent to deliver, raised up unto them of their brethren, as Christ also should be, who was to be the prophet and priest, the Redeemer and law - giver of the house of Israel, and whose genealogy also like this was to be carefully preserved. The heads of the houses of three of the tribes are here named, agreeing with the accounts we had, Gen. 46:8-27. Reuben and Simeon seem to be mentioned only for the sake of Levi, from whom Moses and Aaron descended, and all the priests of the Jewish church.

the sons of Reuben - whose names, and the order in which they are put, are the same as in Gen_46:9 these be the families of Reuben; the heads of them, or from whence they sprung.

Exo 6:15 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon.

Exo 6:16 And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years.

Exo 6:17 The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families.

And the sons of Gershom - He had only two sons, from whom came the families of the Libnites and Shimites; Num_3:21.

Exo 6:18 And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years.

And the sons of Kohath, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel - So they are reckoned in 1Ch_6:18 though only the family of the Hebronites are mentioned in Num_26:58.

Exo 6:19 And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.

And the sons of Merari, Mahali, and Mushi - From whence sprung the families of the Mahalites, and Mushites, Num_3:33.

according to their generations - the families that descended from him and his sons, according to the order of their birth.

Exo 6:20 And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.

she bore him Aaron and Moses - We may observe here how the Divine promise, Gen_15:16, of delivering the Israelites out of Egypt in the fourth generation was verified; for Moses was the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Jacob.

Bare him Aaron and Moses - The Septuagint adds “And Miriam their sister”.

Amram – One commentator says that this can scarcely be the same person who is mentioned in Exo_6:18; but his descendant and representative in the generation immediately preceding that of Moses. The intervening links are omitted, as is the rule where they are not needed for some special purpose, and do not bear upon the history. Other commentators do not see any problem with understanding this as a direct relationship without intervening generations.

Jochebed - The name means “the glory of Jehovah (Yahweh),” one clear instance of the use of the sacred name before the Exodus.

Father’s sister - This was within the prohibited degrees after the law was given Lev_18:12 but not previously.

And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife - This Amram was the first son of Kohath, and the father of Moses, as after related, and so must be the same with the man of the house of Levi, and his wife the daughter of Levi, as in Exo_2:1 and though such a marriage was afterwards prohibited, Moses does not conceal it, though it may seem to reflect some dishonor on him and his family; he writing not for his own glory, but for the sake of truth, and the good of mankind, and especially the people of God. The true meaning of this word dodatho is uncertain. The word dod signifies an uncle in 1Sa_10:14; Lev_10:4, and frequently elsewhere. It signifies also an uncle’s son, a cousin: compare Jer_32:8 with Exo_6:12, where it is rendered my paternal cousin; and in Amo_6:10, his near relation. Indeed the Vulgate Latin version, and the Septuagint, make her to be his first cousin, the daughter of his father's brother, his uncle's daughter; but in Num_26:59 And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom one bore to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister, she is expressly said to be a daughter of Levi, born to him in Egypt, and therefore must be his father's sister:

Exo 6:21 And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.

Korah - Though he became a rebel against God and Moses, (see Num_16), yet Moses, in his great impartiality, inserts his name among those of his other progenitors.

Nepheg, and Zichri - These seem to be mentioned for the sake of Korah, concerning whom is a remarkable history in the following book; for they are nowhere else spoken of.

Exo 6:22 And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri.

And the sons of Uzziel, Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zichri - The two first of these sons were the men that were ordered by Moses to carry out of the camp the two sons of Aaron, who were killed by lightning for offering strange fire in Lev_10:4. Uzziel is called Aaron’s uncle, Lev_10:4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, Come near, carry your brothers from before the sanctuary out of the camp.

Exo 6:23 And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

Elisheba - The oath of the Lord. She was of the royal tribe of Judah, and was sister to Nahshon, one of the princes; Num_2:3 And those who pitch on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall be those of the banner of the camp of Judah, throughout their armies. And Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the sons of Judah.

Eleazar - He succeeded to the high priesthood on the death of his father Aaron,

the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Naashon - a prince of the tribe of Judah, Num_7:12 And he that offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah, her he took to wife; or married; for though intermarriages with the several tribes were not allowed, nor used in after times, that they might be kept distinct, and the inheritances also, yet the tribe of Levi often took wives of other tribes, because they had no inheritance, and were to have none in the land of Canaan, so that confusion in tribes and inheritance was not made hereby; and it is observable, that these marriages were frequently with the tribe of Judah, as signifying the union of the kingly and priestly offices in Christ, who sprung from the tribe of Judah:

Nadab, and Abihu - they died by fire from heaven in their father's lifetime, for offering strange fire to the Lord, Lev_10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.

Eleazar, and Ithamar - Eleazar succeeded his father in the priesthood, Num_20:26 And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people , and shall die there, and of the sons of Ithamar executing the priest's office, 1Ch_24:2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no sons. And Eleazar and Ithamar were priests.

Aminadab - A prince of the tribe of Judah. The Levites might marry into any tribe, there being no danger of confusion or loss of inheritance thereby.

The genealogies of two of Amram's brothers, Izhar and Uzziel (Exo_6:21, Exo_6:22), and also Phinehas, the son of Aaron's son Eleazar (Exo_6:25) are mentioned; as the genealogy was intended to trace the descent of the principal priestly families, among which again special prominence is given to Aaron and Eleazar by the introduction of their wives. On the other hand, none of the sons of Moses are mentioned, because his dignity was limited to his own person, and his descendants fell behind those of Aaron, and were simply reckoned among the non-priestly families of Levi. The Korahites and Uzzielites are mentioned, but a superior rank was assigned to them in the subsequent history to that of other Levitical families (Num 16-17; Num_26:11, and Num_3:30 with Lev_10:4). The reversal of the order of the names is also to be noticed. In the genealogy itself Aaron stands first, as the elder of the two; in the conclusion, which leads over to the historical narrative that follows, Moses takes precedence of his elder brother, as being the divinely appointed redeemer of Israel.

Exo 6:24 And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites.

And the sons of Korah - The eldest son of Izhar, who, though he proved a bad man, yet many of his posterity were good men, and are often mentioned in general in the titles of some of the psalms of David.

Exo 6:25 And Eleazar Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.

Phinehas - Of the celebrated act of this person, and the most honorable grant made to him and his posterity, Num_25:7-13, especially Numbers 25:12-13 Therefore say, Behold! I give him My covenant of peace. And he shall have it, and his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the sons of Israel.

these are the heads of the Levites - according to their families; from whence the Levites sprung, and their several families. It may be observed, that Moses says nothing of his own offspring, only of his brother Aaron's, partly out of modesty and humility, and partly because the priesthood was successive in the family of Aaron, but not the civil government in the family of Moses; and that he proceeds no further to give the genealogy of the remaining tribes, his chief view being to show the descent of Aaron and himself, that it might be with certainty known in after times who they were that were instruments of Israel's deliverance out of Egypt.

Exo 6:26 These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.

This emphatic repetition shows the reason for inserting the genealogy. The names of Moses and Aaron are given twice and in a different order; used in Exo_6:26 probably to mark Aaron as the older in the genealogy, and used in Exo_6:27 to denote the leadership of Moses.

according to their armies - denoting their numbers, and the order in which they were to march out of Egypt, as they did, not by flight, nor in confusion, but in a formidable manner, and in great composure and order, with these two men, Moses and Aaron, as their generals at the head of them.

According to their armies - tsibotham, their battalions, regularly arranged troops. As God had these particularly under his care and direction, he had the name of Yehovah tsebaoth, Lord of hosts or armies.

to whom the Lord said – the charge He gave them to bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, Exo_6:13, and the account of which is returned to again, after an interruption by the genealogy before recorded: Israel were to be brought out:

Exo 6:27 These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron.

Exo 6:28 And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt,

And it came to pass - This and the following verses belong to the next chapter. They mark distinctly the beginning of a subdivision of the narrative. Here the seventh chapter should commence, as there is a complete ending of the sixth with Exo_6:27, and the Exo_6:30 of this chapter is intimately connected with the 1st verse of the succeeding.

Exo 6:29 That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.

Speak all that I say unto thee - As a faithful ambassador. Those that go on God's errand must not shun to declare the whole counsel of God.

Exo 6:30 And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?

And Moses said before the Lord - As he had done, Exo_6:13, and this is only a repetition of what is there said, in order to lead on to what is related in the following chapter:

Exodus 5

Exo 5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

The Lord God - Yahweh God of Israel demanded the services of His people. The demand, according to the general views of the pagans, was just and natural; the Israelites could not offer the necessary sacrifices in the presence of Egyptians.

Let my people go - They were God's people, and therefore Pharaoh ought not to detain them in bondage. And he expected services and sacrifices from them, and therefore they must have leave to go where they could freely exercise their religion, without giving offence to, or receiving offence from, the Egyptians.

that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness - in the wilderness of Sinai or Arabia, at Horeb there, where they might keep it more freely and safely, without being disturbed by the Egyptians, and without giving any offence to them; and the demand is just; they were the people of God, and therefore he claims them, and service from them was due to him; and Pharaoh had no right to detain them, and what is required was but their reasonable service they owed to their God. This feast was to be held, not for themselves, but to God, which chiefly consisted in offering sacrifice, as is after explained; the entire dismission of them is not at once demanded, only to go a little while into the wilderness, and keep a feast there to the Lord; though it was not intended they should return, but it was put in this form to try Pharaoh, and that he might be the more inexcusable in refusing to grant what was so reasonable.

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel - Moses, in treating with the elders of Israel, is directed to call God the God of their fathers; but, in treating with Pharaoh, they call him the God of Israel, and it is the first time we find him called so in scripture. He is called the God of Israel, the person, Gen_33:20, but here it is Israel the people. They are just beginning to be formed into a people when God is called their God. It seems to have been used by divine direction and designed to put honor on the Hebrews in their depressed condition.

Moses and Aaron went in--As representatives of the Hebrews, they were entitled to ask an audience of the king.

Exo 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

I know not the Lord - Either Pharaoh had not heard of Yahweh, or he did not recognize Him as a God.

Who is the Lord--rather "Jehovah." Lord was a common name applied to objects of worship; but Jehovah was a name he had never heard of. Pharaoh estimated the character and power of this God by the abject and miserable condition of the worshippers and concluded that He held as low a rank among the gods as His people did in the nation. To demonstrate the supremacy of the true God over all the gods of Egypt, was the design of the plagues.

Who is the Lord - Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice? What claims has he on me? I am under no obligation to him. Pharaoh spoke here under the common persuasion that every place and people had a tutelary deity, and he supposed that this Jehovah might be the tutelary deity of the Israelites, to whom he, as an Egyptian, could be under no kind of obligation. It is not judicious to bring this question as a proof that Pharaoh was an atheist: of this the text affords no evidence.

Who is the Lord - Jehovah, they made mention of, which, whether he took it for the name of a deity, or of a king, whose ambassadors they declared themselves to be, was a name he had never heard of before; and this being expressed and pronounced, shows that this name is not ineffable, or unlawful to be pronounced, as say the Jews:

that I should obey his voice, to let Israel go? - he knew of no superior monarch to him, whose orders he was obliged to obey in any respect, and particularly in this, the dismission of the people of Israel out of his land, though it was but for a short time:

neither will I let Israel go--As his honor and interest were both involved he determined to crush this attempt, and in a tone of insolence, or perhaps profanity, rejected the request for the release of the Hebrew slaves.

Exo 5:3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

With pestilence, or with the sword - This shows that the plague was well known to the ancient Egyptians. The reference to the sword is equally natural, since the Israelites occupied the eastern district, which was frequently disturbed by the neighboring Shasous.

And sacrifice unto the Lord - Great stress is laid on this circumstance. God required sacrifice; no religious acts which they performed could be acceptable to him without this. He had now showed them that it was their indispensable duty thus to worship him, and that if they did not they might expect him to send the pestilence - some plague or death proceeding immediately from himself, or the sword - extermination by the hands of an enemy. Some scholars say the Israelites could not sacrifice in the land of Egypt, because the animals they were to offer to God were held sacred by the Egyptians; and they could not omit this duty, because it was essential to religion even before the giving of the law. Thus we find that Divine justice required the life of the animal for the life of the transgressor, and the people were conscious, if this were not done, that God would consume them with the pestilence or the sword. From the foundation of the world the true religion required sacrifice. Before, under, and after the law, this was deemed essential to salvation. Under the Christian dispensation Jesus is the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world; and being still the Lamb newly slain before the throne, no man cometh unto the Father but by him.

“In this first application to Pharaoh, we observe,” says Dr. Dodd, “that proper respectful submission which is due from subjects to their sovereign. They represent to him the danger they should be in by disobeying their God, but do not so much as hint at any punishment that would follow to Pharaoh.”

let us go, we pray thee - a request which was made in a very humble and modest manner, and not at all extravagant, nor anything dangerous and disadvantageous to him; for now they speak as of themselves, and therefore humbly entreat him;

The God of the Hebrews hath met with us--Instead of being provoked into reproaches or threats, they mildly assured him that it was not a proposal originating among themselves, but a duty enjoined on them by their God. The expression “God of the Hebrews,” for “God of Israel” (Exo_5:1), was chosen to convince Pharaoh of the necessity for their going into the desert to keep the festival demanded by their God. In Egypt they might sacrifice to the gods of Egypt, but not to the God of the Hebrews.

Exo 5:4 And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.

Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron - He hints that the Hebrews are in a state of revolt, and charges Moses and Aaron as being ringleaders of the sedition. Without taking any notice of what they had said, he treated them as ambitious demagogues, who were appealing to the superstitious feelings of the people, to stir up sedition and diffuse a spirit of discontent, which spreading through so vast a body of slaves, might endanger the peace of the country.

Let the people - taphriu, from para, to loose or disengage, which we translate to let, from the Anglo-Saxon lettan, to hinder. Ye hinder the people from working. Get ye to your burdens.

get you unto your burdens - meaning not Moses and Aaron, ordering them to go about their private and family business, but the people they represented, and on whose account they came; and it is highly probable the elders of the people, at least some of them, were with them, to whom these words might be more particularly directed.

Exo 5:5 And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

The people of the land now are many - The edict (to kill the male children) had no doubt been long before repealed, or they could not have multiplied so greatly. He called the Israelites “the people of the land,” as the working class, “land-people,” equivalent to “common people,” in distinction from the ruling castes of the Egyptians.

Exo 5:6 And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,

Their officers - Or scribes. Hebrews able to keep accounts in writing, appointed by the Egyptian superintendents, and responsible to them for the work; see Exo_5:14. Subordinate officers are frequently represented on Egyptian monuments, giving in written accounts to their immediate superiors.

Officers - shoterim; those seem to have been an inferior sort of officers, who attended on superior officers or magistrates to execute their orders. They were Israelites, and were under the taskmasters, and accountable to them for each man's work that they had the inspection and care of:

The task-masters of the people and their officers - The task-masters were Egyptians, the officers were Hebrews. But it is probable that the task-masters Exo_1:11, who are called sarey missim, princes of the burdens or taxes, were different from those termed taskmasters here, as the words are different; nogesim signifies exactors or oppressors - persons who exacted from them an unreasonable proportion either of labor or money.

Taskmasters - Nogesim, literally, exactors, oppressors. These taskmasters were Egyptians.

And Pharaoh commanded - As Pharaoh possessed neither fear of God nor fear of the gods, but, in the proud security of his might, determined to keep the Israelites as slaves, and to use them as tools for the glorifying of his kingdom by the erection of magnificent buildings, he suspected that their wish to go into the desert was nothing but an excuse invented by idlers, and prompted by a thirst for freedom, which might become dangerous to his kingdom, on account of the numerical strength of the people. He therefore thought that he could best extinguish such desires and attempts by increasing the oppression and adding to their labors.

Exo 5:7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.

Straw to make brick - Some of the most ancient buildings in Egypt were constructed of bricks not burned, but dried in the sun; they were made of clay, or more commonly of mud, mixed with straw chopped into small pieces. In the Egyptian pyramid of unburnt brick, some of these bricks are thirteen inches and a half long, six inches and a half broad, and four inches thick; and others fifteen inches long, seven broad, and four inches three quarters thick. This is like the adobe bricks used in the American Southwest.

gather straw for themselves--The enraged despot did not issue orders to do an impracticable thing. The Egyptian reapers in the harvest were accustomed merely to cut off the heads of grain and leave the stalk standing.

Exo 5:8 And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

And the tale of the bricks - Tale signifies the number, from the Anglo-Saxon to number, to count, etc.

For they be idle; therefore they cry - Thus their desire to worship the true God in a proper manner was attributed to their unwillingness to work; suggesting, that this request and cry of theirs did not proceed from a religious principle, or the great veneration they had for their God, but from the sloth and idleness they were supposedly addicted to. The cities they built for Pharaoh, were witnesses for them that they were not idle; yet he thus basely misrepresents them, that he might have a pretence to increase their burdens.

2Exo 5:9 Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

Let there more work be laid upon the men - Instead of lessening it, let it be increased, or "be heavy" upon them, that it may oppress and afflict them and keep them down, and weaken their strength and their spirits, and diminish them:

and let them not regard vain words - or "words of falsehood" and lies, such as were spoken by Moses and Aaron, promising them liberty and deliverance from their bondage, which pharaoh was determined never to grant, and so eventually make such words to appear to be vain and empty, falsehood and lies. By “lying words” the king meant the words of Moses, that the God of Israel had appeared to him, and demanded a sacrificial festival from His people.

Exo 5:10 And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

And the taskmasters of the people went out - From the presence of Pharaoh, out of his court, to the respective places where they were set to see that the Israelites did their work:

and their officers - the officers of the Israelites, who were under the taskmasters, and answerable to them for the work of the people, and their tale of bricks:

Exo 5:11 Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.

Go ye, get ye straw, where you can find it - Before it was provided by the king, and brought to the area where they made the bricks, but now they are bid to go and fetch it themselves, and get it where they could, whether in fields or barns; and if they were obliged to pay for it out of their labor; it was a greater oppression still:

yet not ought of your work shall be diminished - they were to do the same work, and make the same number of bricks, as when straw was brought and given them; and no allowance made for waste of time in seeking, or expenses in procuring straw, which was very hard upon them.

Exo 5:12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

Stubble instead of straw – to gather stubble for straw; One commentary says that this marks the season of the year, namely, early spring, after the barley or wheat harvest, toward the end of April. Their suffering must have been severe: at that season the pestilential sand-wind blows over Egypt some 50 days, hence, its name - Chamsin.

Exo 5:13 And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.

Exo 5:14 And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?

And the officers were beaten - This makes it clear, not only that the taskmasters and officers were different persons, but that the one were Egyptians appointed by Pharaoh, and the other were Israelites, of the better sort of them, who were set over the poorer sort by the taskmasters, to look after them, and take an account of their work, and the tale of their bricks, and give it in to the taskmasters; now these were beaten by the taskmasters, either with a cane, stick, or cudgel, or with whips and scourges, because there was a deficiency in their accounts, and the full tale of bricks was not given in:

And the officers were beaten - As the Israelites could not do the work appointed them, their overlookers were beaten by the Egyptian bailiffs; and when they complained to the king of this treatment, they were repulsed with harshness.

both yesterday and today, as heretofore? - the first day they were deficient they took no notice of it, did not call them to an account for it, but this being the case the second day, they not only expostulated with them about it, but beat them for it, which was hard usage. They had no need to ask them the reason of it, which they knew very well, and must be sensible that the men could not do the same work, and be obliged to spend part of their time in going about for straw or stubble; or the same number of men make the same tale of bricks, when some of them were employed to get straw for the rest, and to beat those officers for a deficiency through such means was cruel.

Exo 5:15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?

Exo 5:16 There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.

The fault is in thine own people - chatath, the sin, is in thy own people. 1st. Because they require impossibilities; and 2dly, because they punish us for not doing what cannot be performed.

the fault is in thine own people - the taskmasters, who sent the people abroad to get straw or stubble themselves, and therefore could not make the same bricks as before; or "thy people sin", the guilt is theirs: or by thy people are meant the Israelites, whom they call Pharaoh's people to gain favor with him; and then the sense is, either "sin" is imputed "to thy people", the blame is laid upon them, or punishment is inflicted on them without cause, sin being often put for punishment; they are wrongfully charged with a fault, and wrongfully punished.

Exo 5:17 But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.

Ye are idle - The old Egyptian language abounds in epithets which show contempt for idleness. The charge was equally offensive and ingenious; one which would be readily believed by Egyptians who knew how much public and private labors were impeded by festivals and other religious ceremonies. Among the great sins which, according to Egyptian belief, involved condemnation in the final judgment, idleness is twice mentioned.

Exo 5:18 Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.

Exo 5:19 And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

Did see that they were in evil case - In a bad condition and circumstances, and that there was no likelihood of their getting out of them, since Pharaoh treated them after this manner; they saw not only that the common people were in a bad condition, in great bondage, misery, and distress, to be obliged to get straw to make brick, and carry in their full tale as before; but that they themselves were in a bad situation, since for the deficiency in their people they were like to be beaten for it from time to time:

Exo 5:20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:

Exo 5:21 And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

Put a sword in their hand - a proverbial expression, signifying that they by their conduct had exposed them to the utmost danger, and had given their enemies an occasion against them, and an opportunity of destroying their whole nation, under a pretence of disobedience and disloyalty. Given them a pretense which they had not before, to oppress them even unto death.

The Lord look upon you, and judge - They should have humbled themselves before God, but instead of that they fly in the face of their best friends. Those that are called to public service for God and their generation, must expect to be tried not only by the threats of proud enemies, but by the unjust and unkind censures of unthinking friends.

The Lord look upon you, and judge--Thus the deliverer of Israel found that this patriotic interference did, in the first instance, only aggravate the evil he wished to remove, and that instead of receiving the gratitude, he was loaded with the reproaches of his countrymen. But as the greatest darkness is immediately before the dawn, so the people of God are often plunged into the deepest affliction when on the eve of their deliverance; and so it was in this case.

the Lord look upon you and judge - Or, "will look upon you and judge"; and so it is either a prediction of what would be done to them, or an imprecation on them that God would take notice of their conduct, and punish them, or at least chastise them for acting the part they had, if not wickedly, yet imprudently:

our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh - or to "stink"; they were become vile, abominable, and hateful to him, he could not bear the sight of them, and treated them as the filth and offscouring of all things; they had lost their good name, credit, and reputation with him; for leave being asked for them to go three days' journey into the wilderness, to offer sacrifice, and keep a feast, they were looked upon as a parcel of idle slothful fellows:

and in the eyes of his servants - not the taskmasters only, but his nobles, counselors, and courtiers:

Exo 5:22 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

And Moses returned unto the Lord - This may imply, either that there was a particular place into which Moses ordinarily went to commune with Jehovah; or it may mean that kind of turning of heart and affection to God, which every pious mind feels itself disposed to practice in any time or place.

Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? - or afflicted them, and suffered them to be thus afflicted; which to ascribe to God was right, whatever were the means or instruments; for all afflictions are of him, and who has always wise reasons for what he does, as he now had; to try the faith and patience of his people; to make the Egyptians more odious to them, and so take them off from following their manners, customs, rites, and superstitions, and make them more desirous of departing from thence to the land of Canaan, nor seek a return to Egypt again; and that his vengeance on the Egyptians for such cruelty and inhumanity might appear the more just, and his power might be seen in the plagues he inflicted on them, and in the deliverance of his people when reduced to the utmost extremity:

why is it that thou hast sent me? - he seems to wish he had never been sent, and could be glad to be recalled, something of the same disposition still remaining in him as when first called; since no end was answered by his mission, no deliverance wrought, yea, the people were more afflicted and oppressed than before; and therefore he was at a loss how to account for it that he should be sent at all, seeing nothing came of it to the good of the people.

Exo 5:23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

The earnestness of this remonstrance, and even its approach to irreverence, are quite in keeping with other notices of Moses’ naturally impetuous character

He hath done evil to this people - Their misery is increased instead of being diminished. There was not the least thing done towards their deliverance, their affliction was not at all mitigated, but increased: Moses expected that God would have made a beginning as soon as he had delivered his message to Pharaoh; that his mind would have been disposed in favor of the people, and he would have made their bondage lighter and easier, if he did not dismiss them at once; but, instead of that, more work was laid upon them, and their burdens were heavier: now this was a stumbling and a temptation to Moses, to wish he had never been sent; but if he had called to mind, which he seems to have forgotten, that Pharaoh would not let the people go at first, until all the wonders were wrought he had given him power to do, Exo_4:2 it would have relieved him, and removed his objections, and put a stop to his expostulation with God, who gives an answer to them in the following chapter, without expressing any displeasure at them.

Neither hast thou delivered thy people at all - Thou hast begun the work by giving counsels and a commission, but thou hast not brought the people from under their bondage. Thou hast signified thy pleasure relative to their deliverance, but thou hast not brought them out of the hands of their enemies.

1. It is no certain proof of the displeasure of God that a whole people, or an individual, may be found in a state of great oppression and distress; nor are affluence and prosperity any certain signs of his approbation. God certainly loved the Israelites better than he did the Egyptians; yet the former were in the deepest adversity, while the latter were in the height of prosperity.

2. In all our addresses to God we should ever remember that we have sinned against him, and deserve nothing but punishment from his hand. We should therefore bow before him with the deepest humiliation of soul, and take that caution of the wise man, Ecc 5:2 Do not be rash with your mouth, and do not let your heart be hasty to say a word before God. For God is in Heaven, and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few. There is the more need to attend to this caution, because many ignorant though well-meaning people use very improper, not to say indecent, freedoms in their addresses to the throne of grace. With such proceedings God cannot be well pleased. He who knows he has sinned, and feels that he is less than the least of all God’s mercies, will pray with the deepest humility, and even rejoice before God with trembling. A solemn Awe of the Divine Majesty is not less requisite to successful praying, than faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. When we have such a commission as that of Moses, we may make use of his freedom of speech; but till then, the publican’s prayer will best suit the generality of those who are even dignified by the name of Christian - Lord, be merciful to me, a Sinner!

For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name - Had he come in his own name, it needed not be wondered at if he should not succeed, but coming in the name of God, it might have been expected he would, and that Pharaoh would have been prevailed upon, or obliged to use the people well, and let them go; but instead of that: he hath done evil to this people; afflicted and oppressed them more than ever:

Exodus 4

Exo 4:1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

They will not believe me - With this chapter begins the series of miracles which resulted in the deliverance of Israel. The first miracle was performed to remove the first obstacle, namely, the reluctance of Moses, conscious of his own weakness, and of the enormous power with which he would have to contend.

They will not believe me - As if he had said, Unless I be enabled to work miracles, and give them proofs by extraordinary works as well as by words, they will not believe that thou hast sent me. Moses now started a fresh difficulty: the Israelites would not believe that Jehovah had appeared to him. There was so far a reason for this difficulty, that from the time of Jacob-an interval, therefore, of 430 years - God had never appeared to any Israelite. God therefore removed it by giving him three signs by which he might attest his divine mission to his people. These three signs were intended indeed for the Israelites, to convince them of the reality of the appearance of Jehovah to Moses; at the same time, they also served to strengthen Moses' faith, and dissipate his fears as to the result of his mission. For it was apparent enough that Moses did not possess true and entire confidence in God, from the fact that he still raised this difficulty, and distrusted the divine assurance.

Exo 4:2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

A rod - matteh, a staff, probably his shepherd’s crook. As it was made the instrument of working many miracles, it was afterwards called the rod of God; Exo 4:20 And 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 rod of God in his hand.

The First Sign. - The turning of Moses' staff into a serpent, which became a staff again when Moses took it by the tail, had reference to the calling of Moses. The staff in his hand was his shepherd's crook, and represented his calling as a shepherd. At the bidding of God he threw it upon the ground, and the staff became a serpent, before which Moses fled. The giving up of his shepherd-life would expose him to dangers, from which he would desire to escape. At the same time, there was more implied in the figure of a serpent than danger which merely threatened his life. The serpent had been the constant enemy of the seed of the woman (Gen 3), and represented the power of the wicked one which prevailed in Egypt. But at the bidding of God, Moses seized the serpent by the tail, and received his staff again as “the rod of God,” with which he smote Egypt with great plagues. From this sign the people of Israel would necessarily perceive, that Jehovah had not only called Moses to be the leader of Israel, but had endowed him with the power to overcome the serpent-like cunning and the might of Egypt; in other words, they would “believe that Jehovah, the God of the fathers, had appeared to him.” (On the special meaning of this sign for Pharaoh, see Exo_7:10.)

Exo 4:3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

A serpent - Of what sort we know not, as the word nachash is a general name for serpents, and also means several other things, see Gen_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 it.

A serpent - This miracle had a meaning which Moses could not mistake. The serpent was possibly the Cobra. This was the symbol of royal and divine power on the diadem of every Pharaoh. The conversion of the rod was not merely a portent, it was a sign, at once a pledge and representation of victory over the king and gods of Egypt!

A serpent - it was a sign that Moses did not these miracles by the power of the devil, but had a power over and beyond him, when he could thus deal with the serpent at his pleasure, as to make his rod a serpent, and the serpent a rod, as he saw good:

Exo 4:4 And 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 hand:

take it by the tail - Which to do might seem most dangerous, since it might turn upon him and bite him;

Exo 4:5 That 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.

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.

That they may believe - The elders and people of Israel; for this miracle was wrought not for the confirmation of Moses's faith; for the sign of the burning bush was given to him to confirm his faith, that it was God that appeared to him, and called him to this work; but this was wrought to confirm the faith of the Israelites in his divine mission:

Exo 4:6 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.

Leprous - The instantaneous production and cure of the most malignant and subtle disease known to the Israelites was a sign of their danger if they resisted the command, and of their deliverance if they obeyed it. The infliction and cure were always regarded as special proofs of a divine intervention.

His hand was leprous as snow – Leprosy in the bible was used for many diseases, not just Hansen’s disease as leprosy is called today. Among the diseases included under this word were psoriasis, vitiligo, ringworm, syphilis, mildew, and the rot. These affected not only people but houses and garments. What specifically Moses had is not known. However, it was a spectacular threat to the life and health of Moses in order for it to be a sign.

His hand was leprous as snow - That is, the leprosy spread itself over the whole body in thin white scales; The leprosy, at least among the Jews, was a most inveterate and contagious disorder, and deemed by them incurable. Among the heathens it was considered as inflicted by their gods, and it was supposed that they alone could remove it. It is certain that a similar belief prevailed among the Israelites; hence, when the king of Syria sent his general Naaman, to the king of Israel to cure him of his leprosy, he rent his clothes, saying, Amos I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? 2Ki_5:7. This appears, therefore, to be the reason why God chose this sign, as the instantaneous infliction and removal of this disease were demonstrations which all would allow of the sovereign power of God.

The Second Sign. - Moses' hand became leprous, and was afterwards cleansed again. The expression covered with leprosy like snow, refers to the white leprosy Lev 13:3 And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh. And if the hair in the plague has turned white, and the plague in sight is deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy. And the priest shall look on him and shall pronounce him unclean. So far as the meaning of this sign is concerned, Moses' hand has been explained in a perfectly arbitrary manner as representing the Israelitish nation, and his bosom as representing first Egypt, and then Canaan, as the hiding-place of Israel. If the shepherd's staff represented Moses' calling, the hand was that which directed or ruled the calling. It is in the bosom that the nurse carried the sucking child Num 11:12 Have I conceived all this people? Did I bring them forth, that You should say to me, Bear them in your bosom like a nursing father carries the sucking child, to the land which You swore to their fathers?, the shepherd the lambs Isa 40:11 He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those with young, and the sacred singer the many nations, from whom he has suffered reproach and injury Psa 89:50 Remember, Lord, the scorn of Your servants; how I bear in my bosom the insult of all the mighty people. So Moses also carried his people in his bosom, i.e., in his heart: of that his first appearance in Egypt was a proof. But now he was to set his hand to deliver them from the reproach and bondage of Egypt. He put his hand into his bosom, and his hand was covered with leprosy. The nation was like a leper, who defiled every one that touched him. The leprosy represented not only “the servitude and contemptuous treatment of the Israelites in Egypt” but the impurity of Egypt in which Israel was sunken. This Moses soon discovered, and on more than one occasion afterwards; so that he had to complain to Jehovah Num_11:11-12 And Moses said to Jehovah, Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, so that You lay the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? Did I bring them forth, that You should say to me, Bear them in your bosom like a nursing father carries the sucking child, to the land which You swore to their fathers? But God had the power to purify the nation from this leprosy, and would endow His servant Moses with that power. At the command of God, Moses put his hand, now covered with leprosy, once more into his bosom, and drew it out quite cleansed. This was what Moses was to learn by the sign; whilst Israel also learned that God both could and would deliver it, through the cleansed hand of Moses, from all its bodily and spiritual misery. The object of the first miracle was to exhibit Moses as the man whom Jehovah had called to be the leader of His people; that of the second, to show that, as the messenger of Jehovah, he was furnished with the necessary power for the execution of this calling. In this sense God says, in Exo_4:8, “If they will not hearken to the voice of the first sign, they will believe the voice of the latter sign.” A voice is ascribed to the sign, as being a clear witness to the divine mission of the person performing it. Psa 105:27 They showed His signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

Exo 4:7 And 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.

Exo 4:8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

If they will not believe - 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 believe till they had seen the water of the Nile turned into blood, when poured upon the dry land; Exo_4:9; the first sign respects his rod, the other his hand.

Exo 4:9 And 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 shall become blood upon the dry land.

and pour it upon the dry land - in turning the waters of the river into blood, thereby avenging the blood of innocent babes drowned there by the Egyptians.

The Third Sign. - If the first two signs should not be sufficient to lead the people to believe in the divine mission of Moses, he was to give them one more practical demonstration of the power which he had received to overcome the might and gods of Egypt. He was to take of the water of the Nile (the river, Gen_41:1) and pour it upon the dry land, and it would become blood. The Nile received divine honors as the source of every good and all prosperity in the natural life of Egypt, and was even identified with Osiris. If Moses therefore had power to turn the life-distributing water of the Nile into blood, he must also have received power to destroy Pharaoh and his gods. Israel was to learn this from the sign, whilst Pharaoh and the Egyptians were afterwards to experience this might of Jehovah in the form of punishment (Exo_7:15.). Thus Moses as not only entrusted with the word of God, but also endowed with the power of God; and as he was the first God-sent prophet, so was he also the first worker of miracles, and in this capacity a type of the Apostle of our profession (Heb_3:1), even the God-man, Christ Jesus.

Exo 4:10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

slow of speech and of a slow tongue - The double expression seems to imply a difficulty both in finding words and in giving them utterance.

Since thou hast spoken - This expression seems to imply that some short time had intervened between this address and the first communication of the divine purpose to Moses.

I am not eloquent - I am not a man of words; a periphrasis common in the Scriptures. So Job_11:2, a man of lips, signifies one that is talkative. Psa_140:11, a man of tongue, signifies a prattler. But how could it be said that Moses was not eloquent, when St. Stephen asserts, Act 7:22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and in deeds? There are three ways of solving this difficulty:

1. Moses might have had some natural infirmity, of a late standing, which at that time rendered it impossible for him to speak readily, and which he afterwards overcame; so that though he was not then a man of words, yet he might afterwards have been mighty in words as well as deeds.

2. It is possible he was not intimately acquainted with the Hebrew tongue, so as to speak clearly and distinctly in it. The first forty years of his life he had spent in Egypt, chiefly at court; and though it is very probable there was an affinity between the two languages, yet they certainly were not the same. The last forty he had spent in Midian, and it is not likely that the pure Hebrew tongue prevailed there, though it is probable that a dialect of it was there spoken. On these accounts Moses might find it difficult to express himself with that readiness and persuasive flow of language, which he might deem essentially necessary on such a momentous occasion; as he would frequently be obliged to consult his memory for proper expressions, which would necessarily produce frequent hesitation, and general slowness of utterance, which he might think would ill suit an ambassador of God.

3. Though Moses was slow of speech, yet when acting as the messenger of God his word was with power, for at his command the plagues came and the plagues were stayed; thus was he mighty in words as well as in deeds.

And Moses said unto the Lord - Notwithstanding the above miracles, he seems unwilling to go on the Lord's errand to Pharaoh and to the Israelites, and therefore seems to invent a new objection after all his other objections had been sufficiently answered:

I am not eloquent - or "a man of words", that has words at command, that can speak well readily, and gracefully; such an one, he intimates, was proper to be sent to a king's court, that was an orator, that could make fine speeches, and handsome addresses, for which he was not qualified:

but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue - possibly had some impediment in his speech, could not freely and easily bring out his words, or rightly pronounce them.

O my Lord, I am not eloquent - He was a great philosopher, statesman, and divine, and yet no orator; a man of a clear head, great thought and solid judgment, but had not a voluble tongue, nor ready utterance; and therefore he thought himself unfit to speak before great men, and about great affairs. Moses was mighty in word, Act_7:22, and yet not eloquent: what he said was strong and nervous, and to the purpose, and distilled as the dew, Deu_32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain; my speech shall drop down as the dew, as the small rain on the tender plant, and as the showers on the grass; though he did not deliver himself with that readiness, ease and fineness that some do.

Exo 4:11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

Who hath made man’s mouth? - Jehovah both could and would provide for this defect. He had made man's mouth, and He made dumb or deaf, seeing or blind. He possessed unlimited power over all the senses, could give them or take them away; and He would be with Moses' mouth, and teach him what he was to say, i.e., impart to him the necessary qualification both as to matter and mode. - Moses' difficulties were now all exhausted, and removed by the assurances of God. But this only brought to light the secret reason in his heart. He did not wish to undertake the divine mission.

Exo 4:12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

Compare with this our Lord’s promise to His Apostles; Mat_10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak. Mar_13:11 But whenever they lead you away and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what you should speak or think. But speak whatever shall be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speaks, but the Holy Spirit.

Exo 4:13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

send by the hand of him whom You will send – A phrase meaning "choose any other man, not me!" Moses shows his heart here, with no more “real” objections, he still asks God to send another. The anger of God was now excited by this groundless opposition. But as this unwillingness also arose from weakness of the flesh, the mercy of God came to the help of his weakness, and He referred Moses to his brother Aaron, who could speak well, and would address the people for him (Exo_4:14-17).

Exo 4:14 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

Aaron the Levite - This is the first mention of Aaron, his elder brother, who was born three years before him. The words “he can speak well,” probably imply that Aaron had both the power and will to speak. Aaron is here called “the Levite,” with reference, it may be, to the future consecration of this tribe. Or perhaps Aaron is called the Levite, because he was a descendant of Levi, and yet so was Moses; perhaps this is added here, to distinguish him from others of the same name in other families; and it is likely that Moses added this title to him, in his account of this affair, because he was the first of the tribe of Levi that was employed in the priestly office:

He cometh forth - is on the eve of setting forth to meet at His mount, Exodus 4:27. Not that Aaron was already on the way, but that he would go to meet his brother, at God’s command, perhaps because the enemies of Moses were dead Exo_4:19.

he cometh forth to meet thee - having had an intimation from God of Moses's call to come into Egypt, and deliver his people from their bondage, he immediately set out to meet him, whereby he showed more faith, zeal, and courage, than Moses did; and this is said to animate him, and was a new sign, and would be a fresh confirmation of his faith, when he should see it accomplished, as he did:

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses - For the objections, excuses, and delays he made with respect to his mission. In what way this anger was expressed is not easy to say. However, though the Lord was angry with Moses, yet without any change of affection to him, he still retained and expressed a great regard to him; did not reject him from his service as he might have done, but employed him, and preferred him to his elder brother. Moses shows himself to be a faithful historian in recording his own weaknesses, and the displeasure of God at them:

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against him - Even self-diffidence when it grows into an extreme, when it either hinders us from duty, or clogs us in duty, is very displeasing to him.

I know that he can speak well - speak very freely, fluently, in an eloquent manner;

Exo 4:15 And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

Thou shalt speak - Moses thus retains his position as “mediator;” the word comes to him first, he transmits it to his brother.

And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth - Or "things", the matter and substance of what he should say, who being a man of words, an eloquent man, and a good spokesman, would put them into proper language, and express them fluently:

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.

Exo 4:16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

Instead of God - The word “God” is used of persons who represent the Deity, as kings or judges, and it is understood in this sense here: “Thou shalt be to him a master.” Moses will give to Aaron the message God wishes to be spoken.

and thou shall be to him instead of God - Aaron was to stand between Moses and the people, and speak for him; and Moses was to stand between God and Aaron, and in God's stead, and tell him what orders he had received from him, and which he should communicate; a civil magistrate, one that had the power of life and death; the administration of civil affairs belonged to Moses, and Aaron, though the elder brother, was subject to him; and in this sense Moses was a god to him; and so in after times, the judges of Israel, they that sat in Moses's chair, were called gods, Psa_82:1 A Psalm of Asaph. God stands in the congregation of God; in the midst of the gods He judges.

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;

Exo 4:17 And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

And thou shall take this rod in thine hand - Which he then had in his hand, and was no other than his shepherd's staff: The staff or crook he carried as a shepherd, that he might not be ashamed of that mean condition out of which God called him. This rod must be his staff of authority, and must be to him instead, both of sword and sceptre.

Exo 4:18 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.

let me go, I pray thee - as Jethro had been kind and beneficent to him, he did not choose to leave him without his knowledge and consent, and especially to take away his wife and children without it:

and see whether they be yet alive - it seems by this that Moses had heard nothing of them during the forty years he lived in Midian, which may be thought strange, since it was not very far from Egypt; and besides the Midianites traded in Egypt, as we learn from Gen_37:28 but this must be ascribed to the providence of God, that so ordered it, that there should be no intercourse between him and his brethren, that so no step might be taken by them for their deliverance until the set time was come. Moses did not acquaint his father-in-law with the principal reason of his request, nor of his chief end in going into Egypt, which it might not be proper to acquaint him with, he being of another nation, though a good man; and lest he should use any arguments to dissuade Moses from going, who now having got clear of his diffidence and distrust, was determined upon it: though some ascribe this to his modesty in not telling Jethro of the glorious and wonderful appearance of God to him, and of the honor he had conferred on him to be the deliverer and governor of the people of Israel:

and see whether they be yet alive - By the “brethren” we are to understand not merely the nearer relatives of Moses, or the family of Amram, but the Israelites generally. Considering the oppression under which they were suffering at the time of Moses' flight, the question might naturally arise, whether they were still living, and had not been altogether exterminated.

Exo 4:19 And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.

And the Lord said unto Moses 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.

go, return into Egypt - that is, directly, immediately; before he had only given him a commission at large to go thither, but had not fixed the time when he should go; but now he orders him to set forward at once:

all the men are dead which sought thy life--The death of the Egyptian monarch took place in the four hundred and twenty-ninth year of the Hebrew sojourn in that land, and that event, according to the law of Egypt, took off his proscription of Moses, if it had been publicly issued.

Exo 4:20 And 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 rod of God in his hand.

His wife and his sons - This is the first notice of other sons besides Gershom.

The rod of God - so called, because God ordered him to take it; and besides, he had wrought signs and wonders by it already, and would do many more. The staff of Moses was consecrated by the miracle Exo_4:2 and became “the rod of God.” The sign of sovereign power, by which he was to perform all his miracles; once the badge of his shepherd’s office, and now that by which he is to feed, rule, and protect his people Israel.

Exo 4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

But I will harden his heart - The verb chazak, which we translate harden, literally signifies to strengthen, confirm, make bold or courageous;

but I will harden his heart - it was but a righteous thing in God to give him up to the hardness of his heart, to deny him his grace, which only could soften it, and to leave him to the corruptions of his nature, and the temptations of Satan; and by leaving him to strong delusions, to believe the lying miracles of his magicians: this the Lord thought fit to acquaint Moses with, lest he should be discouraged by his refusal to dismiss Israel. However, Pharaoh’s heart was already inclined towards hardness, in many verses for example Exo 8:32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. In the first few miracles, Pharaoh hardened his own heart. God didn’t harden the heart until the 6th plague.

But I will harden his heart - The case of Pharaoh has given rise to many fierce controversies, and to several strange and conflicting opinions. If we take up the subject in a theological point of view, all will allow the truth of this proposition of Augustine, when the subject in question is a person who has hardened his own heart by frequently resisting the grace and spirit of God: “God does not harden men by infusing malice into them, but by not imparting mercy to them.” And this other will be as readily credited: “God does not work this hardness of heart in man; but he may be said to harden him whom he refuses to soften, to blind him whom he refuses to enlighten, and to repel him whom he refuses to call.” It is but just and right that he should withhold those graces which he had repeatedly offered, and which the sinner had despised and rejected. All those who have read the Scriptures with care and attention, know well that God is frequently represented in them as doing what he only permits to be done. So because a man has grieved his Spirit and resisted his grace he withdraws that Spirit and grace from him, and thus he becomes bold and presumptuous in sin. Pharaoh made his own heart stubborn against God, Exo_9:34; and God gave him up to judicial blindness, so that he rushed on stubbornly to his own destruction. From the whole of Pharaoh’s conduct we learn that he was bold, haughty, and cruel; and God chose to permit these dispositions to have their full sway in his heart without check or restraint from Divine influence: the consequence was what God intended, he did not immediately comply with the requisition to let the people go; and this was done that God might have the fuller opportunity of manifesting his power by multiplying signs and miracles, and thus impress the hearts both of the Egyptians and Israelites with a due sense of his omnipotence and justice. The whole procedure was graciously calculated to do endless good to both nations. The Israelites must be satisfied that they had the true God for their protector; and thus their faith was strengthened. The Egyptians must see that their gods could do nothing against the God of Israel; and thus their dependence on them was necessarily shaken. These great ends could not have been answered had Pharaoh at once consented to let the people go. This consideration alone unravels the mystery, and explains everything.

Exo 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

My firstborn - The expression would be perfectly intelligible to Pharaoh, whose official designation was “son of Ra.” In numberless inscriptions the Pharaohs are styled “own sons” or “beloved sons” of the deity. It is here applied for the first time to Israel; and as we learn from Exo_4:23, emphatically in antithesis to Pharaoh’s own firstborn.

Israel is my son, even my firstborn - as dear to him as a man's firstborn is, or as his only son: adoption is one of the privileges peculiar to Israel after the flesh, even national adoption, with all the external privileges appertaining to it, Rom 9:4 who are Israelites; to whom belong the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the service of God, and the promises;

Israel is My first-born son - In order that Pharaoh might form a true estimate of the solemnity of the divine command, Moses was to make known to him not only the relation of Jehovah to Israel, but also the judgment to which he would be exposed if he refused to let Israel go. The relation in which Israel stood to Jehovah was expressed by God in the words, “Israel is My first-born son.” Israel was Jehovah's son by virtue of his election to be the people of possession Deu 14:2 For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God, and Jehovah has chosen you to be a peculiar people to Himself, above all the nations that are on the earth. This election began with the call of Abraham to be the father of the nation in which all the families of the earth were to be blessed. On the ground of this promise, which was now to be realized in the seed of Abraham by the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, the nation of Israel is already called Jehovah's “son,” although it was through the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai that it was first exalted to be the people of Jehovah's possession out of all the nations. The divine sonship of Israel was therefore spiritual in its nature. The choosing of Israel as the son of God was an adoption flowing from the free grace of God which involved the loving, fatherly treatment of the son, and demanded obedience, reverence, and confidence towards the Father. It was this which constituted the very essence of the covenant made by Jehovah with Israel, that He treated it with mercy and love (Hos_11:1; Jer_31:9, Jer_31:20), pitied it as a father pitieth his children (Psa_103:13), chastened it on account of its sins, yet did not withdraw His mercy from it (2Sa_7:14-15; Psa_89:31-35), and trained His son to be a holy nation by the love and severity of paternal discipline. - Still Israel was not only a son, but the “first-born son” of Jehovah. In this title the calling of the heathen is implied. Israel was not to be Jehovah's only son, but simply the first-born, who was peculiarly dear to his Father, and had certain privileges above the rest. Jehovah was about to exalt Israel above all the nations of the earth Deu 28:1 And it will be, if you shall listen carefully to the voice of Jehovah your God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command you today, Jehovah your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth. Now, if Pharaoh would not let Jehovah's first-born son depart, he would pay the penalty in the life of his own first-born. In this intense earnestness of the divine command, Moses had a strong support to his faith. If Israel was Jehovah's first-born son, Jehovah could not relinquish him, but must deliver His son from the bondage of Egypt.

Thus saith the Lord - This is the first time that preface is used by any man, which afterwards is used so frequently by all the prophets:

Exo 4:23 And I say 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.

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 among the Egyptians. Moses gives Pharaoh this reason Exo 8:26 And Moses said, It is not right to do so, for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God. Lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?

I will slay thy son, even thy first-born - Which, on Pharaoh’s utter refusal to let the people go, was accordingly done; Exo 12:29 And it happened at midnight Jehovah struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne to the first-born of the captive that was in the prison; also all the first-born of cattle.

Exo 4:24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.

Met him, and sought to kill him - It seems the sin of Moses, was neglecting to circumcise his son, which perhaps was the effect of his being unequally yoked with a Midianite, who was too indulgent of her child, and Moses so of her. The Lord met him, and, probably, by a sword in an angel's hand, sought to kill him - This was a great change. Very lately God was conversing with him as a friend, and now coming forth against him as an enemy. In this case of necessity Zipporah herself circumcised the child without delay; whether with passionate words, expressing the dislike of the ordinance itself, or at least the administration of it to so young a child.

the Lord met him, and sought to kill him-- To dishonor that sign and seal of the covenant was criminal in any Hebrew, peculiarly so in one destined to be the leader and deliverer of the Hebrews; But if Moses was to carry out the divine commission with success, he must first of all prove himself to be a faithful servant of Jehovah in his own house. This he was to learn from the occurrence at the inn: Concerned for her husband's safety, Zipporah overcomes her maternal feelings of aversion to the painful rite, performs herself, by means of one of the sharp flints with which that part of the desert abounds, an operation which her husband, on whom the duty devolved, was unable to do, and having brought the bloody evidence, exclaimed in the painful excitement of her feelings that from love to him she had risked the life of her child.

Met him, and sought to kill him - Moses was attacked by a sudden and dangerous illness, which he knew was inflicted by God. The word “sought to kill” implies that the sickness, whatever might be its nature, was one which threatened death had it not been averted by a timely act. Zipporah believed that the illness of Moses was due to his having neglected the duty of an Israelite, and to his not having circumcised his own son; the delay was probably owing to her own not unnatural repugnance to a rite, which was not adopted generally in the East, even by the descendants of Abraham and Keturah. Moses appears to have been utterly prostrate and unable to perform the rite himself.

Met him, and sought to kill him - Circumcision had been enjoined upon Abraham by Jehovah as a covenant sign for all his descendants; and the sentence of death was pronounced upon any neglect of it, as being a breach of the covenant (Gen_17:14). The punishment fell upon the parents, and first of all upon the father, who had neglected to keep the commandment of God. Now, though Moses had probably omitted circumcision simply from regard to his Midianitish wife, who disliked this operation, he had been guilty of a capital crime, which God could not pass over in the case of one whom He had chosen to be His messenger, to establish His covenant with Israel. Hence He threatened him with death, to bring him to a consciousness of his sin; and also to show him with what earnestness God demanded the keeping of His commandments. Still He did not kill him; for his sin had sprung from weakness of the flesh, from a sinful yielding to his wife, which could both be explained and excused on account of his position in the Midianite's house. That Zipporah's dislike to circumcision had been the cause of the omission, has been justly inferred by commentators from the fact, that on Jehovah's attack upon Moses, she proceeded at once to perform what had been neglected, and, as it seems, with inward repugnance.

Met him, and sought to kill him - As Moses and his family were traveling 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 neighbors, 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, 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.

Exo 4:25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

Took a sharp stone - The sharp stone mentioned was probably a knife made of flint, for such were anciently used, even where knives of metal might be had, for every kind of operation about the human body. Zipporah used a piece of flint, in accordance with the usage of the patriarchs.

Cast it at his feet - Showing at once her abhorrence of the rite, and her feeling that by it she had saved her husband’s life.

A bloody husband - Literally, “a husband of blood,” or “bloods.” The meaning is: The marriage bond between us is now sealed by blood. By performing the rite, Zipporah had recovered her husband; his life was purchased for her by the blood of her child.

Then Zipporah took a sharp stone - Perceiving that it was the neglect of circumcising her son was the cause of the divine displeasure against her husband; and he being either so ill through the disease upon him, or so terrified with the appearance of the Lord to him, in the manner it was, that he could not perform this rite himself, she undertook it; and, according to the Jewish canons, a woman may circumcise;

Of her son - From the word “her son,” it is evident that Zipporah only circumcised one of the two sons of Moses (Exo_4:20); so that the other, most likely the elder, had already been circumcised in accordance with the law.

Exo 4:26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

So he let him go - God withdrew His visitation from Moses.

So he let him go - The destroying angel withdrew. But still Zipporah cannot forget, but will unreasonably call Moses a bloody husband, because he obliged her to circumcise the child; and upon this occasion, (it is probable) he sent them back to his father - in - law, that they might not create him any farther uneasiness.

So he let him go--Moses recovered; but the remembrance of this critical period in his life would stimulate the Hebrew legislator to enforce a faithful attention to the rite of circumcision when it was established as a divine ordinance in Israel, and made their peculiar distinction as a people.

Exo 4:27 And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.

In the mount of God - in Horeb, where the Lord had appeared to Moses, and therefore called the mount of God, and where afterwards the law was given, and the covenant made with the people of Israel; and so the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,"in the mount on which the glory of God was revealed:" That is, the place where God had met with him.

Aaron met him in the mount of God, and kissed him--After a separation of forty years, their meeting would be mutually happy. Similar are the salutations of Arab friends when they meet in the desert still; conspicuous is the kiss on each side of the head. After the removal of the sin, which had excited the threatening wrath of Jehovah, Moses once more received a token of the divine favor in the arrival of Aaron, under the direction of God, to meet him at the Mount of God (Exo_3:1).

and kissed him - as relations and intimate friends used to do at meeting or parting, to testify affection and respect; and Aaron must on all accounts be glad to meet Moses, both as he was his brother, whom he had not seen for many years, and as he was come to be a deliverer of the people of Israel.

Exo 4:28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.

And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord - He declared his mission and commission from God, and gave him the particulars of what was to be said both to the people of Israel and to the king of Egypt; and this he did, because Aaron was to be his spokesman unto them:

Exo 4:29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:

All the elders - The Israelites retained their own national organization; their affairs were administered by their own elders, who called a public assembly Aaron was spokesman, and Moses performed the appointed miracles--through which "the people" (that is, the elders) believed and received the joyful tidings of the errand on which Moses had come with devout thanksgiving. Formerly they had slighted the message and rejected the messenger. Formerly Moses had gone in his own strength; now he goes leaning on God, and strong only through faith in Him who had sent him. Israel also had been taught a useful lesson, and it was good for both that they had been afflicted.

Moses and Aaron went--towards Egypt, Zipporah and her sons having been sent back. Compare Exo_18:2.

Exo 4:30 And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.

Aaron spake all the words - As Moses had related to him, being his mouth and spokesman: It is likely that Aaron was better acquainted with the Hebrew tongue than his brother, and on this account he became the spokesman.

Did the signs - and did the signs in the sight of the people; not Aaron, but Moses, and these were the turning of his rod into a serpent, and the serpent into a rod again; putting his hand into and out of his bosom, when it was leprous, and then doing the same when it was well again; and taking water out of the river, and changing it into blood, which he did for the confirmation of his mission.

Exo 4:31 And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

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 similar act mentioned, and in the same words, Gen_24:26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshiped the Lord. The bowing the head, etc., here, may probably refer to the eastern custom of bowing the head down to the knees, then kneeling down and touching the earth with the forehead. The Jewish custom was to bend the body so that every joint of the backbone became incurvated, and the head was bent towards the knees, so that the body resembled a bow; and prostration implied laying the body flat upon the earth, the arms and legs extended to the uttermost, the mouth and forehead touching the ground. In Mat_8:2 the leper is said to worship our Lord but in Luk_5:12 he is said to have fallen on his face. These two accounts show that he first kneeled down, probably putting his face down to his knees, and touching the earth with his forehead; and then prostrated himself, his legs and arms being both extended.

then they bowed their heads, and worshipped - adoring the goodness of God, and expressing their thankfulness for the notice he took of them, and signifying their readiness to obey all instructions and directions that should be given them.