Exodus 4:6

6 And the Lord said again to Moses, Put thine hand into thy bosom; and when he had put it into his bosom, he brought forth it leprous, at the likeness of snow. (And the Lord said to Moses, Put thy hand inside thy cloak; and after he had put it inside his cloak, when he took it out again, he brought it forth leprous, and as white as snow.)

Exodus 4:6 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 4:6

And the Lord said furthermore unto him
Continued his discourse, and gave him another sign: put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom;
within his coat, under that part of the garment next to his breast: and when he took it out, behold, his hand [was] leprous as snow;
that is, white as snow, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, through the leprosy that was upon it; it was a leprosy of the white sort, and which is reckoned the worst and most difficult to be cured, see ( Leviticus 13:3 Leviticus 13:4 ) ( Numbers 12:10 ) . It is highly probable that this gave rise to the story told by several Heathen writers, as Manetho ^F13, Lysimachus {n}, Trogus ^F15, and Tacitus ^F16, that Moses and the Israelites were drove out of Egypt by the advice of an oracle, because they had the leprosy, itch, and other impure diseases upon them.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F13 Apud Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 26.
F14 Apud. ib. c. 34.
F15 Justin e Trogo, l. 36. c. 2.
F16 Hist. l. 5. c. 3.

Exodus 4:6 In-Context

4 And the Lord said, Hold forth thine hand, and take the tail thereof; he stretched forth his hand, and held it, and it was turned again into a rod. (And the Lord said, Stretch forth thy hand, and take its tail; and he stretched forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it turned back into a staff.)

5 And the Lord said, (So) That they (shall) believe, that the Lord God of thy fathers appeared to thee, (yea, the) God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.

6 And the Lord said again to Moses, Put thine hand into thy bosom; and when he had put it into his bosom, he brought forth it leprous, at the likeness of snow. (And the Lord said to Moses, Put thy hand inside thy cloak; and after he had put it inside his cloak, when he took it out again, he brought it forth leprous, and as white as snow.)

7 The Lord said, Again draw thine hand into thy bosom; Moses again drew (in) his hand, and brought it forth again, and it was like to the tother flesh. (And the Lord said, Put thy hand inside thy cloak again; and Moses put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out again, once more it was like his other flesh.)

8 The Lord said, If they shall not believe to thee, neither shall hear the word of the former sign, either miracle, they shall believe to the word of the sign following; (And the Lord said, If they do not believe thee, nor accept the proof of the first sign, or the first miracle, then they may believe the proof of the sign that followeth;)