Exodus 4:6

6 Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your coat." So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took it out, it was as white as snow. It was covered with a skin disease.

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.

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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 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach your hand out. Take the snake by the tail." So he reached out and grabbed hold of the snake. It turned back into a staff in his hand.

5 The LORD said, "When they see this miraculous sign, they will believe that I appeared to you. I am the God of their fathers. I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob."

6 Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your coat." So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took it out, it was as white as snow. It was covered with a skin disease.

7 "Now put it back into your coat," the LORD said. So Moses put his hand back into his coat. When he took it out, the skin was healthy again. His hand was like the rest of his skin.

8 Then the LORD said, "Suppose they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miracle. Then maybe they will believe the second one.