Exodus 4:20-30

20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them riding upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

21 And Jehovah said to Moses, When thou goest to return to Egypt, see that thou do all the wonders before Pharaoh that I have put in thy hand. And I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

22 And thou shalt say to Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah: Israel is my son, my firstborn.

23 And I say to thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me. And if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.

24 And it came to pass on the way, in the inn, that Jehovah came upon him, and sought to slay him.

25 Then Zipporah took a stone and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, A bloody husband indeed art thou to me!

26 And he let him go. Then she said, A bloody husband -- because of the circumcision.

27 And Jehovah said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him.

28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah who had sent him, and all the signs that he had commanded him.

29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the children of Israel;

30 and Aaron spoke all the words that Jehovah had spoken to Moses, and did the signs before the eyes of the people.

Exodus 4:20-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 4

This chapter is a continuation of the discourse that passed between God and Moses; and here Moses makes other objections to his mission; one is taken from the unbelief of the people of Israel, which is removed by giving him power to work miracles, by turning the rod in his hand into a serpent, and then into a rod again; and by putting his hand into his bosom at one time, when it became leprous, and again into the same place, when it became sound and whole, and by turning the water of the river into blood, Ex 4:1-9, another objection is formed from his want of eloquence, which is answered with an assurance, that God, that made man's mouth, would be with his mouth, and teach him what to say; and besides, Aaron his brother, who was an eloquent man, should be his spokesman, Ex 4:10-17 upon which he returned to Midian, and having obtained leave of his father-in-law to depart from thence, he took his wife and his sons, and returned to Egypt, Ex 4:18-20 at which time he received some fresh instructions from the Lord what he should do before Pharaoh, and what he should say unto him, Ex 4:21-23 then follows an account of what befell him by the way, because of the circumcision of his son, Ex 4:24-26 and the chapter is closed with an account of the meeting of Moses and Aaron, and of their gathering the elders of Israel together, to whom the commission of Moses was opened, and signs done before them, to which they gave credit, and expressed their joy and thankfulness, Ex 4:27-31.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'his.'
• [b]. Or 'make stubborn:' so ch. 14.4,8,17.
• [c]. See Gen. 42.27.
• [d]. Lit. 'made it touch his (Moses') feet.'
• [e]. Lit. 'bridegroom,' as Ps. 19.5; 'son-in-law,' as 1 Sam. 18.18.