An ass - Literally, “the ass,” which, according to Hebrew idiom, means that he set them upon asses. This is the first notice of other sons besides Gershom.The rod of God - The staff of Moses was consecrated by the miracle Exodus 4:2 and became “the rod of God.” read more
Exodus 4:19-20. The Lord said unto Moses This seems to have been a second vision, whereby God calls him to the present execution of the command given before. The rod of God His shepherd’s crook, so called, as it was God’s instrument in so many glorious works. read more
Moses returns to Egypt (4:18-31)After meeting God, Moses returned to Jethro and then set out with his wife and sons for Egypt. God warned Moses of the stubbornness he could expect to meet in Pharaoh and of the disaster this would bring upon the Egyptian people (18-23). However, Moses could hardly instruct Israel to obey God when he himself had neglected the first requirement of the covenant, the circumcision of his son (cf. Genesis 17:10,Genesis 17:14). God sent Moses a near-fatal illness or... read more
sons = Gershom and Eliezer. See on Exodus 2:1 . upon an ass . Still young, So that Moses married after many years in Midian. rod of God . His own rod is now thus dignified. read more
"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.""Wife and his sons ..." This is the first mention of any son except Gershom, but we learn the name of the other son, Eliezer, in Exodus 18:4. Note the change of pronouns in this verse. Of his family, it says that he set them upon an ass; but it is not said that they returned to Egypt, but that he (Moses) did so. The explanation of this immediately... read more
Exodus 4:20. The rod of God— It is so called, because it was, in the hand of Moses, the symbol of Divine Power, and the instrument by which he wrought all the prodigies that signalized his ministry. read more
20. Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass—Septuagint, "asses." Those animals are not now used in the desert of Sinai except by the Arabs for short distances. returned—entered on his journey towards Egypt. he took the rod of God—so called from its being appropriated to His service, and because whatever miracles it might be employed in performing would be wrought not by its inherent properties, but by a divine power following on its use. (Compare Acts 3:12). read more
Moses did not return immediately to Egypt when he arrived back in Midian following his encounter with God at Horeb (Exodus 4:19). God spoke to him again in Midian and sent him back to Egypt assuring His servant that everyone who had sought his life earlier had died. Compare Abram’s stalling in Haran until God again urged him to press on to the unknown Promised Land.Exodus 4:20 describes what Moses did after God’s full revelation to him in Midian that continues in Exodus 4:21-23. In... read more
7. Moses’ return to Egypt 4:19-31 read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 4:20
His sons . Gershom, already mentioned ( Exodus 2:22 ), and Eliezer ( Exodus 18:4 ), who was probably an infant. Set them upon an ass . Literally, "the ass," i.e . the one ass that belonged to him. The word might best be translated " his ass." When Moses is said to have "set them upon" the animal, we need not understand "all of them." Probably Zipporah and her baby rode, while Gershom walked with his father. Though horses were known in Egypt before this, they could not be used in... read more